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The Rebel With The Golden Ratio
A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Guide
MATS · FRAMES · TASTES
Frame Calculator
We believe there exists a "Golden Ratio" for frames, one that suggests an ideal mat width that balances aesthetics, structure, and environmental risk.
Suggested proportions
How the mat is built up
Methods & Sources.
The calculator uses M = max(Mₐ, M_f) + Mₑ, where Mₑ is an environmental increment that only activates outside a normal 40–60% RH room band. A developing Rebel Archive heuristic that blends:
Aesthetic practice (Mₐ): Mat width scales with artwork size and chosen style — leaner in Contemporary minimal, more generous in Classic gallery, echoing common contemporary and gallery framing practice.
Structural sanity (M_f): For Contemporary minimal, targets mat at 1.5× the frame width to ensure visual breathing room. Classic gallery uses 1:1 as the floor. Either way, the moulding never visually crushes the image.
Environmental risk (Mₑ): Humidity bands are informed by preventive-conservation guidance for works on paper, which favour a stable mid-range (around 45–55% RH, within a broader 40–60% band) and treat excursions beyond this as higher risk for movement, cockling, and mould growth.
In other words: the numbers are tuned to sit inside what paper conservators consider "sane" climate envelopes, while giving you a visually balanced frame that scales intelligently with size and taste.
Print Sizes & Frame Dimensions
For the Genesis Collection, Rebel prints ship in square formats. The table below uses a baseline mat and frame profile; the calculator above lets you deviate intelligently.
| Collection tier | Print size | Mat border | Frame border | Outer dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebel |
40 × 40″ 101.6 × 101.6 cm |
1.5″ 3.8 cm |
2″ 5.0 cm |
47 × 47″ 119.4 × 119.4 cm |
| Gallery |
36 × 36″ 91.4 × 91.4 cm |
1.5″ 3.8 cm |
2″ 5.0 cm |
43 × 43″ 109.2 × 109.2 cm |
| Medium |
30 × 30″ 76.2 × 76.2 cm |
1.5″ 3.8 cm |
2″ 5.0 cm |
37 × 37″ 94.0 × 94.0 cm |
| Small |
24 × 24″ 60.96 × 60.96 cm |
1.5″ 3.8 cm |
2″ 5.0 cm |
31 × 31″ 78.7 × 78.7 cm |
Imperial remains the default language of frames; metric is the language of everything else. Mat and Frame Borders refer to the visible widths on each side of the artwork. Outer Dimensions are the total framed size.
Mat Customisation
This is where you bend the rules intelligently.
Mat Width Variations
Wider mats (2–3 in): Amplify the presence of smaller works. A 24 × 24 in print in a 3 in mat becomes 30 × 30 in framed — commanding more wall space without overwhelming the composition.
Narrower mats (0.75–1 in): Maximise artwork dominance. Use when the print carries enough visual weight that narrow borders will not read as cheap.
Recalculate outer dimensions accordingly. A 40 × 40 in print with a 3 in mat and 2 in frame becomes 50 × 50 in overall.
Bottom-Weighted Mats
Classic gallery trick: add 0.5–1 in extra mat width to the bottom margin only. This creates visual stability — the eye reads the work as centred even when it is sitting slightly higher in the frame.
Example: 1.5 in top/sides, 2 in bottom. Subtle, but a quiet mark of a professional frame job.
Mat Colour Selection
White / ivory (default): Neutral. Safe. Works universally. Ivory adds warmth without sacrificing a clean, contemporary presentation.
Pulled from the artwork: Echo a colour in the print for cohesion. Do this with restraint — match secondary tones, not the loudest colour in the image.
Deep brown / charcoal: Dramatic. Creates depth and weight. Best for high-contrast or moodier compositions.
Avoid: patterned or novelty mats. The art is the statement; everything else should get out of the way.
Frameless, Edge-to-Edge
No mat. No visible frame edges. Print dimensions = outer dimensions. Often used for posters, postcards, and reproductions you are willing to trim. We have seen this done successfully with a Rebel print.
A mat, however, offers breathing room and prevents direct contact with glazing. It reduces humidity damage and aligns with museum presentation standards.
Advanced Mounting Techniques
Once the basics are in place, depth and presentation become part of the composition.
Shadowbox Floating
Suspends the print above the mat using foam-core spacers, creating a shallow shadow around the paper. The edges remain visible — ideal when deckled or hand-torn borders contribute to the work.
This requires a deeper frame (1–2 in in depth). Professional framers use archival mounting corners or hinges to hold the work without adhesives touching the image area.
Use when the sheet itself is part of the artwork: hand-torn edges, vintage papers, or contemporary works designed to float.
Glass Sandwich (Floating Illusion)
Two sheets of glass with the artwork trapped between them — no physical mat, only a transparent border created by the gap between image and frame.
Useful for small or double-sided pieces (postcards with messages on the back, Japanese woodblock prints, ephemera) or when you want wall colour to show through.
It is heavier, more fragile, and offers no inherent buffer from UV or temperature swings. Always specify UV-filtering glass and accept the increased risk during shipping and handling.
Frame Selection
It should serve the image and the room.
Our Recommendation
- Profile: Thin matte-black or matte-white. Around 1.5–2 in in width. Clean lines. Zero ornamentation. The frame should support the print, not compete with it.
- Material: Solid wood or metal. Avoid hollow aluminium and plastic composites on large works — structural integrity matters at scale.
- Finish quality: Continuous surface. No obvious filler at the mitred corners. For antique frames, check that corners are reinforced and the structure can bear the weight of glass or acrylic.
Preservation Standards
These are minimums, not suggestions, if you want your print to behave like a museum object.
Archival Matting
Acid-free, lignin-free backing boards are non-negotiable. Standard paper mats contain acids that migrate into the print, causing yellowing and brittleness within years.
Archival boards and mats stabilise the environment around the paper and slow chemical degradation to a crawl.
UV-Filtering Glazing
Museum-grade glass or acrylic that blocks 97–99% of UV. Standard glass does essentially nothing in this respect.
UV damage is cumulative and irreversible. Fading begins as soon as the work is exposed to light, even at low levels.
Conservation Mounting
Reversible corner mounts or hinges only. No permanent adhesive, no dry-mount tissue, no spray adhesive.
Prints expand and contract with humidity. If you glue them flat, they will cockle or wrinkle; if you glue them rigidly, they will eventually tear themselves apart.
Structural Integrity
Large-format work (30 in and above) may need cross-braced frames and reinforced backing boards. Hanging hardware should be rated for the actual weight of the piece plus at least 50% safety margin.
Good framers will advise on this. Ask the question explicitly.
Environmental Factors
Where you hang it matters as much as how you frame it.
Humidity & Temperature
Paper expands and contracts with moisture. Repeated cycles cause cockling, warping, and eventual fibre breakdown.
Target conditions:
- Temperature: 65–75°F (18–24°C)
- Relative humidity: 40–50%
Avoid hanging above or in:
- Bathrooms and kitchens
- Radiators, fireplaces, or aircon vents
- Exterior walls
- Basements and attics
For works you intend to keep for decades, interior walls on climate-controlled floors are your safest bet.
Light & Rotation
Light damage is cumulative and irreversible.
Placement:
- Avoid walls that receive direct sunlight.
- North-facing walls are ideal; south-facing are the worst.
- Keep away from track lighting and spotlights aimed directly at the work.
- Turn off display lighting when you are not viewing the piece.
Rotation:
For works you intend to pass down, rotate them off-wall every 6–12 months. Museums do this because even subdued, indirect light accumulates over decades.
Not precious about it? Hang and enjoy. But now you know.
What Not To Do
Shortcuts that are acceptable for posters are fundamentally at odds with limited-edition prints.
Do not skip the frame entirely. Thumbtacks, bulldog clips, and wooden poster hangers are fine for street posters and zines. They are not acceptable for museum-quality giclée prints. Edges will fray, paper will curl, and the image will fade long before its time.
Do not use non-archival materials to save a bit of money. Standard mats, cardboard backing, and regular glass defeat the point of buying an archival print. If budget is tight, it is better to wait and frame it properly later, or frame a smaller size first.
Do not frame without UV protection. "No windows in that room" is not enough. Ambient light and overhead fixtures still contain UV. Over years, the effect is the same: quiet, permanent fading.
Merlin Frame Maker
For buyers in Singapore after you get your Rebel print.
Established in 1942—older than modern Singapore itself—Merlin is one of the island's largest custom frame makers. Three generations of craftsmen have served collectors, galleries, and museums with conservation framing and hand-made frames. We work with the team at their River Valley outlet, but go wherever suits you.
River Valley • Waterloo Centre • Paragon Orchard
We receive no commission. The link measures referral traffic only. Good work deserves recognition. If you made it this far and don't yet have a Rebel print, head to the Shop.
Understanding Relative Humidity
Relative humidity (RH) measures how much moisture is in the air compared to the maximum it can hold at that temperature. It's expressed as a percentage. When it reaches 100% the air is already carrying its full load, and the slightest chill or extra moisture will tip it over into fog or a fine dew. For hanging artwork we care what the RH is where it will hang.
The ideal range for your home — and your artwork — is roughly 40–60% RH, with 45–55% as a sweet spot.
Why it matters for prints: Paper swells and shrinks as humidity drifts, so it prefers a steady middle ground. Sustained humidity much above about 60% increases the risk of mould growth, frame movement, and cockling or buckling in the sheet, while extended periods much below about 40% leave the fibres dry, stiff, and more liable to crack over time.
Common humidity pitfalls:
- Bathrooms and kitchens — steam creates humidity spikes
- Exterior walls — temperature swings can cause condensation
- Basements — too humid; attics swing between extremes
- Near HVAC vents — forced air dries things out too quickly
How to measure it: A hygrometer costs as little as $15–30 and gives you a real-time reading. Many modern thermostats include one. If you see condensation forming on windows or cold pipes, your humidity is likely too high.
Environmental bands adapted from preventive-conservation guidance for paintings and paper collections (Canadian Conservation Institute Notes and ASHRAE museum climate classes).
The 5 Essential Framing Heuristics
These developing mental shortcuts guide our little calculator.
Use them as boundaries, not rules.
- Scale the Mat: Large prints need proportionally wider mats to hold visual weight. A 24 × 24 in work often benefits from 2–3 in mats; a 40 × 40 in print looks balanced at 1.5 in. The calculator scales this automatically.
- Balance Frame & Mat: Target visible mat width at 1.5× frame width for contemporary minimal. A 3 cm frame pairs with a 4.5 cm mat. The calculator treats 1:1 as the absolute floor—anything narrower looks frame-heavy.
- Climate Controls Width: High-humidity rooms need wider mats. Extra mat border creates a larger moisture buffer between glazing and print. The calculator adds margin when RH moves outside the safe 40–60% band.
- Match the Style: Contemporary framing runs lean: 1–1.5 in mats, thin profiles. Traditional runs generous: 2–3 in mats, heavier frames. Select your style preference and the calculator adjusts proportions accordingly.
- Square works exaggerate imbalance: Square works expose proportion errors that rectangles hide. A 0.25 in difference between top and side mats is invisible on a landscape print—on a square, it's obvious. The calculator keeps square margins symmetrical unless you add a bottom weight.
By nature and experience, we are not obsessed with theories. We curate from many sources to produce something useful; then evolve it with use.