Breaking the Grid
I envy people who do things on a whim. The sort who imagine something kooky, and then immediately act on it. I am much more of a planner. I’m someone who likes to navigate change — or really any situation — with a full-on PLAN. A road map of where on earth this thing is going.
I have always been of the mindset that if you are going to change something it should be for a good reason. Recently, a client asked me to randomly change one of the publication’s major navigational devices to “spice things up.”
Woah.
When I got down to the nitty gritty of the “why” for the requested change, what followed was an educational discussion of elements of the magazine design and their purpose.
First, you should probably know that the entire design of a publication resides on a column grid. Column headers, headlines, subheads, images, design elements, body copy and advertisements are all aligned on multiple vertical columns.
The grid exists for a reason: to create consistency, visual flow and organization. When you open a publication and feel like you are conversing with an old, familiar friend—That is the grid. It provides structure for the design. Readers like familiar columns in the same spot and expect elements like the table of contents to be their “roadmap” to the issue. If you are changing important navigation or UX elements from issue to issue it can frustrate the reader. (As if someone moved your keys and now you are looking for them. Frustrating!)
That’s not to say that the publication design should be boring. The grid is to be used as a baseline. However, there is such a thing as breaking the grid. This sounds awful, yes? Breaking anything is bad, right? In this instance it is actually a good thing. So if the grid is like conversing with an old, familiar friend, then breaking the grid is like being on the receiving end of a shocking piece of gossip. When you have a pop of unexpected color, an unfamiliar font, intentional whitespace, uneven gutters, or a strong and unusual design element, it provides visual interest and excitement. And if done in the correct way can be fun and engaging for the reader. (Spice anyone?)
Change is a necessary element in any creative design process. As they say, “There is nothing permanent except for change.” (See my animated short, Change.) It would be wise however, to save the “whims” for jumping in the car and roadtripping to Las Vegas. Publication design should be consistent and changes should be well thought out and purposeful.
Live by the grid, die by the grid.
(We’ve established that I’m not very spontaneous, but maybe a little bit overly dramatic?)
