Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thoughts on structure - An introduction --
Pt. 1:
Making the grid --
Coming to order - A brief history of the graphic design --
Grid basics --
Building a grid --
Using a grid --
Pt. 2:
Breaking the grid --
On the other hand - A historical survey of non-structural design tendencies --
Alternative architectures --
Intuitive, relational, and conceptual --
Considering the practical in the impractical.

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.