The present invention is an implantable electrode array (10) having electrodes with variable pitch and variable size. Electrode arrays of the prior art provide electrodes with a common spacing and size. However,this is not how the human body is arranged. As an example, the retina has closely spaced retinal receptors near the fovea. Those receptors are spaced farther apart, farther away from the fovea. Further, the amount of electrical current required to stimulate the perception of light increases with distance from the fovea. Hence, larger electrodes (16) are required to transfer the necessary current farther away from the fovea.