In this session we were explained what is The Grid and for what it is used. We were ask to collect pages from magazines to lay pages beneath a sheet of layout paper and to try to suggest what the original design grid might have been. We had to draw in the grid lines and to take as many measurements as we think might have been relevant to the designer who used it as a basis for the page layout. Our second task was to visualise our own version of a grid using CS6 InDesign.
THE GRID:
...a structure comprising a series of horizontal and vertical lines, used to arrange content.
"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 his personal style. But one must learn how to use the grid; it is an art that requires practice. ”Josef Müller-Brockmann
Grids enable you to build solid structure and form into your design. In its most basic terms, a grid system is a structure comprising a series of horizontal and vertical lines which intersect and are then used to arrange content. In even more basic terms (which make it easier to understand!) a grid system is a way of providing a system that designers can work with to structure and present content and imagery in a much more readable, manageable way. Тhе grid system providес a solid base that to grow a design from.
Two kinds of nonprinting grids are available: a baseline grid for aligning columns of text, and a document grid for aligning objects. On the screen, a baseline grid resembles ruled notebook paper, and a document grid resembles graph paper.
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| Baseline Grid and Document Grid |
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| An example grid, the Gerstner , on the Gridset app website. |
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| CAPITAL magazine, with its Complex Grid designed by |
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''Complex grid'' designed by Karl Gerstner for Capital Magazine |
How to make ''Complex Grid'' :
http://whatype.com/texts/the-complex-grid/''Complex Grid'' tutorial
There are different types of Grid:Golden section:
No book about typography would be complete without a discussion of the golden section, a ratio (relationship between two numbers) that has been used in Western art and architecture for more than two thousand years. The formula for the golden section is a : b = b : (a+b). This means that the smaller of two elements (such as the shorter side of a rectangle) relates to the larger element in the same way that the larger element relates to the two parts combined. In other words, side a is to side b as side b is to the sum of both sides. Expressed numerically, the ratio for the golden section is 1 : 1.618.
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| Golden Section |
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| Golden section |
Single-Column Grid:
The simplest grid consists of a single column of text surounded by margins. By asking for page dimensions and margin widths from the outset, layout programs encourage you to design your page from the outside in. (The text column is the space left over when the margins have been subtracted.) Alternatively, you can design your page from the inside out, by setting your margins to zero and then positioning guidelines and text boxes on a blank page. This allows you to experiment with the margins and columns rather than making a commitment as soon as you open a new document.
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| single-column grid |
Books and magazines should be designed as spreads (facing pages). The two-page spread, rather than the individual page, is the main unit of design. Left and right margins become inside and outside margins. Page layout programs assume that the inside margins are the same on both the left- and right-hand pages, yielding a symmetrical, mirror-image spread.
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| double spread page |
Multicolumn Grid:
While single-column grids work well for simple documents, multicolumn grids provide flexible formats for publications that have a complex hierarchy or that integrate text and illustrations. The more columns you create, the more flexible your grid becomes. You can use the grid to articulate the hierarchy of the publication by creating zones for different kinds of content. A text or image can occupy a single column or it can span several. Not all the space has to be filled.
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| multicolumn grid |
Designing with a ''Hang line'' :
In addition to creating vertical zones with the columns of the grid, you can also divide the page horizontally. For example, an area across the top can be reserved for images and captions, and body text can “hang” from a common line. Graphic designers call this a hang line. In architecture, a horizontal reference point like this is known as a datum.
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| Hang line designing |
Modular Grid:
A modular grid has consistent horizontal divisions from top to bottom in addition to vertical divisions from left to right. These modules govern the placement and cropping of pictures as well as text.
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| modular grid |
