design context: Design Principles: Grid and Layout

Multicolumn Grid

While single-column grids work well for simple documents, multicolumn grids provide flexible formats for publications that have a complex hierarchy or that integrate text and illustrations. The more columns you create, the more flexible your grid becomes. You can use the grid to articulate the hierarchy of the publication by creating zones for different kinds of content. A text or image can occupy a single column or it can span several. Not all the space has to be filled.

http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/contents/grid/

Line Spacing: Variations

Hierarchy

A typographic hierarchy expresses the organization of content, emphasizing some elements and subordinating others. A visual hierarchy helps readers scan a text, knowing where to enter and exit and how to pick and choose among its offerings. Each level of the hierarchy should be signaled by one or more cues, applied consistently across a body of text. A cue can be spatial (indent, line spacing, placement) or graphic (size, style, color). Infinite variations are possible.

Writers are trained to avoid redundancy as seen in the expressions “future plans” or “past history.” In typography, some redundancy is acceptable, even recommended. For example, paragraphs are traditionally marked with a line break and an indent, a redundancy that has proven quite practical, as each signal provides backup for the other. To create an elegant economy of signals, try using no more than three cues for each level or break in a document.

Emphasizing a word or phrase within a body of text usually requires only one signal. Italic is the standard form of emphasis. There are many alternatives, however, including boldface, ^{small caps}, or a change in color. A full-range type family such as Scala has many weight and style variations designed to work together. You can also create emphasis with a different font. If you want to mix font families, such as Scala and Helvetica, adjust the sizes so that the x-heights align.

Hierarchy: Variations

Project: Long Lists

In the real world of graphic design, managing large quantities of text is a routine challenge. Designers use the principles of hierarchy, alignment, and page layout to make content easy to scan and enjoyable to read. You can try this exercise with any long list of entries: calendar events, dictionary definitions, pithy quotes, classified ads, or a page from a college course catalog. Numbering the elements in the list gives you a graphic element to manipulate. Design a poster that presents the content in a visually interesting way. Work with style sheets to test different type treatments quickly and consistently.

_{Examples of student work from Maryland Institute College of Art}