Creative chaos can be a good thing.
And sometimes it can yield amazing results.
It's true that grids are necessary and useful for most of our projects.
But for special occasions, ignoring your grid a little or
a lot and allowing some disorder to reign can be exhilarating and
liberating, and it can make your projects more exciting.
There's no grid to be seen here.
The bright colors and overlapping letter forms the bouncing baseline along with
a bouncing ball, all combine to convey the fun message at a glance.
For this layout the usual conventions of orientation hae been whisked away.
Pun intended.
And, again the typographic layout breaks all the rules,
as it perfectly conveys the activity of one of my favorite kitchen tools.
Just a reminder, if you are breaking the rules, you should have a good reason.
And, in this case, it's a great reason.
Here's a delightful example of totally random alignment in stacking-up type on
this feature opener.
I especially love the use of several arrows to
direct the reader's gaze through this unorthodox arrangement of text.
This unexpected approach works beautifully in tandem with
the arm reaching across the space pressing into the wall.
The mixed weights and widths of text adds to the visual excitement in this layout.
Don't try looking for a grid here because there isn't one.
Instead the image dictates the placement of the text.
Notice that in some places, the image overlaps the text or
other visual elements and in some cases the text overlaps the image.
This technique adds a feeling of dimensionality and activity overall.
The same principle is at work here.
The infographic illustration is central and the text has to work around it.
So the illustration dominates and the text blocks must follow.
These last two examples offer another good reason to depart from a grid structure,
to work around an image.
This cover violates the grid and goes against conventional wisdom
by separating the words in the book's title The Art of Doing, with giant spaces.
True, there are dotted lines and arrows to connect the words.
And, our eyes also connect, because of their dominate size and color.
The misaligned scattering of talk balloons draws readers in.
There is no grid.
It was a deliberate choice, because the design echoes the irreverent and
unconventional content.
So take some chances.
Let go of the grid if the time and the project seem to be right.
You can always go back to a grid system if you need to.
You don't have anything to lose by taking a flyer and breaking the rules.
I promise that once you experience the freedom of violating the grid,
it will become a regular part of your design repertoire.