Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-24 08:54:47
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Timothy Samara
- ISBN：163159284X
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Summary
Effective layout is essential to communication and enables the end user to not only 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 to real-world projects。
Basics include composing typographic space， format determination， and sequencing and systemization。 Various types of grids manuscript， column， modular， hierarchical are also covered。
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。 Each project is shown comprehensively so readers can see its structure revealed over several pages， at a size that allows for inspection of detail。
Also included are historical overviews that summarize the development of layout concepts， both grid-based and non-grid based， in modern design practice。
Basics include composing typographic space， format determination， and sequencing and systemization。 Various types of grids manuscript， column， modular， hierarchical are also covered。
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。 Each project is shown comprehensively so readers can see its structure revealed over several pages， at a size that allows for inspection of detail。
Also included are historical overviews that summarize the development of layout concepts， both grid-based and non-grid based， in modern design practice。
Reviews
krad
，
So this one's weird as hell: there's at least three versions out there that are so totally different that they're different books entirely。 I started reading the 2nd Edition one （the best one）， "stumbled upon" the latest one and didn't realize it was technically the same book because it was so dogshit with conceptual thoughts。 Now， the 2nd edition one - that's a fine textbook， and one I'd consider tracking down to keep long-term in the design archives; it's straightforward in terms of a） laying So this one's weird as hell: there's at least three versions out there that are so totally different that they're different books entirely。 I started reading the 2nd Edition one （the best one）， "stumbled upon" the latest one and didn't realize it was technically the same book because it was so dogshit with conceptual thoughts。 Now， the 2nd edition one - that's a fine textbook， and one I'd consider tracking down to keep long-term in the design archives; it's straightforward in terms of a） laying out the rules， and b） breaking them， with plenty of decent examples。 Minus two points for rewriting the perfectly-decent book。 。。。more
Ralique
，
the theory goes over my head but did enjoy looking at the examples shown in the book
Kevin Leo
，
This book is so well designed and comprehensive it can use its own layout as an example of the material presented。
Wazoo
，
A book filled with enough information on grid structure and complementing examples， though I do think it could've explained its examples better。 Perhaps this is a book I'd appreciate more if I actually did graphic design， but I think its explanations—while informative and very detailed—could have been more clear and effective by specifically pointing out the exact parts of its examples that it was referring to—instead of just explaining the more "abstract" principles and concepts of grid structu A book filled with enough information on grid structure and complementing examples， though I do think it could've explained its examples better。 Perhaps this is a book I'd appreciate more if I actually did graphic design， but I think its explanations—while informative and very detailed—could have been more clear and effective by specifically pointing out the exact parts of its examples that it was referring to—instead of just explaining the more "abstract" principles and concepts of grid structure found within graphic design via its rote paragraphs or bullet points。 Pairing the explanations with the images/examples more closely would've made it more easy to be "digested" and "processed，" I think。 Perhaps this issue is rectified in the physical version of this book—which I'd probably recommend over the digital version if you're planning to check this one out—as the digital version also contains some other problems concerning its digital presentation: such as a couple of typos， a few glitches in image placement， and a few other glitches that make a caption or two appear in the wrong place。 These additional problems—while small and mostly technologically-related—combined with this book's "hard-to-immediately-digest" writing style， made it less captivating for me to read overall。 I do think this book had a lot of examples that would be useful to look through or back on in the future， though—as "basic" or foundational as they might be。 There were a handful of examples in here that were pretty interesting to me and did make me stop to think。 Overall， this was an okay book on creating and "breaking" the grid structure or layout。 。。。more
H James
，
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 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。”） 。。。more
Catherine
，
A good visual introduction to grid layouts and a helpful book to keep on the shelf for design inspiration。
Ben Watson
，
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。 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。 。。。more
Nathan D。 Riggs
，
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。 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。 。。。more
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。
Laura Lis Scott
，
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。
Chris Beiser
，
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。
Viktoria Tomcheva
，
nothing special。 with almost every "learn yourself"。 It was even better nothing special。 with almost every "learn yourself"。 It was even better 。。。more
Lynn Sherrell
，
Basic reference on graphic arts layout！
Mauricio Villamayor
，
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。 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。 。。。more
Matěj Málek
，
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 questi 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。 。。。more
Alex
，
Tremendously helpful text for all designers， particularly those unfamiliar with the historical evolution of the grid。 Samara's framing chapter about the Machine Aesthetic， Constructivism， the Bauhaus， the Basel School， and the Corporate Grid is particularly well-written and useful for designers to consult and internalize。While Making and Breaking the Grid was written to be used primarily for designers working in print， digital designers will gain a lot from reading it。 Indeed， I am highly tempte Tremendously helpful text for all designers， particularly those unfamiliar with the historical evolution of the grid。 Samara's framing chapter about the Machine Aesthetic， Constructivism， the Bauhaus， the Basel School， and the Corporate Grid is particularly well-written and useful for designers to consult and internalize。While Making and Breaking the Grid was written to be used primarily for designers working in print， digital designers will gain a lot from reading it。 Indeed， I am highly tempted to start rendering Sketch symbols for each of the grids Samara points to， if for no other reason than my own desire to see just what a nonorthogonal grid deconstruction would look like in browser。 。。。more
Erika Mulvenna
，
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 in 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。 。。。more
Brian
，
Making and Breaking the Grid is a wonderful design book for any designer。 From web layout to poster design， the grid can bring structure to any design。Highly recommend A+
Michael Sirbu
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Michael Sirbu
Guilherme Gontijo
，
ótimo！
Tim Lindeman
，
The example section which made up 2/3 of the book was very good。 Great to get some ideas on how to layout your own grids。 The history sections were way too dense to read。
David Skorepa
，
Amazing。 Must read for junior designers especially。
Christine
，
This was a college requirement that I've liked so much that I use now as a freelance designer。 It's important information all graphic artists should be aware of。 I've even asked my front-end web developer husband to read it and he found it helpful as well。 This was a college requirement that I've liked so much that I use now as a freelance designer。 It's important information all graphic artists should be aware of。 I've even asked my front-end web developer husband to read it and he found it helpful as well。 。。。more
Kieran
，
outdated and useless full of bad designs。 maybe useful if you are a very early beginner otherwise its poop。 Dont believe the hype
Serith
，
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 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。 。。。more
Sebastián Romero
，
Muchos ejemplos más que útiles para entender cómo crear， usar y "destruir" sistemas de grillas。 Muchos ejemplos más que útiles para entender cómo crear， usar y "destruir" sistemas de grillas。 。。。more
Leonard Houx
，
Not as great as I was expecting。 It seemed as if Samara was only explaining grids and modern design as a foil to introduce postmodern design， most of which I couldn't get into。 So much postmodern graphic design from the 80s and 90s just looks tacky now。 There was some interesting historical information （like that Emil Ruder was one of the first designers to break the grid）， but I was disappointed to learn very little about how to actually use （or not use） grids。 Not as great as I was expecting。 It seemed as if Samara was only explaining grids and modern design as a foil to introduce postmodern design， most of which I couldn't get into。 So much postmodern graphic design from the 80s and 90s just looks tacky now。 There was some interesting historical information （like that Emil Ruder was one of the first designers to break the grid）， but I was disappointed to learn very little about how to actually use （or not use） grids。 。。。more
Reid
，
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 show 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。 。。。more
Emily
，
Remarkable。 Before reading this book， I never thought there was so much to say about grids。 A fabulous source of inspiration for visual projects！
Abbas Malek Hosseini
，