Designing Grid Systems Doesn't Begin And End with 960
- 1. Designing Grid Systems Mark Boulton
- 2. Who am I?
- 3. Who are you?
- 10. W H AT A R E G R I D S Y S T E M S ?
- 11. A typographic grid is a two-dimensional structure made up of a series of intersecting vertical and horizontal axes used to structure content. The grid serves as an armature on which a designer can organize text and images in a rational, easy to absorb manner. Wikipedia
- 19. TYPES OF GRID SYSTEM
- 20. TERMINOLOGY
- 21. The Unit
- 22. Pixels Pixels
- 23. Ems Ems
- 24. 3 2
- 26. T 1 em
- 27. 3 em T T T 2 em TTT
- 28. Units are the basic building blocks of a grid. They’re all uniform. Units proportions can be rational (eg. 3:2) or irrational (eg. 1:1.618). Units height defines ‘hanging-lines’ in the grid.
- 29. Columns are the groupings of units that create the visual structure of the page. They are not necessarily uniform. Gutters are the spaces in between the units
- 30. Hanging Lines are created by the horizontal alignment of units.
- 31. Modules, sometimes called Fields, are combinations of units or columns. They can vary in width and height.
- 32. COLUMNAR
- 33. Columnar grids are primarily made up of columns
- 35. Defining the Unit
- 36. Constraints
- 50. H I E R A RC H I C A L
- 51. Hierarchical grids place hierarchy before columns.
- 52. C O M B I N AT I O N
- 53. C O M B I N AT I O N
- 54. C O M B I N AT I O N
- 55. C O M B I N AT I O N
- 58. MODULAR
- 59. Modular grids are made of columns and rows.
- 61. Modular grids are difficult to use on the web because content is vertically dynamic.
- 62. BASELINE
- 63. Type matters
- 67. In CSS, there’s no way of setting type to a baseline grid. We can only use the line-height.
- 68. Type matters
- 69. Vertical Rhythm
- 70. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 71. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 72. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 73. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 74. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 75. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 76. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 77. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 78. body { font-size: 12px; } p { font-size: 1em; /* 12px */ line-height: 1.5em; /* 18px */ margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; } line height: 18px ÷ 12px = 1.5em
- 79. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 80. h1 { font-size: 1.5em; /* 18px */ line-height: 1em; /* 18px */ margin: 0 0 1em 0; } font size: 18px ÷ 12px = 1.5em line height: 18px ÷ 18px = 1em
- 81. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 82. .sidenote { font-size: 0.8333em; /* 10px */ line-height: 1.8em; /* 18px */ } font size: 10px ÷ 12px = 0.8333em lineaheight: 18px ÷ 10px = 1.8em
- 83. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 84. h2 { font-size: 1.1667em; line-height: 1.286em; margin-top: 1.929em; margin-bottom: 0.643em; } font size: 14px ÷ 12px = 1.1667em line height: 18px ÷ 14px = 1.286em top margin: 27px ÷ 14px = 1.929em bot margin: 9px ÷ 14px = 0.643em
- 85. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 87. Aboard Minerva off the Coast of New England Daniel is roused by a rooster on the forecastledeck† that is growing certain † The forecastledeck is the it’s not just imagining that light in the eastern sky. Unfortunately the short deck that, towards eastern sky is off to port this morning. Yesterday it was starboard. the ship’s bow, is built Minerva has been sailing up and down the New England coast for the above the upperdeck. better part of a fortnight, trying to catch a wind that will decisively take her out into deep water, or “off soundings,” as they say. They are probably not more than fifty miles away from Boston. Contrary Winds Daniel goes back and sits by one of the windows – these are undershot so that he can look straight down and see Minerva’s wake being born in a foamy collision around the rudder. He opens a small hatch below a window and drops out a Fahrenheit thermometer on a string. It is the very latest in temperature measurement from Europe – Enoch presented it to him as a sort of party favour. He lets it bounce through the surf for a few minutes, then hauls it in a takes a reading. He’s been trying to perform this ritual every four hours – the objective being to see if there’s any rumour that the North Atlantic is striped with currents of warm water. He can present the data to the Royal Society if God-willing he reaches London. Text taken from Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
- 92. Four lines of the main content. 18px x 4 = 72px Then we find the value for 5 lines of the sidenote. 72px ÷ 5 = 14.4px To calculate what 14.4px is in ems (in relation to the body, and the type size for the sidenote) 14.4px ÷ 10px = 1.44em
- 94. C O M B I N AT I O N
- 101. Hiearchical + Columnar + Baseline + Modular
- 106. TOOLS AND FRAMEWORKS
- 107. CSS frameworks Blueprint: http://code.google.com/p/blueprintcss Yahoo UI: http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/grids/ YAML: http://www.yaml.de/en/ 960.gs: http://960.gs
- 108. P RO S • It just works. • Great browser CSS resets • Don’t have to worry too much about IE • There’s a Drupal module or theme for YUI, Blueprint, YAML and 960 • So, why wouldn’t you use them?
- 109. CONS • Extra markup. • Presentational class names - eg. ‘grid-4’ • Only support columnar grids (although some make efforts at Baseline & Hierarchical). • Promotes laziness. There, I said it.
- 110. Build your own
- 112. W H A T Y O U C A N D O . T O D AY .
- 113. 10. Let the content dictate inform the grid
- 114. 9. Compose to a vertical rhythm
- 115. 8. Three, Five, Seven, Nine
- 116. 7. Constraints
- 117. 6. Think outside the grid
- 118. 5. Cascade grid systems
- 119. 4. Embrace legacy
- 120. 3. Give legacy fixed elements backgrounds to fit the grid
- 121. 2. Break the grid. On purpose.
- 122. 1. Remember... A Grid System is an aid. Not a guarantee.
- 123. Thanks! Mark Boulton markboultondesign.com markboulton.co.uk