A Grid Notes

A grid
is a pattern of horizontal and vertical axes that intersect at regular intervals.

In typographic design, a grid system is a method of organizing and clarifying text.

A Grid : Text and images organized horizontally and vertically.

Text page : The area on the page in which text occurs.
The text page contains the fields and the gutters that make up the grid.

Margin : The space that distinguishes the text page from the paper around it.

Field : The basic component of any grid.
The height of a field is calculated as a multiple of the text leading. Its width is a multiple of the length of a line of text.
The lower right corner is the weak, a 'passive' corner - things may or may not end there.

On this 9-field grid, there are two horizontal gutters.

The space that separates fields left-to-right.

Folio : The page number.
Folios sit outside the text page, but they relate to the grid vertically or horizontally.

Running head/ foot/ shoulder : In longer documents, a guide for readers to show them where they are in the manuscript.
Like folios, they sit outside the text page, but relate to the grid either vertically or horizontally.

Running head - top of page
Running shoulder - side of page
Running foot - bottom of page

Josef Muller-Brockmann
Armin Hofmann
Hans Neuberg
Richard Lohse
Carlo Vivarelli
Emil Ruder
Willi Kunz

A grid is an organic, integrated response to content.
It expresses both the architecture (structure) and the music (rhythm and voicing) of the page.

Margins : at first, only set up margins for top, left.
Art : testing various sized of art.
Type : Accommodating text.
( 6 horizontal fields become 12 horizontal fields. Vertical gutters are 1.5 ems (12.75 pts.)

Combing text and image
Organic forms and silhouettes - all non-rectilineal shapes - are not bound by the vertical and horizontal axes.
Cross-alignment : leading for captions is based upon some multiple of leading for text to guarantee cross-alignment.

4 lines of captions = 3 lines of text

Different classes of information occupy different fields, express different axes. Layout becomes meaning. Hierarchy becomes physical.

1. Determine story for double page spread.
2. Choose publication dimensions
-Large format : 10 x 12
-Standard Size : 8 x 10.5 (extra spread)
-Digest Size : 5.5 x 8.25 (extra spread)
3. Develop grid system 3,4,5 or 6 colums
4. Integrate images and headlines into grid sketches.