Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop

by Timothy Samara

For designers working in every medium, layout is arguably the most basic, and most important, element. Effective layout is essential to communication and enables the end user not only to be drawn in with an innovative design but to digest information easily. Making and Breaking the Grid is a comprehensive layout design workshop that assumes that in order to effectively break the rules of grid-based design, one must first understand those rules and see them applied in real-world projects.

Text reveals top designers' work in process and rationale. Projects with similar characteristics are linked through a simple notational system that encourages exploration and comparison of structure ideas. Also included are historical overviews that summarize the development of layout concepts, both grid-based and non-grid based, in modern design practice.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Art, Art Design, Reference, Website Design, Graphic Novels

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[H James · Rating 2 out of 5]

The guidance offered in this book seems to be pretty good in so far as it can be followed, but following Mr Samara’s verbose and winding sentences is an exhausting exercise. I just thumbed randomly to an essay on harmonic spacing on pages 50–51; it begins:

“Yet another important consideration with regard to the quality of the typography is the interrelationship of spacing proportions within text elements, relative to the spaces that separate text elements and, further, to those that separate the body from the edges of the format—the margins.”

Recognizing the first 13 words to be empty is a second’s work, but untangling the rest took me the better part of three minutes including time lost flipping around the book trying to discern whether Mr Samara is a user of the Oxford comma (he is) and left me wondering how the reader might distinguish one ‘text element’ from two proximate ‘text elements’, as the term is neither defined on the page nor mentioned in the index.

Granted, the overall lesson of the essay can be understood without understanding this introductory sentence, but a non‐trivial amount of mental energy has been squandered. I returned to this book on at least a dozen separate days, and despite my interest in the subject matter, the prose exhausted me every time. I soon ceased to read image captions, where one meaningful sentence might be padded with two fillers, and I eventually abandoned the book itself. I would wager that a well edited version of Making and Breaking might have half the words this version does. I’d be keenly interested to read that book.

(For a lark, I tried to rewrite the above sentence, channeling my inner William Strunk Jr.: “Be mindful of the relative sizes of spaces between letters, between words, between lines, between columns, and between the body of text and the page edge.”)

[Chris Beiser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Majority of the examples are prissy and disrespectful to the content. Very little information on treating tabular data or on readability; most pages are treated as compositions rather than communicative media.

Theoretically and practically shallow.

[Serith · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first signed up for Graphic Design in college, I did not really know much about typography, nor did really I get it when teachers tried to explain. This book changed all of that because it opened my mind when I had been limiting myself to regular boring layouts – and I think that is why it hadn’t interested me. This proves how you can follow rules and think outside the box. And it’s all eye candy: it puts the logic in action and visually proves itself. Beautiful and inspiring book.

I wish this were a textbook in our class and not just one my teacher lent me. I’d really love a copy on my shelf.

[michaelben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a designer. But I sometimes have to play one at work. So I picked up this book for quick insight into the world of design/layout, and I am glad I did. The first part provides a very quick overview of the history of the grid, which was interesting on its own. This did help in later sections in the discussion of specific layout and design examples. The last section covered working outside of the grid concept under the premise you have to understand the rules before you flout them. I would be surprised if this book was of value to a trained professional. It seems more appropriate for a lay person with a general interest or specific need. I am certain my work was better for having used it, and it will stay on the shelf for future reference.

[Kieran · Rating 1 out of 5]

outdated and useless full of bad designs. maybe useful if you are a very early beginner otherwise its poop. Dont believe the hype

[Erika Mulvenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes an effort to demonstrate how grid systems are used to organize information in print, and how you can break away from the grid to create more interest. The book includes an interesting but brief history lesson about "the grid" in publications, but it's not as in-depth of a book either in information presented or in offering skill building exercises as I had hoped.

What this book does do is show through multiple examples taken from real publications how a grid is used to organize information on a page, both in a traditional and non-traditional way.

[Matěj Málek · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book tries to show you too many things in too little space. The accompanying text for individual examples tends to be too shallow and descriptive, it would be much better off with fewer examples and more in depth case studies and a bit of critical reflection. Furthermore the examples in Breaking the grid section did not age well. The feel of the digital postmodern anarchy in the designs is almost tangible. There are a few good ones but the typographic structure of majority of them is questionable at best. If you are looking for an introductory text on grid I would recommend Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Müller-Brockmann as a much better choice.

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has an extensive gallery of projects for comparison's sake, but very limited instruction and some history which goes by too fast and too much like a parade of facts to possibly sink in. The commentary on the projects never offers any additional insight that could be gained by interviews with the designer or anything further than what's visible to the attentive reader. Good to flip through, but I was looking for more of a manual on good grid practices.

[Mauricio Villamayor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samara's book gives the reader a comprehensive historical context in which both grid base practices and deconstruction of the grid were developed. Aside from this critical information, the book fulfils its propose of understanding how grid works and also tries to categorise deconstruction practices, which is more than useful for people that already know how to use the grid but try to challenge their practices.

[Laura Lis Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many books and online articles about using grids in design. It’s part of Design 101. But most of what I’ve read focus on grid examples. “See how much better, more united the design is now!” Few get into the methodology of how to choose and develop a grid. Even fewer get into how to develop a grid, especially for book design. This book covers it all, with multitudes of examples. Highly recommended for any designer.

[Kevin Bjorke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essential reference for print and web designers, it might benefit a visit from those creating online “design systems.” Or a refresh of the book including them?

My only real misgivings about this book is that most designers will never get to design museum catalogs or other projects that shout “design%!” Like those in the exhibited examples. Design-to-impress-designers is, imo, a negative pattern. A mix of prosaic examples would be beneficial.

[Ravi Kiran]

There are typos galore in this book. Just look at the back cover (which is supposed to be very important)- two typos there. Bad Hyphenation in captions, typos, bad choice of typeface (creates splotchy commas, quotation marks) and incorrect sentence constructions throughout the book - it all takes away the pleasure of reading.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rigorous, if not slightly dense, exploration of the grid - how to use it, what it does and when to break it. It is filled with helpful real-world examples illustrating the author's points (though reading this as an e-book was not the most conducive format to examining and absorbing these examples).

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty boring read but there are a few layouts I will reference or use as inspiration. It’s mostly design for designers but I like how you can see that something as simple as a typeface selection can really date a design. Also pretty dated are the web designs but that’s fun to see how far web design has come.

[Nathan D. Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great design, beyond some of the text either being too small for my aging eyes or not contrasting enough with the background--which is something you'd expect a book on design to account for, but what do I know. Still, worth a read, even with the requisite headaches.

[Ben Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It does what it says it will do. It is a guide to grid systems and has page after page of example. It could certainly delve deeper into theory and show how to use grids in your work like ', seeing them in action' but otherwise I can't complain, good book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for grid references but I couldn’t get through the pretentious writing in the intro section. I thought I’d get more out of actually reading through it but I didn’t, so definitely just use it as a list of grid references for layout design.

[Viktoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

nothing special. with almost every "learn yourself". It was even better

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good visual introduction to grid layouts and a helpful book to keep on the shelf for design inspiration.

[Kevin Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so well designed and comprehensive it can use its own layout as an example of the material presented.

[Ralique · Rating 3 out of 5]

the theory goes over my head but did enjoy looking at the examples shown in the book

[Kittikoon Pakdeekaew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lots of knowledges how to lay your graphic elements and prepare your artwork properly.

[Nikita Krasnov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Convoluted wiring style. Constant bloviation that does not contribute anything at all to the message. Some of the case study examples are straight up tacky and outdated.

[Dali Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book for all graphic designers to read. It was very informative and provided good guides for creating long projects. That said, it was very long winded and repetitive at times.

[Tyrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Homework

[Ethan J · Rating 1 out of 5]

too much fluff in this book, lots of examples of breaking down grid in different forms which is not useful for product interface design at all

[Nero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, extensive and informative with a great selection of visual examples. I definitely want a physical copy of this book.

[J. Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making and Breaking the Grid, by Timothy Samara, is an analysis of the construction and deconstruction of grid-based designs. Featuring a comprehensive showcase of works in different media and across several decades.

The Book

The book is basically divided into 2 parts. The first one about the creation of the grid-based designs and its usage. The second one explains the deconstruction of the grid, a different approach on design in which the grid doesn’t have to obey any rules.
In the first few pages the reader will be immersed into the historical facts surrounding the development of the grid-based design. There is a lot of information here – about 150 years of art & design evolution in only 7 pages – maybe a timeline would be interesting. But then again, this is not a history book.

The next chapter the author slows down the pace and starts a workshop about grid design. The content here is precise, clear enough for beginners and a good read for advanced designers. Concepts and styles are illustrated in a simple yet effective way and the examples are spot on.

Then the showcase begins. Pages and pages of great artwork from different decades and styles. Each of them with its own grid style – column, modular grid, etc. Description and comments explain how it was used and the effect generated by it.

Conclusion

As an introduction to grid-design, Making and Breaking the Grid does its job. It will give the initial hints and ideas of layout structure in a few pages but doesn’t go very deep. The highlight of the book, without any doubt, is the showcase of designs. Big illustrations and photographs with detailed information. Definitely a must-have on any designer library.

[Visit my website and read the book review.]

[Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's certainly plenty of take-homes from this book, but not many of the case studies have aged well (especially the websites). And yes, the graphic-designer speak gets somewhat irritating. "Continuity is created through rhythmic, spatial interconnection between pages." "Repeating the poster format on top of itself, eventually bleeding outward beyond the poster's real format, elevates the communication to a sophisticated level where the image becomes signifier and signified, a poster that shows a posting of posters." etc.

[Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wealth of information and examples are in this book for anyone who wants to know about layouts, both traditional ones and out of the box ones. I feel that it would make a great reference for inspiration and ideas. As someone who dabbles in both art and calligraphy, I was immensely interested in the tons of examples that fill this book to the brim. I did find that the text needed a bit of careful reading and even so found some that I did not quite understand. But the pictorials are what grabbed me.

4 stars just for that!