# Whats the design called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433 "2009-06-21T00:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/1 "2009-06-21T00:56:30Z")
What is the design/artistic technque called for when you make a circle out of a bunch of lines, each at a slightly different angle? No pic caus i googled everything i cold think of and didn’t find it. Time is a factor so hurriedness is helpful! ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/2 "2009-06-21T01:01:51Z")
[Spirograph.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirograph) ---
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/3 "2009-06-21T01:15:40Z")
The spirograph is close but not what im looking for. Thanks anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/4 "2009-06-21T01:17:38Z")
This is a long shot but . . . crosshatching? ---
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/5 "2009-06-21T01:25:21Z")
Thats a little farther away from what I see from google image search but thanks anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/6 "2009-06-21T01:27:41Z")
You’re going to have to be much more precise in your description. Are you talking about something where the lines are radii coming out from the center of the circle? Are the lines paralllel and covering the circle? Do the lines meet on the circumference of the circle? What are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/7 "2009-06-21T01:30:31Z")
The lines make up the circumfrence of the circle is the best description of that I can give. They’re all the same length or can be different I guess, it doesn’t matter about the length. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/8 "2009-06-21T01:49:39Z")
That would be a Polygon. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/9 "2009-06-21T01:50:06Z")
Are you talking about a polygon with a large number of sides? Here’s one with 20 sides: > **[Icosagon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icosagon)** > > In geometry, an icosagon or 20-gon is a twenty-sided polygon. The sum of any icosagon's interior angles is 3240 degrees. > The regular icosagon has Schläfli symbol {20}, and can also be constructed as a truncated decagon, t{10}, or a twice-truncated pentagon, tt{5}. > One interior angle in a regular icosagon is 162°, meaning that one exterior angle would be 18°. ---
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/10 "2009-06-21T01:58:34Z")
It’s almost like that, the lines carry on past where they make up part of the circle if that makes sense, I’ll try to get a picture. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/11 "2009-06-21T02:01:11Z")
> [@Wisthekiller](#): > > It’s almost like that, the lines carry on past where they make up part of the circle if that makes sense, I’ll try to get a picture. Ohhhhhh . . . I know what you’re talking about now! I can’t remember the name of them, though. Sorry :o. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/12 "2009-06-21T02:02:16Z")
I think he’s describing a circle defined by the tangents of a number of lines, although I don’t know if it has a name. ---
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/13 "2009-06-21T02:03:48Z")
I have no idea what youre saying Dewey. Use simpler words if you can. Cant get picture, I lost it somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/14 "2009-06-21T02:49:06Z")
It’s using the property that the more sides a polygon has, the closer it becomes to resembling a circle. Therefore if you take a number of straight lines and arrange them properly they seem to form an arc. Draw straight lines to connect 1 to 10, 2 to 9, 3 to 8 and so on till 10 to 1. (They should be equally spaced for best effect.) That will complete one quarter of a circle. The more numbers you use the better the approximation of the circle will be. Put four quadrants together to make a whole circle. Does this have a name? Beats me. \_\_\_\_\_1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ---
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/15 "2009-06-21T02:53:20Z")
Ya! It’s exactly what Exapno said! I just need the NAME!!! ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/16 "2009-06-21T02:57:30Z")
Are you sure this type of design has a name? ---
**Author:** ![Wisthekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wisthekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisthekiller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/17 "2009-06-21T03:10:04Z")
It did to my art teacher, I’m too stoopid to rmrmber it though. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/18 "2009-06-21T03:51:46Z")
I saw the name for what I think you’re talking about yesterday … and then I forgot about it. Begins with the letter “C”, though: it describes the swirls found on European currency. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/19 "2009-06-21T03:55:14Z")
Isn’t that a parabolic curve? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433/20 "2009-06-21T05:39:08Z")
> [@Wisthekiller](#): > > It’s almost like that, the lines carry on past where they make up part of the circle if that makes sense, I’ll try to get a picture. So, one of [these](http://www.metacafe.com/watch/972422/straight_lines_draw_a_perfect_circle/) things? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-design-called/500433.md?page=2)