GR I DS By Margot Stevens
There wasn’t much to work with in the first artboard. Since I could only work with arrangement I took a look at the information and decided what phrases were similar. The “logistical” aspects of the class like building, room, and class ID I grouped together while “Typography” remained separate. By placing “Typography” alone in the bottom corner, it becomes the point of entry for those reading the artboard and appears the most important. Once they read “Typography” they then go on the rest of the information. Also, because I grouped the other 3 phrases together they appear connected to readers as the information for where the class is should be. “Typography” also provides some balance for the composition and activates the lower, right white space.
Artboard 1
Artboard 2
The second artboard allowed me to play with size and placement. I continued with the theory that “Art 051”, “Room 200”, and “Carnegie Hall” were related and should be grouped. This time I grouped the location on the bottom and “Typography” is floating above. “Typography” is again the point of entry, and after that the hierarchy progresses to “Carnegie Hall”, “Art 051”, and then “Room 200”.
This artboard again has the same grouping stretegie but it is less obvious because “Typography” is so broken up. The T provided a good screen for the reverse type. The T is also a good backbone for the grid layout. Everything is aligned to a grid and the T connects “Typography” with the rest of the information. The giant T is the entry point and then hierarchy moves to the “Ypography.” After that it progresses to the rest of the information.
Artboard 3
Artboard 4
In this artboard we were allowed to use line and shapes in the design. Here I changed up the grouping and grouped “Carnegie Hall” and “Typography” together. They are the point of entry and provide a bit of asymmetry and visual weight to the right of the composition. The eye then follows the diagonal line to the left where they read “Art 051” and “Room 200” The diagonal line connects the two halves of the artboard. Originally I had made the line straight, but that divided the composition instead of connecting it.
Everyday Grids
Reflection My initial concept was a mental image of much more “gridded” work. I had not considered the fact that clearly some words are longer than others, different fonts mean different spacing, changes in sizing obviously will mean bigger words, and that nothing is going to completely fit in a box like grid. I quickly figured out that the grid is more for alignment and organization rather than to make a composition full of clear squares. This expectation wasn’t a particular handicap; it just resulted in a “duh” moment. As I fiddled around with the grids and words, I found that grouping certain phrases worked best. If everything is spread out throughout the page, even if it adheres to the grid, it breaks up the white space and none of the information seems connected. I also found that hierarchy and points of entry are critical to make the artboard visually interesting and informative. I enjoyed this project and know that it is very applicable in the graphic design world. It was sometimes frustrating feeling like I had to adhere to the grid when my creative artistic instincts just wanted to put words where I wanted. But I know in the long run that the grid is better for organization and that it is a good skill to practice. A small left brain part of me did enjoy fitting things to the grid though. There is a bit of satisfaction adding systematic mathy concepts to art and still making a solid composition. If I had more time, I would probably enjoy fiddling around with some more shapes and designs, especially for the last artboard. But the design I have now is solid and doing a different one would just be me playing with it.