Fractal Grid

The Fractal Grid is a square grid that refines itself. Far from the centre the cells are large; closer in, each cell splits into four, and those split again, down to six levels, so the floor reads as a zoom into ever finer detail. Deeper cells take on the accent colour and their lines get thinner and dimmer, so you can see the levels at a glance.

How it works

Each cell asks a single question: is it close enough to the centre to split? The radius in which cells split halves at every level, which is what makes the result self-similar rather than one blurred patch of detail. A little randomness per cell can make the boundary of each level wobble, so the refinement edge looks organic rather than ruled.

Settings

• Depth is the maximum number of subdivision levels, from 1 to 6.
• Split Radius sets how far from the centre cells start dividing.
• Split Jitter makes that boundary irregular.
• Cell Size is the size of the largest cells.
• Cell Mode lights the smallest cells: Twinkle, Wave, Ripple or Alternate.

Use it for

Data and analytics visuals, zoom and detail metaphors (resolution, precision, scale), tech product floors and mathematical backgrounds. Compare the Apollonian Grid, where the self-similar detail is circles instead of squares.