Fundamentals of Document Design
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The Grid: Organizing your Material

The grid is used as a tool for organizing horizontal and vertical space by dividing the page into columns and rows in order to help the designer to specify where elements can be placed on the page.

Although the grid itself is invisible, it helps readers to scan and make sense of the content. Grids are a guide to help with organization and placement and should not become dogmatic or constricting.

Developing a grid (sometimes called a modular grid) is similar to the process of picking type: Get the big picture. Inventory the text elements required by your document. This may include all or some of the following, as well as others not listed:

  • Headings
  • Subheadings
  • Body text
  • Footnotes
  • Pictures
  • Tables
  • References
  • Lists (Numbered and Bulleted)
  • Quotes and Sidebars
  • Abstracts
  • Symbols
  • Running headers and footers
  • Index
  • Table of Contents
  • Front and back matter
  • Chapter and Part dividers

Organize these into elements that
work together as a functional unit.

Examples of functional units:

  • Illustrations with annotations and explanations
  • Illustrations of various sizes
  • Callouts and rules
  • Figure numbers, captions, credits
  • Body text with footnotes
  • Body text and paragraph styles
  • Footnote text
  • Headings, subheadings
  • Itemized lists
  • Quotes

Procedural Instructions

  • Scenario (overview and goals)
  • Procedures numbered
  • Visual examples
  • Captions for examples Front matter (or feature article)
  • Headline
  • Byline
  • Tagline, quote
  • Photo
  • Caption

Using a Grid

1. Measure actual print area, knowing the size of the page that will be used. This may be based on company standards, the available paper stock from your printer or paper supplier, and the type of document and how it will be used. Make sure to allow for margins and binding.

2. Next, divide the print/display area into columns and rows. Be aware of the page proportions, the body text, leading, line length, headings, illustrations, and other elements, and this will help you divide the page proportionally.

A “three-column grid” is often used for brochure work and is very flexible. You can split the columns further so that you have six columns or even twelve. The three-column grid can appear very formal and may be too limiting on a narrow page since your text column must be fairly short unless carried across two of the three columns.
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