Harmony · Front view · Facial Thirds
Middle Third
The vertical space from the brow level to the bottom of the nose, relative to the full face.
What is measured
The calculation
Brow-to-nose-bottom height ÷ hairline-to-chin height × 100
Front view / Measurement guide
Follow the measurement
Select a label to focus on its line. Select again to show all measurements.
Why it matters
This region connects the eye area to the mouth and contains much of the visible nose height. Reading it alongside the other thirds helps explain whether the face looks vertically compact or elongated.
- Lower: less of the face lies between brow and nose.
- Higher: more of the face lies between brow and nose.
Where the idea comes from
Classical proportion
Facial thirds grew out of artistic proportion canons and later anthropometry: the measurement of human form. Farkas and colleagues tested those rules in 1985. FaceIQ uses photographed brow landmarks to divide the face. [1]
A worked example
A 57-unit middle third within a 180-unit face gives 31.7%. A 63-unit span within the same full height gives 35%.
Example values explain the calculation. They are not a target range and are not measurements of the schematic above.
Research & further reading
The sources below explain the history or related evidence. FaceIQ’s score weights and reference ranges are model settings; these papers do not collectively validate the scoring system.
[1] Farkas et al. · 1985
Vertical and horizontal proportions of the face: revision of neoclassical canonsTested nine traditional proportion rules against measured faces. Useful history for facial thirds and width comparisons; classical rules are not universal targets.