Why are there certain workplace designs that are unsettling? From an evolutionary perspective, humans evolved to notice inconsistencies (“What doesn’t belong here?”) to identify potential dangers. From the sound of a threatening animal to a berry with a funky smell, we were made to consistently input large amounts of stimuli and notice those that didn’t belong.

The golden ratio uses the Fibonacci sequence (a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two that precede it) to explain why certain objects look so pleasing to the human eye. Also called the golden mean or golden number, the golden ratio consistently appears in nature — as many classic design principals do — such as in a blossoming flower, a swirl of a shell, and the proportions of the human body.

After over a decade of practicing corporate law in variety of settings, I’ve seen how important our office surroundings can be to our mental and emotional well-being. Whether working from home or in an outside workspace, many of us spend the majority of our days “in the office.” When that environment doesn’t reflect the core of who we are, we can feel drained, unmotivated, and restless.