Introduction
The grid system gives unity to your layouts. The grid is invisible when printed but is made visible while designing the layout. It allows objects to have some association with each other e.g. bodycopy is set in columns of equal width and alignment so they all have the same emphasis.
Most modern design software applications support grids. If they don't, chances are you can improvise a grid by dragging guides from rulers.
How it enables unity?
The grid lines are used to position elements on the page e.g. a 3 column grid for a magazine advert which positions columns of text. The header & footer guides provide a reference that is carried through to the other pages of the magazine. The gird helps alignment.
Aligning elements on a page and across pages enable consistency and unity. The grid system used across all areas of design; from business card design to packaging, from web sites to broadcast graphics.
Flow and the Gutenberg diagram
The direction that a reader's eye follow across a design is known as the "flow'. Edmond Arnold, a US typographer, described the most common eye flow (see diagram, shown by the arrow) as the "Axis of Orientation".
Learning Activity
Find two layouts. One that doesn't appear to follow a grid and anothe that does. Explain why I think they have/have not used grid.
No Grid
This advertisement doesn't see to represent a typical page layout, although it hasn't abandoned structure altogether. It still looks well balanced.
Grid layouts are often broken but rarely abandoned completely. The layout above still utilizes vertical structure even though you are drawn towards the centered image.
Grid
A basic grid vertical layout looks like the design for this advertised page. The 'rule of thirds' to be precise. The rile of thirds is one of the man rules in composition. The page is divided into thirds with two imaginary lines vertically and two lines horizontally marking three columns, three rows, and nine sections. Important compositional elements and leading lines are placed on or near the imaginary lines and where lines intersect. The "8 weird school rules around the world" reflect this well.
Grids are used in two ways in print advertising, as a unit to sell advertising space and as a unit of design measure. Ad designers often develop a grid structure for text and graphics. Advertisements with many small images use a grid so that everything appears organized and easy to follow. A grid may also be used to keep text in proportion to images.
The vertical grid is also used to determine space.
Developing a grid for publication can be done in just a few minutes using built-in software tools. Programs like Adobe InDesign allow you to create a grid template that can be used for many projects. When setting up the grid, remember to set a margin that corresponds to the space needed for printing.
Grid 1
Here is an example of The Rule of Thirds, once again. This time I have ruled lines in order for you to clearly see the consistency used. You can see the three vertical grids used as the guides.
Vertical grids can help you determine type sizes and scale for your layout.
Grid 2
This design follows the vertical column grid layout and utilizes the horizontal columns to produce a distinct 4-column layout.
"Grids are a method of creating organization in design and have been used by print publications for hundreds of years. A consistent grid can help a publication develop its visual identity, regardless of who puts together the actual design" (Design Shack, 2014).
References
Design Shack, 2014. Utilizing Grids in Print Design. Accessed 6th June 2014 from http://designshack.net/articles/layouts/utilizing-grids-in-print-design
Summary
This lesson introduced the grid and how it can be used to payout a page for print. It also introduced "flow" and described the Gutenburg diagram which is used to describe the natural flow for a user reading a page.
At this early design stage, decisions are made in relation to weight and position of lines and shapes, headlines and text, graphics and textures.
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