Introduction to grids- I

Contemporary design and research into design is a century young field. Grid is a well known and well studied tool in graphic design, especially in print media and typography. It generally consists of a fixed set of guidelines. Although it plays an important role in design process it always remained underneath the visual discourse of communication. In visual communication, the visual space is not just a medium but itself becomes the agent of communication which engages with the viewer. For any two dimensional display, this space can be in the form of any plane surface- from ancient stone wall to hi-tech digital screen. The communication through this 2D space is the function of the individual visual elements, their interrelationship and the distribution of space. Grid, as a syntactic device, can provide the basic framework at each of these levels and more than that as an expression of a certain mental attitude it can induce the culture to the upcoming visual. Designer Massimo Vignelli promotes the grid as the greatest tool in terms of controlling the space.

While explaining the need of grid, Joseph Muller Brockmann says, “The designer’s work should have the clearly intelligible, objective, functional and aesthetic quality of mathematical thinking. His work should thus be a contribution to general culture and itself form part of it. Every visual creative work is a manifestation of the character of the designer. It is a reflection of his knowledge, his ability and his mentality.
As a controlling system the grid makes it easier to give the surface or space a rational organization.”

This tool, well known in practice, has hardly any literature in the design research domain. As a researcher, I feel that the contemporary concept of grid is limited to a small area of application and it has lot more potential. As a device, the grid is exploited in the field of typography but rarely appears in the discussion of any non typographic design applications. Etymologically the very concept of grid is still deprived of the proper attention in the research domain. The grid in use is limited, even though not restricted, to create rectangular space distribution which is used to decide the placement of elements and their alignment in vertical and horizontal direction. Grid is employed for the arrangement of different elements but hardly for the shaping of the internal structure of element. It would be worth to deconstruct the concept of grid from typography to overcome its limitations and to make it open for new explorations. Undoubtedly many interesting experiments are done under deconstruction but there are hardly any efforts to theorize it.

My study of Indian traditional art practices gave few interesting insights to pursue the deep inquiry about grid in the area of Classical arts. I will share those insights sometime later. First we need to locate the grids in design on the historical grounds.