Friday, 12 May 2017

The Grid and Breaking the Grid

Grids are used within graphic design to set a limit/guide to how elements of a design should be positioned. It gives the design a sense of attachment to the rest of the design. Some designers are even recognised by the types of grids they use, setting their work amongst others, such as Romek Marber. When considering the layout of a grid it is important to give it flow and consistency, although some designers argue against the use of grids. This is to create a piece lacking structure, which may make it more visually interesting and allow the audience to do their own visual investigation to interpret the piece in their own way. Grids are different depending on each design, the format of a design may mean a grid must contain smaller or larger content in order to create the desired impact and let the audience feel comfortable understanding said content.

The golden ratio is an important factor when creating grid systems. The golden ratio determines the most eye pleasing set of proportions for a grid, through the use of ‘thirds’. By combining the rules of the golden ratio with your designs it gives a grid system that feels coherent, but also aesthetically appealing.

4 types of grid:


Manuscript Grid
This is also sometimes referred to as a single column grid, it is the simplest of structures. It consists of a larger rectangle that takes up majority of the space that you are working with. The main use for this type of structure is for a large amount of body text, the system gives the creator the opportunity to still have space for footnotes, bleed information, cut marks etc. The margins determine how this grid appears, and it has become more popular to have a small amount of text and large margins, giving the outcome a sense of negative space.

Column Grid
Column grids are commonly used online as well as in informative newsprint formats, the guides are made up from multiple columns and are put in place to present discontinuous information. This allows a designer to insert place holders for imagery, and continue the information from a previous point. The wider the gutter on the column the less tension on the text, therefore the easier the read for the audience.

The City Talking, Leeds

An example of how the column grid is used can be found throughout the latest publication of ‘The City Talking’, although rather than sticking to its traditional methods of its use; they break the ‘rules’ of the grid. Through overlaying the grid with the imagery they are defying the very means of having column grids in the first place, making the layout stand out. Clarity and modernity within the design is retained through the use of a wide gutter. This use of a classic grid in a modern light shows how a designer can manipulate their more traditional tools of design to their format in order to create a fresh feeling outcome.

Modular Grids
Modular grids work in a similar way to column grids with the added horizontal divisions, rows. The rows and columns intersect each other giving the designer these modular cells to work with. These are used when a design is too complex to simply use a column system. Each of the modules can be used to be assigned to a particular part of information, although they can also be used to align surrounding content to give a sense of structure and a consistent use of negative space. This technique is often used throughout promotional material or products with large amount of content, it allows the designer to keep a sense of regular and consistent style throughout; helping a client preserve their brand identity. Designers have linked the use of this grid to Bauhaus style design, as it celebrates minimalism and order, which are the basis of the logic behind the modular grid design.

Hierarchical Grid
Hierarchical grids are most commonly found in the field of web design. The customisable nature of the design means that it can be changed regularly to create a sense of renewability to the content. The technique often derives from the placement of the content needed for the design, which then is laid in a particular way depending on the contents needs, in order to make it coherent.

Hierarchical Grid Example
This is an example of a hierarchical grid in use, digital spu is a website which releases information about digital pop culture. The content in each of the cells is constantly changing, depending on what stories the website wishes to push to gain more reach. This is a technique used by many websites who adopt this gridding method, in order to get the audience to interpret some stories as more prominent than others.

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OUGD603 - Statement of Intent

I am a graphic designer with a great interest into branding and visual identity, using a mix of modern and traditional styles in a sophisti...