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October 18, 2010
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:iconnokari:
A brief visual introduction to grids for graphic designers and typographers.
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:iconpianof:
~pianof Apr 15, 2012
Sorry if the question is kind of dumb, but how do you usually go about making grids?

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orz
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:iconnokari:
`nokari Apr 15, 2012  Professional Interface Designer
My examples were made using Adobe InDesign because that's what I normally use, but you can do it any way you want, be it with software or drawn by hand. You can use grid paper, a ruler and pencil, draw lines with a line tool in your software, or preferably use whatever grid functions your software has. Most word processors have some form of grid options.
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:iconpianof:
~pianof Apr 18, 2012
nnn not so much the technical side of how does one make a grid in program x, but more how does one decide upon dimensions/gutters/margins in the first place?

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orz
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:iconnokari:
`nokari Apr 18, 2012  Professional Interface Designer
It's up to you. You can be daring and go all the way to the edge on something, you can use the Golden Rule to pick out geometric lines, or you can be modest and use a simple layout based on the ratios of the paper's sides. There just has to be a reason for what you choose. I would suggest looking at a bunch of different books and measuring margins and gutters to gain a reference. You may see some books where the text looks good and others that don't. Take note of the ones that don't look good and think about why it doesn't look good.
As for the size of a page, that depends on the content and how you want to present it. The ideal line lengths for text are between 35-75 characters (an average of 65 is ideal) and you need to decide for yourself how you want to layout the text on the page. 1-3 sentences can be put in wide or short paragraphs, but any more than that and the text gets harder to read. Long lines make it harder to find your place when you jump from one side of the page to the other and short lines make your eyes jump around too much.
Text can also be more pleasing to the eye when it's asymmetrical on the page. You could choose a 4-column layout and put text on each page in only 1 column on the side of the page. If the columns are slim, you could put your body text across 2 columns, leave the next column blank, and put small quotes in the remaining column. You can see examples of this in the guide. The point is that it's up to you to decide how you want to present your information and that you use a grid to maintain consistency. You can break the grid (go outside the lines), but there has to be a reason for it and it must be consistent, otherwise it will look out of place or as a mistake.

Here is some more advanced information on choosing grids: [link]

The point of a grid is that it's a guide you make for yourself. There's no magic answer for what works best. It's simply a matter of does it have harmony and does it provide consistent structure.
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:iconpianof:
~pianof Apr 22, 2012
Cool. Thanks so much! /goes to read

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orz
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:iconeyestrain:
~Eyestrain Feb 2, 2012
Very helpful, thank you very much. My classes don't teach graphic design, though we are expected to use it in assignments. Guides like these are very helpful!

If you don't mind me asking, is there also a rule of thumb for changing the type of grid from page to page? Is it considered more appropriate to keep the same grid for a number of pages before changing it up? What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks,
eye

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It's all gonna be alright.
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`nokari Feb 2, 2012  Professional Interface Designer
Keep the same grid throughout. The idea is to make one with enough guides to allow variations from page to page, but the overall grid should be the same.
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:iconeyestrain:
~Eyestrain Feb 3, 2012
I see, thank you.

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It's all gonna be alright.
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:iconeightieth:
~EIGHTIETH Dec 28, 2011  Hobbyist General Artist
Thank-you so much! I've never actually used a grid before. :)

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NOT USED.
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:iconmatapollos:
Mood: Love ~MATAPOLLOS Dec 11, 2011  Hobbyist General Artist
yeah man, dunno if you'd read it but i found it really interesting! even though it's not something i would use dialy cos i'm not used to do this kind of stuff... really really interesting! cheers!

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ART is what makes everyone unique...
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