current stage...

playing with type orientation...

previous layout...

more experimental layout which allows the viewer to see the item more closely

after a few challenges, i had a moment when i started to really understand things...

it happened when Pornprapha got tracing paper and placed it on a magazine. she drew the grid of one page layout. then turned the page, and nearly every page within that magazine had the same grid yet altered in a minor way. that was when i really understood the whole concept of the grid system...

it also surprises me that although the magazine looked so varied, it was actually based on one simple grid! hope to create the same variety within my catalog, yet make it feel consistent and cohesive.

here is where I am at right now...
PLAYING! :)


i like seeing how one page can link to another and pushing the boundaries of bleeding images.

update...

So i have not been blogging for a while...i am not sure why! maybe it is because i have been very involved with my catalog and i haven't had the time to do so. however, here is a bit of a recap on my progress...

i started with a very simple grid, but my mistake was that i didn't position it on the page properly and left too much flexibility as to where it would be placed. this meant that i was unintentionally breaking the grid.








i was also focusing too much on aesthetics rather than on the system itself.





so i had to refocus, and think about what my main aim was. and that was to create a system, using a grid. so i stuck to that and decided to think about aesthetics later.
i made a new InDesign document and started again. i did however keep the format of the 3 small squares and the larger rectangle, as i thought it would work well for my content.

so i created master pages and used a more definite grid, keeping areas of the page completely off limits. it also helped for me to make a set of rules which i stuck to during the beginning stage, but then broke later on (only some of them!).





i then made my grid more detailed, based on my squares and rectangle composition.
having a grid like the one above made it far easier to be experimental because the space offered many possibilities.

back to basics...

the main thing that i seem to have forgotten is to draw sketches and using the computer first is never a good idea. that is probably why my grids lacked creativity. so now i have decided to take one step back and do some grids by hand. i have tried to stick to one main grid but then be experimental with the layout. some ideas...





this is the main grid i have decided to use...




now i can be more experimental in the way i apply my content to the grids.

i can also change the layouts by shifting the grid, rotating it, deleting parts, repeating parts, enlarging and minimizing... it's quite limitless. the key though is not to get too carried away because i think i might go overboard and lose the whole feel of the grid.

what is a grid?

Grid (page layout)

A typographic grid is a two-dimensional structure made up of a series of intersecting vertical and horizontal axes used to create structure. The grid serves as an armature on which a designer can organize text and images in a rational, easy to absorb manner.

This grid is composed of a series of intersecting vertical and horizontal axes.

Here, the typography is arranged flush left along the grid.

there are other ways of creating a grid...it makes me wonder how important it is to choose the right grid and what influences me in making this decision.


3 forms of the same layout using a) colored vertical grid
b) linear horizontal grid

this is an example of combining 2 grids together.

I like the idea of using a colored section grid instead of just using lines. this way makes me think about the space of the entire area and not just the boundaries of it.

type workshop

more grids...

more experimental

this is a layout from a russian magazine. the thing i like about it is that it has a very strong vertical feeling and they supported this by rotating type so that it reads vertically...it is also interesting because it is neither image nor type dominant but there is an equality.


this grid is quite chaotic...it is not easy to figure out.
i think that this visual style should be used sparingly, and not on a regular basis.



this layout is actually very simple but in my opinion effective



thinking outside of the box...grids can be found in so many areas and each one can have a different effect. i think it will be a good idea to look to somewhere creative for my grid although i think this method may work better for poster design than a multi-page document.

making and breaking...

sequencing my cataloging process...

step 1:

place all the images into a very structured grid

step 2:

look at examples of other grids in magazines and research books

step 3:

be more experimental in changing the placement of the grid

what is a better life?? for me, it's living in a house made of chocolate

I am trying to find a metaphor for a lifestyle...











What a Better Life means:

SPOILT ARAB GIRL: self-image

HIPPIE: environmentally beneficial

GRANDFATHER: practical

BOY RACER: materialistic

SOCCER MOM: higher prestige brand names

now i have to find away to conceptualize these concepts...what confuses me though is if i have to make these concepts the same for all lifestyles or if they can be different for each.