Many of the pages you see every day have grids. You may not notice it, but it does exist, and it supports the design content, builds the overall architecture, and guides the elements of the page.
Grids are invisible architectures that guide the placement of various elements on your page. The grid does not appear on the printed product, but it has a huge impact, which controls the width of the text bar, the consistency of the blank around the photo, and the fixed position of the element that repeats every page in the magazine. A grid is a series of guides that determine the margins of print, the spacing between page elements (headlines, text, photos, and so on), and let you know how to place them on a blank page.
Before deciding whether to use or how to use a grid, you should understand some of the basics of grids and how to create them. Although you don't see a grid in a printed product, you still need to be able to view it as you build the page.
"Margin" (margins) may be set in your page layout. On the screen these edges may appear as light solid or dashed lines. The top, bottom, left, and right edges form a box in the middle of your page. You will use this as a base to build the cell. Create multiple cells by dividing the pages into equal portions. You can create visible grids to assist in page layout: Your page typesetting software has the function of an auxiliary line, or you can draw edges or squares on a non-printing layer. Usually you can "drag" a guide from the ruler on the side of the page and place it where you want it.
- Grids and margins
The margin determines the outer bounds of the page. They surround your page like a frame. The four-perimeter distance is not necessarily equal, but the margins are usually consistent between each page (within the same publication) or between each version. In most programs, you can set the page margins when you are setting the page format (size specification). In some programs, you can even "live" by dragging the edges on the screen to adjust the margins.
- Grid and column space
When you split the page's internal space (version) into several equal parts, the white space between each cell is called the "Alley" (column space). The direction of the column space is horizontal, vertical, or two directions, depending on your grid settings. In some design software, it is also called the white space or the "gutter" (inner margin) of the text bar.
- Grid and interior margins
When two or two versions are expanded, the internal margins are called "gutter" (the inner margin), the margins on either side of the raphe. In some typesetting software, the gap between two text columns is also called "gutter".
- Grid unit
Grid units are the basic coordinates on which you place text and pictures on the page. It determines "placement" rather than "size". That is, if you have a picture that is larger than a grid unit, you can use it as well. You can use grid cells to help you scale the size of your picture, scale to match 1, 2, 3, or more grid cell sizes, and then place it on the page.
- The grid provides visual coherence.
Grids have different applications, but they are not applicable to any design, to anyone. Publications like magazines and briefings are almost inseparable from grids. Grids add a consistency between pages and greatly accelerate the design process, and designers do not need every page to "start from the sketch" layout and design.
In a series of independent and related prints (such as a series of posters, or a set of flyers designed for an ad campaign or a product line), a common grid helps unify the overall image of this series of independent prints.
There are often multiple independent elements in a print (this block, headline, photo, chart), and the grid will help you organize the elements of the page in a well-organized order.