Breaking the Grid

One of the first things they teach you in design school is designing to the grid. At a high level, you take a blank canvas and divide it evenly into columns and rows. Then, you align all your type and visual elements to your grid to produce a harmonious and structured composition.

With some time and practice you get good compositions relatively easily using this method. It is then that a good design teacher will take you aside and introduce you to a new concept: breaking the grid. Oh baby. Drawing outside the lines. Bucking the rules. When done well breaking an established grid can provide dynamicism and energy to a composition. It gives your design spice. However, when done poorly, the result can be a sloppy, chaotic mess.

I contemplated this idea on a recent walk around San Francisco. We all have routines in our lives. We wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, lunch, work, gym, dinner, tv, read, bed, sleep. These activities provide the structure, the grid. If you’ve ever answered “same ol’ same ol’” when someone asks you what’s new you’re probably aligning your life to the grid. I and most people I know gravitate towards living this way.

In the past month and a half though, I’ve broken most of my routines. Some by design, others by necessity. My days are now filled with ad hoc decisions slowly hammering away at a fading structure. Living in a new place every week, working out of coffee shops and libraries, even exercise must now be organized on a day by day basis. It is chaotic and unnerving, and often very exciting.

I know living this way is unsustainable. Routines give a rhythm and predictability that is important to day to day life. However, simple changes like going to a museum in the middle of the day or working in a new environment can really break up the monotony and make you see things in new and interesting ways. So if you’re feeling up to designing your life a bit more, I highly recommend breaking the grid. It might just be that little added spice you’re looking for.