- I like grids, they don't scare me.
Some designers fear the grid as a controlling
and awful tool that forces them into submission.
Those people are wrong.
The grid is your friend, there to keep you
on the right road, with visible guardrails and a clear map.
Even if you have grid fear,
set aside any preconceived notions for a bit,
a grid is not a prison that will lead
to a flat and rigid design.
The grid is an underlying structure
that maintains a sense of unity.
It allows you to have more freedom.
You have the keys and can modify the grid at any time.
If all the elements fly everywhere
and nothing is consistent,
the viewer will be confused and probably frustrated.
The grid brings order to chaos.
Since printed brochures and booklets
are many sizes and formats, several approaches to a grid
will work with your project.
The common aspect is that a brochure or booklet
has limited space to convey a message,
unlike a book or thick publication.
You can solve this challenge
with a more straightforward grid.
One or two columns with minimal hanging lines works well.
A grid with too many columns or too complex
will create that messy and chaotic effect
that you're trying to avoid.
Let's start with the format of a booklet
with an accordion fold of several panels.
Each panel will function as a page,
but the flyer needs to work as a whole when opened.
I design a grid that avoids running text across a fold.
It may be one column per panel,
give ample room with the gutters
to accommodate the optical presence of the fold.
I add hang lines that can help me organize content,
such as headlines, images, or body copy.
By maintaining a standard placement
of specific types of information,
the viewer can quickly find the correct content.
I then work with the typography,
creating consistent headlines, subheads,
and textiles that relate to each other.
Adding the content, I may need to modify
the grid or topography to work as one long piece
or on the cover alone.
Suppose the brochure is in a different format,
such as a booklet with individual pages.
In that case, the same rules apply
to allocating real estate for specific content
and maintaining a more straightforward grid structure.
But now, a more complex grid is helpful.
One additional item to pay attention to is line length.
A good rule is not to 52 characters or two alphabets.
Otherwise, the viewer gives up 2/3 across the text.
Once you place all the content on the page,
it's okay to change the grid.
It's your grid, your world, you are in charge.
If you need more columns, add them.
If the images need to be larger, increase the area for them.
Think of the grid not as a rigid, steel structure,
but as a set of building blocks
you can move and build into something magnificent.