Divine Proportion

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I’m a big advocate of using divine proportions and the rule of thirds in any type of design work. I think any well constructed grid system should start from one of these proportions. They make a design more balanced, structured, compelling and far more communicative.

Here’s a great article on Smashing Magazine on both subjects.        

Grids In The Real World

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It’s one thing to write about how useful and important grids are for a design, it’s another thing to utilize them in a real world project. I recently designed this site for my wife’s event company using a grid system that I’ve developed that also incorporates a baseline grid. It’s very similar to the grid in my Designing Grid Systems For Flash article, the only difference being the vertical height. The grid is 946 pixels wide to accommodate 1024×768 screen resolutions with baselines that are 10 pixels apart. Since this isn’t a Flash site, and vertical scrolling is acceptable, the height is taller for the pages with more content. Continue reading “Grids In The Real World”

Grids Are Good For The Soul Wallpapers

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For all those that missed out on the Grids Are Good For The Soul posters, here are some wallpapers to satisfy your needs. Using the same Brockmann quote, I created two wallpapers, one set in Helvetica and the other set in Lubalin Graph. The grid is also visible which you can’t see in the thumbnails.

Head over to the Wallpapers page to download them.        

Limited Edition: Grids Are Good For the Soul Poster

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A few months ago I wrote a short article on grids which I titled “Grids Are Good For the Soul”. I fell in love with the title and ended up designing this poster around it.

Grids Are Good For The Soul is screen printed by hand by Post Expose, which contains a quote by the legendary Josef Müller-Brockmann, is printed in sky blue on 80lb cream colored paper. This goes without saying, but it was also designed on a grid system.

– $25
– Edition of 20.
– 23×33 inches.
– Set in Helvetica.
– Numbered and signed

SOLD OUT!

Head over to the AisleOne store and get yourself a copy of this limited edition print before they’re all gone. You can check out more photos on my Flickr page as well as photos of the posters being printed.

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Grid Systems In Graphic Design

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This weekend I finally picked up Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Müller Brockmann. To say this is a great book would be an understatement. I think it’s one of the most important books on graphic design and every serious designer should put this at the top of their must read list. Brockmann does an exceptional job of explaining why a grid is so valuable to a design, and the important rules of setting type on a grid. This book alone will make me a better designer.

I also picked up Brockmann’s other great book, The Graphic Artist and his Design Problems. I haven’t read it yet but I plan to this week.

I’ve added photos of these books to my Flickr page along with:

We Are The World
Total Design: 40 Years
Braun Design Magazine
An Exhibition In Mono Catalogue
Spin/2: 50 Reading Lists
       

Black Slabbath Poster

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Sweet poster produced by You Work For Them and designed on a grid, features the typeface Black Slabbath by Stefan Kjartansson.

Dimensions: 18″ x 24″ (inches)
Printing: 2 Color Screenprint, Black and Silver
Paper: 100 lb. Uncoated, Dark Grey