Making and Breaking the Grid, Third Edition

BREAKINGthe Grid

Using a grid structure to organize text and imagery in visual communication is part of the status quo of designing. It’s a convention and, like all conventions, it is suitable for achieving particular goals. Designers must always remember that their purpose is to create the clearest and most compelling experiences for their audiences.

And so, using a grid may not offer the best solution toward that end; assuming that one should be imposed may, in fact, compromise the information’s integrity. “Clarity” can mean different things in different contexts: Sometimes content has its own internal structure that must be upheld to be understood; sometimes content must ignore structure altogether to create specific kinds of emotional reaction, ...