Making and Breaking the Grid

Each section pairs a short explanation with a collection of projects, annotated with diagrams showing the underlying structure of the page. Samara explains how to choose margins, columns and modules, how to align text and images, and how to establish a hierarchy that guides the reader's eye. The breaking section covers techniques such as layering, spatial distortion and conceptual approaches drawn from the history of avant-garde design.

The great value of the book is in its examples. Seeing the same principles applied to dozens of real projects, with the grid lines drawn over them, teaches more than any amount of theory. The second edition refreshes many of the examples with more recent work, and the principles apply just as well to screens as to paper.

The writing can be dense and academic in places, and the annotations are sometimes too small to read comfortably. Absolute beginners may want to start with a simpler book on design basics before tackling this one. As a reference for intermediate designers, though, it is excellent. Keep it near your desk and open it whenever a layout feels wrong. About 240 pages in the Rockport paperback.