Graphic Design Portfolio-Builder: Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator Projects

Using the Grid

The idea of using a grid when designing a cover or spread might sound a little limiting to a creative type, but it isn't at all since you, the designer, will set up the grid before you begin applying elements to it. Furthermore, a grid is not an ironclad set of rules; it's a structural tool that opens up many possibilities.

Before you construct a grid, you must take stock of your content. You'll most likely get text and images from other departments at the magazine along with some other rules such as the amount of ad space to be allotted. From here you can sketch out your plans for the text and images, and begin to turn this into your grid framework.

To learn how text and images interact in a layout, we'll explore a design for ...