Best Practices for Graphic Designers, Grids and Page Layouts

182 Best Practices for Graphic Designers: Grids and Page Layouts

Optical composition is another way that a layout may

be developed without the use of a grid. This method is

similar to painting or collage in its reliance on intuitive

placement of objects to form relationships within the

content. Contrasts and connections are made based

only on the judgment of the designer in response to the

way the format appears either as a stand-alone item or

how it relates to other areas of the page, package, or

book. While there are clearly no rules about how optical

organization is executed, it generally starts by loosely

connecting items and ideas and roughly positioning

them. Once a basic outline has been decided, content

can be broken down, or moved around—refining these

relationships until they reach a place where the designer

is happy with their visual impact and their ability to

meet the objectives of the piece. Much the same way a

painter might start with a loose sketch before beginning

to paint, these rough placements can quickly be done

and undone while working from the whole to the part.

Since there may not be a system for codifying and

classifying content, working from the whole to the part

helps to ensure that everything fits and that other layout

considerations such as rhythm and flow and hierarchy

are met. The result of this type of design can be very

inviting—its purpose being to create a layout where

the visual interaction of elements is the most important

thing—and can establish in the viewer an appreciation

for the strong ties between content around which the

layout is built.

BREAKING THE RULES

OPTICAL COMPOSITION

OPPOSITE: This postcard series

was created to build awareness of a

women’s fashion brand. It crops and

repeats sections of the photography

of the models against backdrops of

international cities to create a look

both immediate and in progress.

The backs integrate the text and

imagery with the actual form of the

postcard. Building these layouts

optically ensures that unique images

have layouts built around them, and

that they can feel consistent and

part of a series even though the only

consistently positioned elements are

the stamp area and the address lines

(which are impacted uniquely by the

other content on each back).

FIRM Umbrella Design

CLIENT Chemistry

Breaking the Rules: Optical Composition 183