INTRODUCTION - Page One - Two
The foremost purpose of a grid, in graphic design at least, is to establish a set of guidelines for how elements should be positioned within a layout. Not only does an effective grid provide the rhythm for a design, but it also defines the meter.
A grid splits a page vertically and horizontally into margins, columns, inter-column spaces, lines of type, and spaces between blocks of type and images. These sections form the basis of a modular and systematic approach to the layout, particularly for multipage documents, making the design process quicker, and provides a visual consistency between related pages. Sophisticated layout structures offer more flexibility and enhance the visual experience of visitors.
As Swiss graphic designer and teacher, Josef Müller-Brockmann puts it: “The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee.”
It permits a number of possible uses, and each designer can look for a solution appropriate to their own personal style. But one must learn how to use the column grid; it is an art that requires practice.
The rhythm and meter of a layout is an important part of making the content accessible, helping the viewer to understand where to find the next piece of information within the layout. It sets
expectations and defines the rules, timbre and ,in some cases, voice of the design. Think of a grid as providing the road-map along which your viewers travel.
MARBER GRID - Page Three - Four - Five - Six
In 1961, a Polish graphic designer named Romek Marber, conceived a grid layout for Penguin book covers which became one of the most praised and recognised book cover layouts of all time. The grid creates a harmony between the legible type at the top of the page and the main focus point which is the imagery.
By collating the typographic information and the colophon together within the top third of the page, this allowed for over two thirds of the cover to be used by just the illustration, effectively giving the front cover artwork the space needed to capture a browser’s attention and sell the book.
VAN DE GRAAF - Page Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten
The Van de Graaf canon is a historical reconstruction of a method that may have been used in book design to divide a page in pleasing proportions. This canon is known as the "secret canon" used in many medieval manuscripts and incunabula.
This method was discovered by Van de Graaf, and used by Tschichold and other contemporary designers; they speculate that it may be older.
Van de Graaf devised this construction to show how Gutenberg and others may have divided their page to achieve margins of one-ninth and two-ninths and a type area in the same proportions as the page.
The geometrical solution of the construction of Van de Graaf's canon, which works for any page width:height ratio, enables the book designer to position the text body in a specific area of the page. Using the canon, the proportions are maintained while creating pleasing and functional margins.
GOLDEN RATIO - Page Eleven - Twelve
The golden ratio (also known as the golden mean) determines the most pleasing set of proportions for an element, and is simplified to the 'rule of thirds'. When used in combination with a grid, these simple rules for size, position and proportion can help ensure a layout feels both coherent within itself, but also appealing aesthetically.
Why would you want to appeal in these terms? Because by doing so, you're making the content more accessible to the reader. Remember that a grid is the invisible glue behind content - in most cases it should be transparent to the viewer.
Last Page - Thirteen
Grids exist primarily to help determine the position and balance for a layout. This can be used to help ensure that content is presented in an easy-to-understand order, but conversely by providing a firm foundation a grid can also be used to highlight specific areas of content simply by breaking elements outside the grid. The viewer will naturally identify these break-outs and be drawn towards them, giving the designer the opportunity to play with the hierarchy of a layout and tweak the semantic meaning of a piece of work.
The grid is just one tool alongside many basic principles you can use to enhance your layouts. Don't get overly caught up in using a grid rigidly - some of the best designs break all the rules of grid layout and are all the more successful for doing so. Understanding how and when to use or not use a grid can only really come from experience.
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