The Typographic Grid
“A grid is
a skeletal framework used by designers to organize information within a spatial
field. It is a system characterized by the dualities of freedom and constraint,
simplicity and complexity.” This grid system was developed long ago showing
that typographic principles have survived for centuries. A single individual
cannot attribute the development of the modern grid. It was a result of many
efforts and many experiments done by renegade designers with the idea of
Futurism. The structure and space are common denominators for all typographic
communication. As type form shifts in shape or size, the new structure emerges.
Proportion
in space is a big element as well. To easily clarify the space, one divides it
to make it simpler to the eye. There is a whole system of proportions. The grid
ratio governs the size and placement of the typographic elements. An easy way
to divide modern grid is the square. This has led to an infinite variety of
visual patterns.
When text
appears as a simple, linear narrative, it is set in a single block. There such
things as single column grids that orient single text blocks to pages. What is
important to remember is that one always has to consider the text block and the
margins of the pages as a proportional system. Even though this doesn’t seem
difficult, there is a lot of detail and attention that goes into this. There
are multi-column grids as well. This type of grid provides boundaries for
typographic elements and defines the “active” space of the page. This active
space can be the text columns; flow lines that create a dominant axis for the
alignment of the elements from page to page. These grids can shift many ways,
but should only be used when they contribute to the interpretation of the text.
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