Using a Grid Systems for Print Design

When it comes to creating high-quality designs for print projects, grid systems are an absolute must. They help you organize your visual elements on the page, keep your design aligned within the printable area, and facilitate the principles of good design. In this post, we’ll expand on these points and give you some behind-the-scenes tips on how we create standout print designs using grid systems.

Why Use a Grid?

Grid systems keep your visual elements orderly. They also allow you to easily apply design best practices, such as the Golden Ratio or the rule of thirds. When you follow a compositional rule like the rule of thirds, it adds movement to your design. Movement is what draws the viewer’s eye from one part of the page to another. It is critical to creating print pieces that properly communicate information in a logical order.

Another reason to use grid systems for print design is to keep your elements aligned within the printable area of the page. If your margins and gutters are not properly set before you create your grid, then your entire design can be thrown out of alignment. Of course, in order to properly set your print boundaries, you will need to have a thorough understanding of print techniques and how your specific design will be printed.

How to Use a Grid

Using a grid system can be as simple as selecting a preset from within your design application of choice. At Diace Designs, we prefer to use Adobe InDesign when designing for print. InDesign makes it easy to create page templates using grid systems, and they also allow you to create your own custom grids—our preferred method! Using custom grids does require some math skills, but it’s worth it for the end result. If you’d like to try creating your own grid system, we recommend starting from the outside first; figure out your margins and gutters so that you can clearly see the printable area you have to work with. Then, find the center point of the page and work outwards. Once you’ve established your grid, set your design program preferences to “snap to grid.” It will save you a ton of time as you arrange the objects on the page.

As an elite creative agency, we have a deep passion for graphic design and very high standards. That’s why we use custom grid systems for every print design project we take on. Putting in the extra work to achieve precision, balance, and movement is part of our standard M.O. and it’s why our clients continue to count on us for their most important projects. If you have a project that requires a high level of skill and extraordinary attention to detail, contact us. We’re the ones for the job!

About Kara Franco
Kara writes copy that speaks. She has a knack for creating clear, compelling messages without wasting words. She is passionate about digital marketing and believes that copy is the cornerstone of user experience.

Copywriter + Content Strategist
Kara@diacedesigns.com