Universal windows grid patterns series#

That methodology continues to the present day, as the majority of printed books and magazines prove. Villard De Honnecourt, a 13th-century French artist, merged the grid system with the golden ratio to produce printed page layouts with margins based on fixed ratios. Thanks to its mathematical precision, the grid system is a great example of this kind of layout. The best layout is one which provides no distraction from the content. Some designers feel that the grid limits creativity.While this may be true, it’s important to recognize that many designers employ the grid system regularly because it is so effective at organizing information. That’s not to say that there’s no resistance to using the grid system.

Creating a grid system for the virtual page is a little more complex than for the physical page – browsers handle information differently, and screens vary in size.Happily, however, the principle remains the same. Given that the printed page and the virtual page have much in common,it should come as no surprise that we also use it in web and app design. The grid system was first used to arrange handwriting on paper and then in publishing to organize the layout of printed pages. A GPS accesses these coordinates to help guide us imagine the chaos if there were no grid system for it to latch on to and keep us right on the road! They will always appear in the same place on other maps. Islands, towns, lakes will appear on an exact part of a map, on a set of North-South/East-West coordinates. Every element has its place that we can see instantly and reproduce elsewhere. We use this column-based structure to place text, images, and functions in a consistent way throughout the design. The grid system helps align page elements based on sequenced columns and rows. Users are happy when they see familiar features laid out as they would expect to find them. Grids in interactive design can also help provide a consistent experience across multiple devices with different screen sizes. Low-tech and cheap, this is a great resource for you as a designer – consider it a top-ten tool in your office. It’s a tried and tested technique that first found favor in print layout. One of the easiest ways to achieve an organized design is to apply a grid system. To help us make the most of our work surfaces and create with precision, we designers have a tool that echoes this.

Universal windows grid patterns series#

Many traditional artists still paint their masterpieces over a faint series of intersecting lines. As a concept that deals so fundamentally with the fabric and background of our work as designers, it’s easy to overlook the power of grids and think more about the elements we want to create. Now that we’ve seen some grids at work in the Rule of Thirds article, let’s examine them a little more deeply.