The Grid System- How it Broke Me

The Grid System How i t b r ok e m

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By Jamie

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Grid

The An

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©

by

Jamie Wang All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for

the use of brief

quotations in a book review.

Roski School of Art and Design 850 West 37th Street, Watt Hall 104 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0292

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Preface The title really tells it all. I have learned an immense amount about the importance of grid systems in design, but along the same vein, I have also learned the importance of breaking the rules.

Yet to break the rules one must learn and breathe the rules. In these eight weeks, I have come to dream in Helvetica and see the world in grids.

Everywhere I look I seek organizational systems.

The process of making this book has taught me to appreciate subtle and deliberate typography. Over the duration of eight weeks and many sleepless nights, I have made over 80 layouts some of them good and some of them not so good. This book showcases my process, my sketches and inspiration as well as my successes and failures.

Follow me through my journey of exploration, and I hope you enjoy this book!

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Table

t s o n e t c n

00

introduction p a g e a bou t

9

01

02

pag e 11 o ne si z e t o ne w e i g h

p a ge 19 one size t w o weights

chapter 1

chapter 2

03

04

05

p a ge 2 7 t w o si z e s o n e wei g h t

pag e 35 t h r e e s i z e s t hree w ei ght s

page 43 in v e r se a n d l i n e s

06

07

08

p a ge 5 1 e xp e r i m e n t a l

p a g e 59 co lo r

page 67 t hree d i m e n s i o n al

chapter 3

chapter 6

09

chapter 9 page 75 p r o c e s s

chapter 4

chapter 7

chapter 5

chapter 8

00 Intro

This project, derived from a traditional Bauhaus exercise, emphasizes the use of grids in eight inch by eight inch layouts.

Using the given text and only the typeface Helvetica, this process highlights the importance contrast, space, asymmetry, composition, alignment and structure to create hierarchy.

By having eight sets of constraints, this series challenged me to use and familiarize myself with elements of typography like tracking and kerning. The constraints on typography are as follows, one weight and one size, one size and two weights, two sizes and one weight, and three sizes and three weights. After the limits on typography was lines and inverse, experimental, color and three dimensional.

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01 one size o n

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For this first prompt I created ten eight by eight inch layouts using given text and the font Helvetica. Limited to using one weight and one size of Helvetica, these layouts call on the use of white space, position and contrast of size to imply hierarchy.

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Reflection This was a lot harder than expected.

Without color, shapes, lines and scale it is very hard to create hierarchy. I had not realized how much in the past I had relied these elements. Thus, I had to learn how to adjust and use contrast of size and position to create balance and order. Additionally, because these layouts were made on the computer I did not know the real scale of the text so while the text looked fine on the computer, it was far too large in print.

This prompt challenged how I approached typography and layout as it forced me to use subtle elements of design.

02

one size t w o

w e

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s t

For this second set of layouts I created ten eight by eight inch layouts using given text and the font Helvetica. Limited to using one size and two weights of Helvetica, these layouts call on the use of white space, position and contrast of size and weight to imply hierarchy.

19

Reflection This second round was far easier once I came to understand the different elements of design that I could utilize. Once I learned the nuances of typography, I began the long and clumsy process learning how to manipulate tracking, kerning, weight, position and size to create contrast. I also came to utilize principles I relied on in my painting and drawing practice like the rule of thirds.

03

t w o si z e s

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t For this third set of layouts I created ten eight by eight inch layouts using given text and the font Helvetica. Limited to using two sizes and one weights of Helvetica, these layouts call on the use of white space, position and contrast of size and weight to imply hierarchy.

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Reflection The freedom to change the size of the type greatly changed how I approached the layout. A change in scale is quite dramatic unlike a change in weight. Thus, it gave me more options for contrast and hierarchy.

The ability to change scale made it far easy to imply hierarchy and gave more creative freedom. Maintaining what I learned in the previous two series, I think that this set of layouts was distinctly more smooth than the previous ones.

04

three

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For this fourth set of layouts I created ten eight by eight inch layouts using given text and the font Helvetica. Limited to using three sizes and three weights of Helvetica, these layouts call on the use of white space, position and contrast of size and weight to imply hierarchy.

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Reflection Oddly enough having the freedom of three weights and three sizes was rather daunting. Opening up all those options was somewhat scary and I was hesitant to begin. So I started looking for inspiration on Pinterest and next made sketches. I created loose sketches and more structures sketches within the grid. From there I experimented with different weight and size combinations to see what worked and what did not.

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i n v e r s e For this fifth set of layouts I created ten eight by eight inch layouts using given text and the font Helvetica. This set opened up to design elements to supplement the layouts. This set a is also open to all sizes and weights of Helvetica. These layouts call on the use of lines and inverse, white space, position contrast of size and weight to imply hierarchy.

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Reflection Similarly to the three sizes and three widths set the variety and options were daunting.

I again relied on my inspiration images from renowned designers like Massimo Vignelli and David Carson. The lines helped focus focal points and movement in my compositions. It was difficult using inverse without the composition become too much as the inverse is very dramatic, thus it was a challenge to create balance in the compositions. Yet, the challenge was welcome as the compositions limited to typography were getting tedious.

06

For this eighth set of layouts I created ten eight by eight inch layouts using given text and the font Helvetica. I made experimental layouts using various and weird techniques like cut and paste, fire, water and more.

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Reflection My approach for this set of layouts was to go about my typical day and implement my typography experimentation. I boiled it in the morning with my hard-boiled eggs, I covered it in honey with my tea, I covered it in laundry detergent, I blew bubbles in it while doing dishes, I cut it up and I stuck it back together. It was quite a fun process.

07

color

For this eighth set of layouts I created ten eight by eight inch layouts using given text and the font Helvetica. I maintained all typography and design elements from previous weeks and implemented the use of color to create hierarchy.

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Reflection Every time I felt that I was getting used to this challenge the new change would catch me off guard. In process of making this set of layouts I had gone home and found my color wheel. Combining my previous layouts and some images, I used my color wheel to create color combinations of complementary and analogous colors.

Additionally, I implemented my past knowledge as a painter of color theory into these layouts.

08 three

For this eighth set of layouts I created ten eight by eight inch layouts using given text and the font Helvetica. I used software techniques and some physical techniques to create three dimensional forms.

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Reflection This set broke my computer. It was really fun experimenting with three dimensional forms and learning about all the capabilities and tools that Illustrator has to offer.

However, my computer could not handle the processing power it needed to make these three dimensional layouts so this process took a lot longer.

09

process work

Thank you so much for following me through the process of exploring typography and layouts within the grid and breaking the grid. Here is a collection of all my layouts, successes and failures as well as my sketches and inspirations.

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all inspiration from Pinterest or Behance

After thoughts I hope you enjoyed seeing my progress through this book. I learned so much in just eight short weeks. While it was challenging at some points, I truly value this experience.

I have learned the importance of grid organization and came to appreciate subtly in typography. But on the other hand, I have learned how to break the grid and create bold designs. This process of breaking my ideas and old methods of design and building them back up again was where the true work began and I will take this with me as the foundation of my design practice.

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