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Grid systems in graphic design: A visual communication manual for graphic designers, typographers and three dimensional designers
From a professional for professionals, here is the definitive word on using grid systems in graphic design. Though Muller-Brockman first presented hi interpretation of grid in 1961, this text is still useful today for anyone working in the latest computer-assisted design. With examples on how to work correctly at a conceptual level and exact instructions for using all of the systems (8 to 32 fields), this guidebook provides a crystal-clear framework for problem-solving. Dimension: 81/2 x 113/4 inches, English & German Text, 357 b&w examples and illustrations.
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First published October 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
February 24, 2011
Oddly, this isn't the page-turner I expected. Thus far it's functioning more as an unintentionally hilarious Objet d′art. I tried to like this. I know it's important, every designer should read it, etc. That said, I found it outdated and less than captivating. A landmark publication when it came out, I hoped it would help out my sense of composition and add clarity to everything I create. No such luck for me. I may try out The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst and leave Müller-Brockmann's book out on the coffee table along with , and to wow my guests...
Some links for further exploration:
Some links for further exploration:
August 16, 2011
Grid Systems in Graphic Design is a timeless classic that belongs on every designer and designer wannabee's bookshelf.
Ripe with visual examples, the book doesn't only provide you with a practical framework for design and layout for anything you might be working on (web, print, application development...), it goes the extra mile to explain in the perfect amount of detail why things affect their audience in particular ways, or why you should do things one way or another.
This book dissolves a lot of challenges one faces in layout work and eliminates confusion both for designers and the clients of their finished work. Things will inherently make more sense and the designer's workflow becomes simplified for the better while improving their work greatly.
If you create visual things for a living or for a hobby, you owe it to yourself to at least leaf through the book a couple times. Grid Systems in Graphic Design is fantastic and important reading material that can be enjoyed as a reading piece or as somewhat of a reference piece.
Ripe with visual examples, the book doesn't only provide you with a practical framework for design and layout for anything you might be working on (web, print, application development...), it goes the extra mile to explain in the perfect amount of detail why things affect their audience in particular ways, or why you should do things one way or another.
This book dissolves a lot of challenges one faces in layout work and eliminates confusion both for designers and the clients of their finished work. Things will inherently make more sense and the designer's workflow becomes simplified for the better while improving their work greatly.
If you create visual things for a living or for a hobby, you owe it to yourself to at least leaf through the book a couple times. Grid Systems in Graphic Design is fantastic and important reading material that can be enjoyed as a reading piece or as somewhat of a reference piece.
June 18, 2017
Might be a revolutionary grid book of its era, but not a current one. We moved on from Letraset and photo-typesetting after this book has published. Still good reading though, as long as you are aware of it’s more a history book than design. (And as long as you don't hundreds of orphans and widows in a design book.)
June 23, 2007
I would like to give this book a 3.5, actually, not quite a 4. I think it's really good, packed full of information, and actually pretty interesting to read, as long as you do it a little bit at a time. I do think though that it's a little over the top in insisting the grid is the only way to go, and a bit... insulting to those that choose not to use grids all the time. you sort of have to look past some of the very strong "grids are the best thing ever" statements and absorb the information.
April 13, 2009
This was definitely written by a German in the 60s. Very...structured. Some very useful ideas, especially for people just getting into design. Rules are good. I just wish the latest edition of the book, published in 2007, would have included some less dated examples. I'm sure I'll be able to find some current examples of the grid system on the Internet.
June 1, 2025
Часто графічний дизайн відносять до творчих професій, хоча з практичного досвіду можу сказати, що в дизайнера більше спільного з інженером ніж із художником. І ця книжка підтверджує мою думку. Для того, щоб створити будь який креатив тобі передовсім потрібно поділити його розмір найбільш вигідним і вдалим чином для твоїх потреб. Найцікавіше, що саме під час читання зміг випробувати теорію на практиці. Єдине чого не вистачило � нерегулярних сіток, які можливо не такі практичні, але допоможуть створити композиційно цікаві постери або обкладинки для книг.
March 26, 2025
Extremely good, clear, crisp, and refreshing like tasting an Asian pear for the first time.
June 6, 2013
This is THE classic designers book on grid systems. I have a handful of grid-related books, and this one stands out and the most thorough and theoretical. Muller-Brockmann's explanations for why to make the decisions & thoughtful structure that he recommends is rare wisdom that I didn't get in my design education.
The book is dated in a wonderful way � very Midcentury Swiss. He starts off simple and then gets more and more complicated as the book progresses. I feel like his design isn't directly applicable to a lot of contemporary work, however I still find it useful both theoretically, and also just to thumb through when I'm sketching up layouts –he really was a very creative & inventive designer in terms of composition, in spite of consistently adhering to a strict grid system.
I'm only giving it a 4 due to the paper quality. It's super heavy & nice paper, however it started to yellow and age after just a few years. I don't actually want my version to look THAT vintage... for around $100, it should hold up much better than that.
The book is dated in a wonderful way � very Midcentury Swiss. He starts off simple and then gets more and more complicated as the book progresses. I feel like his design isn't directly applicable to a lot of contemporary work, however I still find it useful both theoretically, and also just to thumb through when I'm sketching up layouts –he really was a very creative & inventive designer in terms of composition, in spite of consistently adhering to a strict grid system.
I'm only giving it a 4 due to the paper quality. It's super heavy & nice paper, however it started to yellow and age after just a few years. I don't actually want my version to look THAT vintage... for around $100, it should hold up much better than that.
March 15, 2018
This book was a great read. The way it is written, as a designer reading it, touched every sensibility. Really well structured and the words were chosed really carefull, which showed how much passion was poured into it.
October 21, 2018
Poor translation and user-experience (Portuguese version), somewhat outdated concepts that are poorly applied in this edition.
Overly expensive and poor reading experience due to the double translation.
Overly expensive and poor reading experience due to the double translation.
January 22, 2021
Technical poetry
August 1, 2020
Keep reading this book every year. I would say ;)
March 28, 2021
This is a book that I will be returning to time and time again. Pure gold!
October 7, 2024
Pure gold, saved me on several typographic projects
March 11, 2018
Overall, very approachable, but could use an update so the writing is more inclusive (all designers are assumed to be “he� by default) and the examples when they get into examples of systems in the world feels a little racked on. Would have made more sense in the beginning. Also the exhibition and architecture examples were weak from a human factors standpoint. I was hoping it would be the Elements of Typographic style approach to the grid, and this, while still useful, fell short of that by some measure.
December 30, 2019
Buscando teoría acerca del uso de retículas en diseño gráfico encontré este libro que pude conseguir gratis. Es bastante viejo, pero esa teoría sigue vigente y me resulto bastante aprovechable. Tiene bastantes ejemplos de retículas para diferentes medios impresos, incluso en espacios tridimensionales.
¿Quizá el libro más útil que he leído este año? tal vez, ha llegado la fecha de hacer el recuento.
¿Quizá el libro más útil que he leído este año? tal vez, ha llegado la fecha de hacer el recuento.
December 27, 2021
Essential for anyone interested in design.
July 5, 2011
this is the essential, original book on grid systems from the master swiss designer josef müller-brockmann. all design students should buy this book if you want to learn about how to organize content and type in a beautifully visual and modern way.
October 7, 2022
Impresionante. Realmente le cambia a uno el ojo.
Las sans serif, el interlineado que aburre al ojo, el margen de una página demasiado pequeña, las fotos de diferente tamaño, el curioso ancho de una columna de texto� en fin, cositas que ahora considero de mal gusto.
Las sans serif, el interlineado que aburre al ojo, el margen de una página demasiado pequeña, las fotos de diferente tamaño, el curioso ancho de una columna de texto� en fin, cositas que ahora considero de mal gusto.
May 8, 2013
Un libro de cajón para todo aquel que pretende saber algo de diseño.
March 13, 2025
A must read book for graphic designers
April 7, 2023
Masterclass in constructing the page. An awesome reference book for any designer. I’d consider it a must-read.
April 12, 2007
Read it in college and again in 2006-2007. Required reading for graphic designers.
April 15, 2022
This is the most Swiss book ever.
Josef Müller-Brockmann was really, really into grids, and in this book, a classic in design theory, he waxes eloquently about the use of grids to solve every design problem, from page layouts to exhibition halls to city planning.
Print applications make up the bulk of its chapters, and with fine, Swiss precision Müller-Brockmann talks about typography, photography, and magazine and book layouts, before going on to architecture, art, and ancient systems of order.
This is a book for design nerds and design students. Not often will you read a book by someone who loved his craft the way Müller-Brockmann loved grids. His enthusiasm reminds me of Toshiro Kageyama talking about go.
In another life, I might have liked being a designer, and I've been dabbling in it lately (just enough to appreciate how deceptively simple good design looks and actually isn't), so I bought this book and read it cover to cover. It's a gorgeous work of design itself, with photographs and text elegantly laid out on every page, and after the first chapter you will start to see grids everywhere.
A classic. I would have liked to see what Müller-Brockmann would have done with modern digital tools.
The grid is used by the typographer, graphic designer, photographer and exhibition designer for solving visual problems in two and three dimensions. The graphic designer and typographer use it for designing press advertisements, brochures, catalogues, books, periodicals etc., and the exhibition designer for conceiving his plan for exhibitions and show-window displays.
By arranging the surfaces and spaces in the form of a grid the designer is favourably placed to dispose his texts, photographs and diagrams in conformity with objective and functional criteria. The pictorial elements are reduced to a few formats of the same size. The size of the pictures is determined according to their importance for the subject.
The reduction of the number of visual elements used and their incorporation in a grid system creates a sense of compact planning, intelligibility and clarity, and suggests orderliness of design. This orderliness lends added credibility to the information and induces confidence.
Information presented with clear and logically set out titles, subtitles, texts, illustrations and captions will not only be read more quickly and easily but the information will also be better understood and retained in the memory. This is a scientifically proved fact and the designer should bear it constantly in mind.
Josef Müller-Brockmann was really, really into grids, and in this book, a classic in design theory, he waxes eloquently about the use of grids to solve every design problem, from page layouts to exhibition halls to city planning.
Print applications make up the bulk of its chapters, and with fine, Swiss precision Müller-Brockmann talks about typography, photography, and magazine and book layouts, before going on to architecture, art, and ancient systems of order.
This is a book for design nerds and design students. Not often will you read a book by someone who loved his craft the way Müller-Brockmann loved grids. His enthusiasm reminds me of Toshiro Kageyama talking about go.
In another life, I might have liked being a designer, and I've been dabbling in it lately (just enough to appreciate how deceptively simple good design looks and actually isn't), so I bought this book and read it cover to cover. It's a gorgeous work of design itself, with photographs and text elegantly laid out on every page, and after the first chapter you will start to see grids everywhere.
A classic. I would have liked to see what Müller-Brockmann would have done with modern digital tools.
June 30, 2018
TODO full review:
+ Excellent guide for graphic design practitioners, focusing on structure for the page (the 2d plane).
+++ Clear, concise, full of technical detail and with a proper investigation of the structured dedign space. How many words per legible line? A long-lasting constant, of around 10. Noted.
+++ Many excellent examples and analysis of practical use.
+ Good incursion into the design of structured 3d spaces, complete with a full-room and a full-expo example.
-/+ Many of the lofty design principles will seem quite outdated for some. Structure? After the 1990s?! How posh!
+ Some exploration of art using structure as the basis, across millenia. Better read 's as a complememt.
-- No exploration of the art and craft that could emerge from breaking minimally (or gradually) the rigid structures. My mind jumps to the best of graphic novels, and perhaps also to the analysis by 's .
--- Although several examples of large-count subdivisions exist in the book (e.g., a folder with 54 panels and one with 72 panels spring to mind), large-counts are not explored. Later graphic designers and especially special graphic novelists have tried their hand at such design, e.g.,'s hosts an impressive two-pager with what looks like a 2x72 (if I recall correctly the counts).
+ Excellent guide for graphic design practitioners, focusing on structure for the page (the 2d plane).
+++ Clear, concise, full of technical detail and with a proper investigation of the structured dedign space. How many words per legible line? A long-lasting constant, of around 10. Noted.
+++ Many excellent examples and analysis of practical use.
+ Good incursion into the design of structured 3d spaces, complete with a full-room and a full-expo example.
-/+ Many of the lofty design principles will seem quite outdated for some. Structure? After the 1990s?! How posh!
+ Some exploration of art using structure as the basis, across millenia. Better read 's as a complememt.
-- No exploration of the art and craft that could emerge from breaking minimally (or gradually) the rigid structures. My mind jumps to the best of graphic novels, and perhaps also to the analysis by 's .
--- Although several examples of large-count subdivisions exist in the book (e.g., a folder with 54 panels and one with 72 panels spring to mind), large-counts are not explored. Later graphic designers and especially special graphic novelists have tried their hand at such design, e.g.,'s hosts an impressive two-pager with what looks like a 2x72 (if I recall correctly the counts).
February 22, 2025
� UX/UI Designer’s Take �
It’s hard to believe, but the book about grids turned out to be incredibly fascinating. I read it over the weekend. 📚�
I subconsciously understood a lot about complex grids thanks to geometry and gestalt design principles. However, the book opened up an entire world of possibilities in visual communication based on the mathematics of grids. My brain, which loves organizing chaos, was thrilled. 😄
So, the main points:
� Many designers don’t know how to work with grids, and this is a great area for growth. 🌱
� Typography laws have remained unchanged for centuries. For example, the Garamond font is nearly 500 years old, and it has been and still is one of the most iconic. 🖋�
� Both excessively long and too short lines of text are tiring. As well as fonts that are too small or too large. Just like overly large letter spacing or too small line spacing. You should carefully avoid anything that disrupts the rhythm of reading. (Remember, for UX designers, empathy for users is everything 😉)
� Most tasks that a designer faces can be solved using an 8-module grid.
� Grids with more modules, such as 20, 60 or even more modules, create a huge range of visual possibilities for design. 🎨
� Photos, illustrations, drawings, statistical data, tables, and other design elements can be adapted to the grid. Integrating them into the grid emphasizes the visual structure of the design. 🖼�
� The process of working with grids is labor-intensive, but the final result is well worth the effort. 💪
Even though I read the book quite quickly, I feel it will be a go-to for me, and I’ll often return to it for inspiration. The book contains many beautiful examples of using grids in graphic design.
It’s hard to believe, but the book about grids turned out to be incredibly fascinating. I read it over the weekend. 📚�
I subconsciously understood a lot about complex grids thanks to geometry and gestalt design principles. However, the book opened up an entire world of possibilities in visual communication based on the mathematics of grids. My brain, which loves organizing chaos, was thrilled. 😄
So, the main points:
� Many designers don’t know how to work with grids, and this is a great area for growth. 🌱
� Typography laws have remained unchanged for centuries. For example, the Garamond font is nearly 500 years old, and it has been and still is one of the most iconic. 🖋�
� Both excessively long and too short lines of text are tiring. As well as fonts that are too small or too large. Just like overly large letter spacing or too small line spacing. You should carefully avoid anything that disrupts the rhythm of reading. (Remember, for UX designers, empathy for users is everything 😉)
� Most tasks that a designer faces can be solved using an 8-module grid.
� Grids with more modules, such as 20, 60 or even more modules, create a huge range of visual possibilities for design. 🎨
� Photos, illustrations, drawings, statistical data, tables, and other design elements can be adapted to the grid. Integrating them into the grid emphasizes the visual structure of the design. 🖼�
� The process of working with grids is labor-intensive, but the final result is well worth the effort. 💪
Even though I read the book quite quickly, I feel it will be a go-to for me, and I’ll often return to it for inspiration. The book contains many beautiful examples of using grids in graphic design.
September 9, 2021
I bought and read this as it's considered to be such a highly regarded classic in the design world. And though I know it was revolutionary in its time, in my opinion a solid 60% of it is now antiquated. The grid system is still widely used and can be seen in most everything from printed materials to digital media like apps and websites... BUT, with the advance of technology programs like the Adobe suite, we no longer need to rely on paper, measuring out physical type sizes, math, and trial and error to create perfect grid systems, so a lot of the text on how to set up a grid system and determine how much space should be between rows just seemed like a fun historical note.
I did love seeing just how many layouts can be created out of a single grid system, and I love the use of strict rules in design (as a UX/UI designer who thinks design is incredibly different from art). I'd love to see an updated version of this some day, though I don't expect that to ever happen.
I did love seeing just how many layouts can be created out of a single grid system, and I love the use of strict rules in design (as a UX/UI designer who thinks design is incredibly different from art). I'd love to see an updated version of this some day, though I don't expect that to ever happen.
May 4, 2019
There are a few hard and fast rules he outlines that I was able to apply to my work the next day around typography and text legibility, so I really liked that. I design for web, and I think there are some useful concepts here around heirarchy of information, obviously layout, how to use illustrations / pictures, etc.
I do think it's not 100% relevant to web design. There are a lot of things here teaching the reader about DIN sizes, and a lot of references to how to send things off to your printer, etc. Maybe some relevance for print designers, but that's not as ubiquitous now as it was when this book was printed.
Hilariously and stereotypically German when it comes to how rule based everything is. I love that about it.
All that said, theoretically this is a very important book and I think there will always be a place for what's said here.
I do think it's not 100% relevant to web design. There are a lot of things here teaching the reader about DIN sizes, and a lot of references to how to send things off to your printer, etc. Maybe some relevance for print designers, but that's not as ubiquitous now as it was when this book was printed.
Hilariously and stereotypically German when it comes to how rule based everything is. I love that about it.
All that said, theoretically this is a very important book and I think there will always be a place for what's said here.
August 15, 2020
I had long awaited to get my hands on this book � a piece considered classic in graphic layout design. It was pretty much what I expected it to be: more like a handbook and less of a page-turner. Sure, bits of it are outdated as it is written considering the popular mediums of its time, so mainly print. I also cringed a bit when, for example, reading the praise about Le Corbusier's work � a lot of his ideas appear a lot less successful nowadays than they did back then. But, the book was written in 1981, after all.
That being said, there is still a lot to take from it. The chapters on constructing the grid with type seem to be as relevant as ever now in the age of digital media and I can see myself coming back to it from time to time to refine my skill. Definitely don't regret reading it.
That being said, there is still a lot to take from it. The chapters on constructing the grid with type seem to be as relevant as ever now in the age of digital media and I can see myself coming back to it from time to time to refine my skill. Definitely don't regret reading it.
April 11, 2021
Some passionate sections about the work of design in here, though at time I would think: “this is awfully strict about something specific to print design, but how can I apply it in the digital space (which aren’t limited by page measurement or widths in the same way)?� By the end, the very specific approach to building and using grids in print wanes and it broadens its scope to more general and less instructive encouragement to see and work with grids in other contexts. For me, that was the most interesting stuff but it took a while to get there. And honestly, the more tedious breakdown for how to determine grid elements is what I got this for. It helped, just not for my medium. That being said, the many examples were great training for the eye.
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