Philip Bradley - Chapter 5

Chapter five covers the topic of the typographic grid. A grid is a skeletal framework used by designers to organize information within a spatial field. The development of the modern grid cannot be attributed to a single individual or to an accidental discovery. It is the result of many pioneering efforts, and the grid finally emerged as a programmatic system of mathematical precision in Switzerland during the 1950s. On a larger scale grids serve as the underlying structure for modeling and archiving human thought, interactions, and events.

Space is the common denominator for all typographic communication. Due to this typographic elements are kinetic in nature and can be manipulated by their placement in space. We feel most secure when type sits perfectly on a baseline, but when we start to rotate letters it appears as if they are falling down the page. When dealing with proportions, designers often rely on our innate senses. The most familiar model is the golden section, which is a law of proportionality found frequently in nature, the human body, and used throughout centuries in art, architecture, design, and music.

Within the grid system there are single column, multi column, and modular grids. Single column grids are great for when text appears as a simple, linear narrative, as in the traditional novel or exhibition panel. Multi column grids are useful when you need to structure and organize typographic forms into a unified whole, and to establish visual pathways between elements. Modular grids are best served when you need to present more complex information with a high degree of accuracy and clarity. Improvisational structures evolve in response to the specific elements of information as opposed to modular grids, which are predetermined organizational devices. Metaphorically, “typographic designers are information architects - they build typographic environments for clear and accessible information”.

I chose one if Wim Crouwel's posters because he loved and nearly always used a grid system. This particular poster actually shows the grid he most often used.