Editorial Design: Utilizing Background Grids in InDesign

When laying out books or magazines, there is no one go-to format that you use in designing these. But the one thing that is consistent is the use of grids in the background.  Grids not only give your publication a sense of order and hierarchy, but they also help the user have a more pleasant reading experience.

Let’s start out with talking about where grids come in handy. Magazines, for example, have a lot going on. There are different articles and a lot of other information that is happening to draw the reader in. Take a home and lifestyle magazine, for example; you might have articles that talk about renovating your kitchen followed by a how-to article for setting up a welcoming garden. You might find a section for delicious recipes, or how to throw the perfect cocktail party. And of course, you will find pages interspersed throughout that will tell you what articles to buy and where to buy them for your home. No two pages are alike, but what they do have in common are the use of grids in its layout.

HOW IT WORKS

Grids have a lot of components that when placed together correctly, they make your publication work. As mentioned in another post, all grids will have the basic elements such as a document grid (think of lined paper in the background set at the right kerning size, depending on the size of your text), columns and margins. They will also have spatial areas for images or pull quotes in addition to flow lines. One of the most important things when designing for an editorial publication is to remember to leave room to breathe. You need to allow just the right amount of white space so that the user isn’t feeling overwhelmed when reading it.

Another important element is how you distribute the information and this is done in the layout of your columns. Single columns are good for continuous reading such as novels or essays (which the latter can be found inside a magazine). This is intended for slow reading. It tells your eye, “Hey! This is a good story and I want you to sit back and enjoy what I’m about to tell.”

Two or more columns are intended for faster reading. It tells your eye, “This is important information that I’m sharing with you and I want you to grasp it quickly.” They are also used to control a lot of text. Say you have an article on the photosynthesis of a plant and how that works. If it were all set to one column, even the most avid science lover would probably feel overwhelmed in reading that kind of information like you would a novel. You need something to break up the monotony of text heavy items. Columns help you to digest the information in bits and pieces by allowing your eye to move up and down and not all the way across a row of text. Ever think, “When will this sentence end?” In this case, columns are your friends. ­­

Having a good grid system also allows for you to properly place other items within an article or chapter such as images, graphics (think icons or graphs), pull quotes, relevant data, etc.  

WORKING WITH DIFFERENT GRID SYSTEMS

As I mentioned earlier, magazines have a lot of information happening inside of them. So, let’s explore how a magazine makes use of a grid system to lay out its information. Rest assured that a 12-column grid is being utilized in the background because it allows for so much flexibility in each page.

An example of the variety of ways you can layout out a magazine page built on a 12 column system.

The same grid system can be used for more complex book publications such as educational textbooks (science and history, anyone?) and cookbooks. Cookbooks are my favorite to peruse because not only do I get to look at some amazing images of food that I will never make (a fan of cooking I am not), but I also get to digest (no pun intended) different parts of a recipe. A recipe might have a short introduction about its ingredients or history, and it will usually be followed by a list of ingredients and instructions on how to prepare. My eye is allowed to travel along the page and can easily find what it’s looking for. How much salt does it say to add? My eye travels to the ingredients section without even thinking about it. It’s automatic.

An example of the variety of ways you can layout out a cookbook also built on a 12 column system. You can easily tell which part is the title, the introduction, the list of ingredients and the instructions.

I hope this very brief explanation of why working with grids in your layout is crucial to having a functional and appealing publication. If you’re looking for more in-depth info to guide you, check out Flipping Pages or Layout Essentials. These are two of my must-haves in my personal library. And of course, Pinterest is always a great source for image oriented inspiration.