Fractal Uses

So now that you know a little more about fractals you may be saying, "Well, yes, they're very interesting and beautiful. But what the heck do you DO with them?"

Here are some examples of fractal designs I've used for various projects.

This was used as a logo for a self-help program called "The Choice":

This one ended up as a label for a wine bottle:

Produced in various colors, this fractal design became labels for a soap company:

A business card:

Another business card:

A flag for Burning Man:

Also produced in different colors, this one grew up to be receipt envelopes:

So they can really be used for anything! Here's just a tiny portion of my ever growing wish list that I'd love to see fractals on:

* comforters

* playing cards

* tennis shoes

* shower curtains

* swim suits

There - I'm putting my intentions out to the universe. Universe, you can contact me at kcmosaics@aol.com or shefadesigns@aol.com .

Fractals

I promised you more info on fractals so here is a description of how it all came about and what they are...

Benoit Mandelbrot was the first to introduce the term “fractal” in 1975. As Mandelbrot noted, "Fractal geometry is not just a chapter of mathematics" -- if it were it would be relegated to the plethora of abstract technical obscurity. It is important because it “helps Everyman see the same old world differently,” to notice patterns with principles underlying complicated forms, to observe subtle order. It suggests the infinite in the dynamic cosmos. Fractal geometry is often utilized by researchers specializing in Chaos Theory.

Fractal geometry is totally different from Euclidian geometry. Euclidian geometry only works in a two dimensional world. There are no two-dimensional objects in the real world, and there aren't very many three-dimensional objects shaped like perfect cubes, pyramids, or spheres, either. Fractal geometry on the other hand can describe irregular shapes in nature like leaves, branches, rivers, flames, lightning, the shape of your arm, your heart, and even the neural networks of your brain. All the parts are the same as the whole, so that you can increase or decrease the magnitude to infinity, and they still create the same shape(s).

Fractal art has been around since the 1970’s (think back to those psychedelic album covers). In those days though, the process of working with fractal geometry was much more arduous than it is today. The advent of more powerful computers has greatly aided the development of faster and more astonishing results.

Today using a computer and specialized algorithmic formulas, every element of a design – shape, pattern, texture, hue, saturation, luminance, contrast, brightness, and magnification – can be manipulated. Various layers of images can then be combined to create spectacular designs.