Key question
How does a grid give a publication order and rhythm?
The grid is the invisible framework of a publication. It determines where text and images are placed, how wide the columns are, and which lines the rows sit on. This ensures all pages look cohesive and speeds up the workflow.
Learning objective: You can set up and calculate a type area with margins, columns, column spacing and a baseline grid.
The grid arranges, you design.
2.1 / Setting the type area
Borders frame the content.
The type area is the surface of a page on which text and images normally appear. It is defined by four margins:
01
gutter
Inner margin at the binding; it must allow space for the curve of the gutter.
02
Head margin
Top margin; section names or running heads often appear here.
03
Outer pier
Outer margin; space for thumbs when holding and for margin notes.
04
Footbridge
Bottom margin, usually the largest; often carries the page number, or folio.
Classic book pages often follow proportions such as the rule of ninths: inner, head, outer, and foot margins grow approximately in the ratio of 2 : 3 : 4 : 6. Magazines usually work with narrower margins to leave more room for images. Images may deliberately extend beyond the type area and bleed right to the edge of the page.
Generous margins allow the page to breathe.
2.2 / Columns and modules
More columns, more scope.
Columns divide the space within the type area. Two or three columns are calm and easy to read. A six- or twelve-column grid allows for many combinations: text can span across two, three or four units. Column spacing prevents the eye from jumping into the adjacent column.
A modular grid additionally divides the type area horizontally into fields. Images and boxes then occupy whole modules. Josef Müller-Brockmann described this principle in "Grid Systems", and it continues to shape Swiss typography to this day.
01
Number of columns
Depends on format, font size, and the variety of content.
02
Column spacing
Clearly separates columns without losing the context.
03
Baseline grid
All lines of text align to the same baseline, even across columns.
A good grid is also there to be broken.
2.3 / Calculate the grid
Calculate first, then design.
The column width is the type area width minus all column spacing, divided by the number of columns. With a page width of 210 mm, an inner margin of 15 mm, and an outer margin of 20 mm, that leaves 175 mm. With 6 columns and 4 mm spacing, that results in just under 25.8 mm per column.
To ensure lines align across columns, the type area height should be a multiple of the line spacing. If it doesn't divide evenly, adjust the bottom margin by the remainder.
Good grids add up mathematically.
Exercise
A grid for 'landscape'
Task: Set up the grid for ‘Quer’ in your layout software and test it with two page types.
STEP 1
Set the page format, margins, and number of columns on a master page.
STEP 2
Set the baseline grid to the line spacing of the body text.
STEP 3
Design a quiet text page and an image-rich page using the same grid.
STEP 4
Check that everything aligns with the grid using visible guidelines.
Evaluation: Where did the grid help you, and where did it restrict you?