grades go way back 1500 years in ancient manuscripts and then they found their way
into the printing presses for newspapers but i know you don't want to learn about history
you're here to learn about why grids are useful to you as a graphic designer
so let's get right into today's video so the first useful reason behind the use of grids is that it
will not only help you with your visual hierarchy but it can totally determine your visual hierarchy
now you might have a grid with say six columns running down the page
if you want an important aspect of your design to have dominance you can stretch over more than
just one column which will help create a visual hierarchy now as seen here on this web page for
mixed d we can suggest there are three columns running down the design the text on the bottom
left is within one grid column yet the text on the top right covers two grid columns yes it does seem
simple but that is the beauty of it grids make hierarchy really simple and i personally would
split this design into six columns so you can really generate detailed design assets
the next somewhat hidden reason why grids are so useful as a graphic designer is that
they can cause some great impact by totally neglecting the grid
okay not totally but for this tip do make sure parts of your design adhere to the grids maybe
a few boxes of typography and some imagery that fall in line with the grid columns and rows
but then have a design element that totally breaks the rule this will create some contrast
and visual impact which is always good for grabbing the attention of your viewer
this example here has four columns on the grid
and then elements that totally disrespect it are added in which creates some contrast and intrigue
this is how you both use grids and go against them in the same design at the same time
now the third point when using grids that you might not be aware of is that grids are
insanely versatile they don't just need to be kept for a layout design for such things
like magazines or newspapers oh no no no they can also be used for pretty much everything from logo
designing website creation font design posters and just everything else you can likely think of
grids are easy to set up and can be used on almost anything that you want to design understanding
this versatility does help any design from the get-go and i've spoken about micro and macro
white space on this channel before about how it's so important to take note of but grids actually
help you create that white space on your designs effectively simply just thinking about which
rows and columns of your design will have empty spaces can be a great way to make that white space
also if you have say for example three columns and four rows it might be wise to split each column
into six columns and each row into six rows so you have a lot more detail to work with within that
micro white space and remember microwhite space is that smaller space between lines of text and
closely packed together design elements tip number five is that the viewer's eye can be helped along
your design by the use of grids subconsciously speaking audiences of your designs who typically
would not like lines of text to be too long or too short because it makes the information
harder to digest having grid systems in place can help with this issue but that's not the only
instance where grids can help with the viewer's eye if you have a layout that's really busy and
heavy with lots of text or design elements using grids can make the viewing experience
a whole lot easier simply by arranging everything neatly and in an orderly fashion
this helps the viewer when seeing your work as they're not swallowed into utter chaos essentially
so yeah these are some of the main reasons to use grids on your designs
and i do hope you understand just how helpful they can be when you implement
them in a design process if you want to learn some things about graphic design
do click a video on screen and until next time guys design your future today peace
you