Credit cards are in the shape of a Golden Rectangle. If you ever need an easily accessible example of a golden rectangle illustrating the proportions of the golden section, all you need do is to pull out a credit card or drivers license.
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Standard sized credit cards are 54mm by 86mm, creating a ratio of 0.628, less than a millimeter off from a perfect golden ratio or golden section of 0.618, the reciprocal of 1.618.
I was looking for the standard size of Credit card. Are you sure the size you have mentioned is correct!!
Yes. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_7810. The official US size is 53.98 x 85.60 mm, so the 54×86 stated is correct to within fractions of a millimeter. It’s not exactly a golden ratio, but close enough for making quick very close approximations.
The Golden Mean or Ratio appears in mathematics and in nature. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
See also our articles on mathematics, life and beauty.
The above-stated credit-card dimensions differ from the golden ratio by about 2%..
If the golden ratio were intended, then there wouldn’t be that 2% departure from the golden ratio.
But the close similarity suggests that maybe that shape is perceived as neither too long nor too short
Michael Ossipoff
As an update, after this article was first written, ISO standards were released in 2003 that state the dimensions of a credit card to be 85.60 mm x 53.98 mm. These numbers were apparently converted from the English sizes 3 3/8″ x 2 1/8″. The golden ratio of 85.60 is 52.90. So while that is a 2% difference, it’s only a difference of only 1 mm. This is not visibly perceptible, so the credit card still serves as a nice, handy reference for evaluating golden ratio measurements.