Column-grid poster design made neat and easy

A column-grid system is a particularly useful tool for any designer wanting to create perfectly aligned typography. It can be used in both print design projects and in your web designs, to help you achieve pixel-perfect website layouts.

As Swiss graphic designer and teacher Josef Mller-Brockmann puts it: “The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee.” It permits a number of possible uses, and each designer can look for a solution appropriate to their personal style. But one must learn how to use the grid; it is an art that requires practice.

As a general rule of thumb, the more columns you have, the greater the layout possibilities. I typically use columns vertically, but for additional layout options you can also place rows across the page horizontally, to create ‘modules’.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to set up a column-grid structure the old-fashioned way. Of course, InDesign enables you to create columns (the quick way) with margins and gutters when you create a new document, but by mastering column-grid structures in Illustrator, you can gain a real understanding of the mathematics and principles involved in creating the perfect grid-based design.

Find out about Illustrator CS6's new tools at Creative Bloq.

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