Breaking The Grid

So after completing my normal magazine article layout following a grid, I had a go at trying to "break the grid" to make my design look more interesting.

 I found trying to break the grid on this first page more difficult then the second, as there was more solid text to try and man over around. Because of this, I tried to keep it simple by moving the photograph to the centre and having the text wrap around it. It works quite well, however I still feel that the layout of this first page is quite plain and rigid, and that there is something else I could do to try and develop it further and make it look aesthetically pleasing.

I found this second page a lot easier as I had more freedom and space to play with. I decided to enlarge the image and move it into the text with the writing wrapping around it. Then on the other side I thought it would be good to make his quoted caption larger, and have this also wrapping around the image higher up the page.

I like this, however I feel it makes some of the text around the image more difficult to read on the left hand side. On the other hand, I think it works well with the enlarged text flowing around the photograph of the subject, and I also feel that this really helps to break up the chunk of text and make it easier to look at.

I'm not 100% happy with this attempt at breaking the grid, So I want to further practice this skill, and take inspiration from magazines to see if I can create more interesting and aesthetically pleasing designs.

Grid Layout Case Studies

Both of these examples of grid layout case studies I found in Glamour magazine.

In the first example above, the grid layout used helps to provide consistency in the article by keeping the flow of the text easy to understand. The use of the orange stroked boxes on both pages, helps to signify a separate part of text or information within the grid layout itself, and helps in making it easy to understand and follow; as well as adding variety and colour. 

On both pages, the text is divided up into two columns on the grid, and on the first page it also is divided into a few rows also (the heading, the first block of text and the second block of text in the orange lined box.) By using these rows and columns, and defining change in content information by adding the thick orange stroke to the boxes, really helps to keep structure to the design while being easy to read and aesthetically interesting. 

In this design, the grid has been broken in a couple of ways. Firstly is the use of photographs to help add information to the article, and secondly is the placement of the yellow information boxes rotated at slight angles. Without using the images to break up the text, the article would look very boring, and may note provoke many people to want to read it. However, by inserting them in different places within the grid layout and wrapping the text around the photographs, it therefore "breaks the grid" and works effectively in creating something more interesting to look at. 

The bright coloured boxes contain short points of information work in the same way. Their colouring makes them stand out, and the slight change in angle helps break away from the very straight and rigid structure the grid provides for the rest of the layout.

This second example is quite simple yet still effective. The main body of the grid used here consists of two columns both containing text. This simple grid layout keeps structure to the article and makes it easy to read and follow. In regards to breaking the grid in this instance, the text in the centre of the article has been placed there and enlarged to add change and variety to the piece. By doing this, it draws your eyes to the piece of writing - obviously seen as one of the key quotes the writers and editors want you to read. This simple example of "breaking the grid" with the text wrapped around it,  definitely adds interest to the article's layout and makes it far more interesting to look at then if it were just two simple columns of solid text. 

Experimentations

I want to try and create a simple logo for myself that can be adapted and changed depending on the purpose I want it for. I have had a little play around with colour combinations, fonts and shapes to see what I think could work. I now want to continue doing further experimentations before trying to create something I like and that I think is aesthetically pleasing. 

Grid Layout Page Two

And here is the second page of my basic grid layout magazine article:

Grid Layout First Page

Here is a large scale view of the first page of my basic grid layout magazine article:

Experimenting With Grid Layouts

This week we learnt about grid layouts that are used when designing (particularly in magazines and newspapers) to help layout the information in an interesting but correctly proportioned manner.

In groups we then had to each create a magazine spread for some information and images given to us, using a house style across all our work in order for it all to flow together well and look consistent.

This is the design I came up with using the grids created on indesign. I stuck to quite a basic layout because it has allowed for me to explore the concept of "breaking the grid" which I shall post after this blog. Our hours style included very minimalistic colours, due to the type of information we were all writing about. All the articles are quite formal so we decided to use black and white mainly, but add in hints of the colour red just to add a bit of variety. 

In regards to type, we chose to use a Sans Serif font for the headings of each of our articles, and then a Serif font for the main body of text. The heading font used is "Lao MN" and the heading font is "Lucinda Fax". By using a Serif font in the main part of the article it makes it easier to read, especially with their being a large volume of writing. The Sans Serif heading breaks this up slightly, and as the font is larger in size, there is no difficultly in reading the text.

After creating my main layout, I decided to justify the text in each of the columns as I felt this made it far easier to read then when the alignment was to the right. Overall, I feel this design is quite simple, but with sticking to the basic rigid grid layout it has made an effective presentation for the type of article. 

This simple exercise of working within the grids has helped with my knowledge and understanding of magazine and newspaper layouts, and has also meant that I've learn what it then means to "break the grid." 

Things I find cool!

I was just having a quick browse to get some creative ideas flowing, and came across these two uses of visual design that I find really interesting.

I personally love these quirky experimentations with colour, type and designs! I particularly like the several different trials and attempts at logos used in this ensemble. Also the use of very calm pale/pastel type colours are really successful and the choices made compliment each other well.

This is a logo that has been designed for a friend of mine's band. I really like the font used here in this design, and I feel the decision to colour it white over the black and white/sepia shaded photograph works very effectively!