Using Grids for Organizing a Document

Designers commonly use a grid system to help with organization of design. The following are several grids in varying degrees of complexity. There is a rhetoric of grids. Some are more active or, elegant or efficient.

By using grids effectively, designers can create an underlying pattern that makes even complex documents seem organized. To make a difficult page even more organized, designers will often go so far as to outline their spaces or separate them with lines.
three column sample

A simple three column model for a grid-based layout typical of a magazine or newspaper.
The layout is efficient but uninteresting.

 
two column asymmetric layout

A two column asymmetric layout common in magazines, annual reports, brochures, etc.
The layout is more active and interesting than two columns of equal size.

 

Modified, asymmetric, two-column grid spread across two pages .
Commonly used in upscale brochures, annual reports, art history books, etc.

 

Modified, asymmetric, two-column grid adapted to a website.
This is the grid used in the Tech Comm. Site.

 

RULE OF THIRDS: Many designers suggest that the most important points on a page are along the lines dividing a page into thirds. Their intersections are considered the most important points along the lines. You will commonly see this philosophy applied to magazine and book covers.

 
Z READING PATTERN: Europeans are accustomed to reading from left to right. On something large like a cover or a poster, they can be expected to scan in a Z pattern -- across the top of the page, diagonally to the lower left and then across the bottom. Good designers combine the rule of thirds with an understanding of reading patterns to place their most important stuff in the critical spots.