For many designers one of the hardest part of the job is starting a design. With peanuts, a cup of coffee and a short creative brief document on your table you start imagining your final design. You crank your brain with the info on the creative document, colors, dimensions and sample designs that your client wants. Using the given info and a little research is the only way to produce a suitable and effective design. Remember your design will carry the company’s image on the virtual marketplace, the World Wide Web. So basically your design serves as a major marketing tool for your client.
Taking in mind the basic site anatomy: the header banner, content area, sidepanel and footer you can establish your site build. These four major areas wouldn’t look good if there is no proportion and order. This is where the Grid Theory comes in.
The Grid Theory is the prime ingredient used by architects and engineers. It is also used by designers as an effective way to present things. We need proportion and symmetry like what Leonardo da Vinci’s "Vitruvian Man" illustrates. A stunning correlation of the symmetry of the human body with the symmetry of the universe. Just like the balance of your design with the images, content and information from the client. This is the designer’s desperate way of bringing order to his chaotic ideas.
So how does the Grid Theory work? It is basically using a grid to bring proportion to your design. Use the Rule of Thirds, slicing and dividing your canvas into three equal columns and rows. The secret is to divide each column and row equally, it doesn’t matter how many times you divide it as long as you maintain 90 degree angles and straight lines.
Use the grid to place your design elements and contents. Just remember to stay within the grid borders. Freely move your objects on your canvas, arrange your major site parts within the grid lines. It is very tempting to align them all on one particular line, but I suggest moving each major element a third column away from one another. This way it will eliminate visual dullness.
Using the Rule of Thirds. Image from Principles of Beautiful Webdesign by Jason Beird
Finding your way around the grid lines is very easy. Slowly with different combinations you can decide what’s the most effective way to introduce your product to the world. With color combination, good graphics, balance, proportion and a big chuck of your creativeness you get your desired effective and good website.