OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context
Research: Grid Systems
What is a Grid?
A grid subdivides a page vertically and horizontally into margins, columns, inter-column spaces, lines of type, and spaces between blocks of type and images. These subdivisions form the basis of a modular and systematic approach to the layout, particularly for multipage documents, making the design process quicker, and ensuring visual consistency between related pages.
At its most basic, the sizes of a grid’s component parts are determined by ease of reading and handling. From the sizes of type to the overall page or sheet size, decision-making is derived from physiology and the psychology of perception as much as by aesthetics. Type sizes are generally determined by hierarchy—captions smaller than body text and so on—column widths by optimum word counts of eight to ten words to the line, and overall layout by the need to group related items. This all sounds rather formulaic, and easy. But designers whose grids produce dynamic or very subtle results take these rules as a starting point only, developing flexible structures in which their sensibility can flourish.
The Grid & Swiss Design:
Early modernists had explored layout, space, and scale. They had talked of the democratizing benefits of mass production, and had used the language of science as much as art. They had argued for consistency and minimalism as a mark of design confidence and greater accessibility. During WWII, and in the decades that followed, these ideas coalesced into a coherent design manifesto with a new design device at its core—the grid.
The grid and Swiss typography are synonymous. Switzerland was neutral during the war. Not only did it attract many intellectual refugees, including designers like Jan Tschichold, but also most peacetime activities continued as normal, and supplies of such things as ink and paper weren’t rationed. Added to this, publications had to be set in its three official languages—French, German, and Italian—which called for a modular approach, using multiple column structures.
Several Swiss artist/designers, most notably Max Bill and Richard Paul Lohse, explored systematic forms in their paintings concurrently with graphic design, while the graphic designers Emil Ruder and Josef Müller-Brockmann both wrote educative texts explaining what grids were and how to use them. They approached the subject with great rigor, arguing passionately that "integral design" required structures that would unite all the elements in both 2-D and 3-D design: type, pictures, diagrams, and space itself. Despite their enthusiasm for order and precision, they both understood the value of artistic intuition.
Grid Analysis:
I looked at Jan Tschichold's canon to gain a deeper insight to grid systems in practise. This format supposedly achieves a 'perfect page layout' which helped me to further understand the function of the golden ratio and Fibonacci sequence within page layout. I found that whatever the page size there will always be a 9x9 grid with text boxes 1/9th from the top and inside and 2/9's from the outside and bottom which relates back to my research on the golden ratio*. Tschichold argues that the page ratio is best a 2:3 as he claims this is within the golden ratio and Fibonacci Sequence and creates a text boxes that are proportional and harmonious to the rest of the page.
I am personally not a fan of grid systems as I find them restrictive and that they can take the excitement out of designing. I do however recognise the importance of grids within editorial design to create continuity between the pages ensuring a professional aesthetic. This research has further informed my understanding of grid systems which will help me to develop my publication and create a successful resolution.
This zine I found online was a great resource that helped to to understand more about grid systems in an informal tone that wasn't too heavy like most of the academic texts I read as part of my research:
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