Design grid

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The design grid (in practice often the design grid ), also called the typographical grid , grid system or in English also called grid , is an order system in visual communication that, as an auxiliary construction, facilitates the organization of graphic elements on a surface or in a room. Design tasks in which the grid is used are mostly of a typographical nature - we then speak of grid typography .

Function and use

A design grid is used for visual problem solving of various tasks. It is intended to ensure a cohesion in planning with transparency and clarity in a design order, which promotes the recording of content. Not only can it be read faster and more easily, but information can also be better understood. The goal is a systematic, logical structure of text and image material, which enables rhythmic, choreographically exciting and functional compositions.

Reasons for using a grid can be economical, as the less time required to cope with a design task results in lower costs. If the use of the grid is rationally justified, the uniform style may speak for it, in which both simple and complex tasks can be solved. A philosophical motivation for using the grid can be the orderly visualization of content if it is intended to contribute to the cultural situation of society as an expression of the intellectual attitude as a social or educational contribution.

construction

Example of a design grid

In the first step of the grid typography, a format is determined as a template, usually a paper format . Assuming that is set mirror determines whose area is divided mostly the same size into smaller fields. These fields are separated from each other by a space, the bar, so that text fields or images do not touch. The vertical spacing usually corresponds to one or more times the line spacing. The horizontal distance mostly follows the same rules. If elements such as typography, photography or illustration now relate to the grid, they can be placed in an orderly manner. Their sizes correspond to a grid field or its multiple, since the grid acts as a constant unit.

These basics of raster creation, based on complex arithmetical specifications, were promoted by the Swiss typographer Josef Müller-Brockmann , among others . Its strictly defined procedure for creating a grid is now considered to be a basic knowledge for every graphic designer. B. in editorial design, the grid is not strictly adhered to or not strictly defined at all. A baseline grid based on the defined continuous text font is often sufficient . Especially in web design, a simple division into columns can be determined.

history

As early as the Middle Ages, simple grids were drawn on a page of manuscripts before writing in order to obtain a uniform division of the pages of a book. Also in the area of ​​the non-Latin alphabet, the Maya codices (approx. 700–900 AD) show a regular division using recognizable auxiliary lines, which are supposed to make reading easier. The graphic work with grids comes from the constructive art from Holland and Russia at the beginning of the 20th century and from the concrete-geometric art of the Zurich School of the 1930s. After a few forerunners of systematic design by representatives such as El Lissitzky , Max Bill brought the breakthrough to the real grid system in 1939 with his design of the third volume of Le Corbusier's “Œuvre Complète” . In the 1940s, the typographic grid was established with the Swiss artist-graphic artists Max Bill, Richard Paul Lohse and others. Classic examples can be found above all in book design and editorial design . In addition, grids are also used today in related disciplines of graphic design, such as the design of websites , application software , on-air design , but also in three-dimensional communication such as exhibition , event and trade fair design .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Müller-Brockmann, Josef: Grid systems for visual design . Publishing house Niggli AG, Sulgen / Zurich 1996
  2. ↑ Maxbauer, Andreas and Regina: Praxishandbuch Gestaltungsraster - Order is half of reading . Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz, 2003
  3. ↑ Pohlen, Joep: Letter Fountain . Taschen-Verlag, Cologne 2011
  4. ^ Federico Fahsen, Daniel Matul: Los Códices de Dresde, París y Grolier . Liga Maya Guatemala, Guatemala City 2007
  5. ^ Graß, Tino: Schriftgestalten - About writing and design . Publishing house Niggli AG, Sulgen / Zurich 2008