Working with grids are an inherent part of the craft of designing. FUNCTIONS OF A GRID

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Working with grids are an inherent part of the craft of designing. FUNCTIONS OF A GRID"

Blanche Matthews
6 years ago
Views:

1 GRID SYSTEMS

2 Working with grids are an inherent part of the craft of designing. FUNCTIONS OF A GRID Achieves unity amongst all of pieces of a design. Introduces systemic order to a space before anything is placed in it. Helps distinguish specific types of information and eases a user s navigation through them. Allows multiple individuals to collaborate on the same project or a series of related projects. Permits designers to lay out massive amounts of information (such as in a book or series of magazines) in substantially less amount of time.

3 GRID ANATOMY

4 MARGINS The negative spaces between the spatial edge and the content. Help establish the overall tension within the composition Can be used to focus attention A resting place for the eye May act as an area for subordinate information

5 Flowlines Alignments that break the space into horizontal bands Help guide the eye across the page Can be used to impose additional stopping and starting points for text and/or images.

6 Columns Vertical alignments of type that create horizontal divisions between the margins. Can be any number of margins Designers may arrange columns at the same width, or set them at different widths, corresponding to specific kinds of information.

7 Gutters Areas of space between columns. A designer can increase or decrease gutter size, depending on multiple graphic and typographic considerations.

8 Modules Individual units of space separated by repeating columns and rows.

9 Spatial Zones Groups of modules that form distinct fields of space Designers can arrange one or multiple spatial zones on a format. Each field can be assigned a specific role for displaying information. For example, one spatial zone can be reserved for images, and another might be reserved for a series of text columns.

10 A well-planned grid creates endless opportunities for exploration Every design problem is different and requires a grid structure that satisfies its challenges and issues. A designer must not be intimidated to employ a grid system, nor must they be afraid to test its limits. There are several basic kinds of grid, in which each is suited to solve certain kinds of problems

11 GRID TYPES

12 MANUSCRIPT GRID (a.k.a block grid) Developed from the tradition of the written manuscript that eventually led to book printing. The base structure of a manuscript grid is a rectangular text area that takes up most of the page. Accommodates extensive continuous text, such as a book or long essay. Considerations to make: Creating visual interest by adjusting proportions of the margins Size of text type Leading Word spacing Treatment of subordinate elements on page Typographic color and emphasis Alignment

COLUMN GRID Arrangement of multiple vertical columns Beneficial for information that is discontinuous. Work best for editorial projects or other series-based material where the content changes often.

14 COLUMN GRID Arrangement of multiple vertical columns Beneficial for information that is discontinuous. Work best for editorial projects or other series-based material where the content changes often. A very flexible arrangement. Columns can be: Dependent on each other for running text Independent for small blocks of text Crossed over to make wider columns Width of columns depend on the size of the running text type. Larger type in narrow columns can lead to excessive hyphenation and an indecisive rag. A designer must study the effects of changing type attributes in order to achieve optimal column width.

When modules are grouped together, they form spatial zones that can be used to define roles for

16 MODULAR GRID Essentially, this is a column grid with a large number of horizontal flowines that subdivide columns into rows, creating a matrix of cells called modules. When modules are grouped together, they form spatial zones that can be used to define roles for anything placed within them. Most useful choice for extremely complex projects that require precise control, such as tables and forms.

HIERARCHIAL GRID Abnormal grid structures that do not fit into any category. An almost organic approach to ordering elements and information.

21 HIERARCHIAL GRID Abnormal grid structures that do not fit into any category. An almost organic approach to ordering elements and information. Built to conform to the needs of the information that they organize. Based on more intuitive arrangements that are customized to the proportions of the design elements. Column widths tend to vary Commonly used to unify disparate elements on web pages, the sides of packaging, and posters Designers must pay careful attention to the nuances of weight change, size change, and position when working within the hierarchial grid.

Grid. Skeletal framework to organize information making it clear and optimally accessible

Grid. Skeletal framework to organize information making it clear and optimally accessible Grid Skeletal framework to organize information making it clear and optimally accessible Space When typographic elements introduced in space > divisions Letterform: centered=motionless; off-center > velocity;