Grids for Graphic Designers

Description

Fully updated, the third edition of Grids for Graphic Designers explores this important tool which is part of every designer's practice- whether it involves digital or print-based media. With over 200 illustrations plus six new interviews with design practitioners such as Second Story, Brody Associates and Peter Dawson, the student is introduced to the creative use of grids in contemporary practice as well as the basic principles that underlie their effective use. Written and designed by best-selling authors Gavin Ambrose and Paul Harris, this clear and concise introduction to the use of grids in design covers all the basics and the expanded section of activities and exercises allows students to implement what they have learned.

Gavin Ambrose teaches at Brighton University and is a practicing graphic designer. He is the author of many highly regarded books for students covering all areas of design including Basics Design: Layout, 2e, The Production Manual, Fundamentals of Graphic Design and Design Genius among others. Paul Harris is a freelance writer and editor. His work has appeared in magazines and journals in both the US and Europe. He is a co-author and collaborator on numerous books on design.

Subdividing space is commonplace in our culture and a traditional organizing principle. Our houses and apartments are divided into rooms; our drawers are designed with divided compartments to separate our things, and our parking lots are divided into rows of parallel spaces. In communication design, a grid provides a compositional framework through its network of horizontal and vertical intersecting lines that subdivide the page creating a guide to establish proportional relationships between the design elements. The authors of Grids for Graphic Designers state their goal is to introduce the basic principles of grid usage. They do so in a clear, articulate and visually informative process. This is a perfect text for students studying visual design, and those individuals who interested in grids and grid theory. -- Elizabeth Resnick, Professor Emerita of Graphic Design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, USA The 3rd edition of the Grid for Graphic Designers continues exploring ways in which contemporary graphic designers renew traditional approaches to 'grid making' practices, by emphasising both the imaginative and the practical. Examples of inventive designs are accompanied by meaningful annotations focusing both on what, and how it is represented. This exploration of relationships between content and grid format demonstrates the plurality of the approaches and the passage from fixed to fluidity as a modern way of representation. There are two generalisations about the grids: first, that they are inexhaustible and second, that they are selective. From this double perspective, the book demonstrates 'grid making' as a form of knowledge and provides a renewed context for the debate about the meaning and role of grids. -- Iwona Abrams, Senior Lecturer, BA Graphic Communication Design, University of Westminster, UK An essential and authoritative toolkit for constructors of the humble grid that will both inform and inspire content delivery, whether for print or screen. Historic and contemporary examples brilliantly illustrate the ongoing fascination and challenge of how graphic designers confront the blank page; creating work that unites content and form to deliver purposeful and appropriate visual communication. -- Bryan Clark, Head of Graphic Design, Falmouth University, UK