International Typographic Style

[Megalith]

I'm looking for essential reading materials concerning the swiss style, which I've been trying to adopt (and hopefully master) as a designer.

I seem to be having a bit of trouble with knowing what kind of grids I should be setting up. My current thinking is that it's the grid that will decide the design. But is that the wrong way to go about it?

From the reading I've done on the subject, I assumed that there were "ideal" grids/templates that served as the starting points for most of the work out there.

 

[madFive]

Searching for "Swiss Design Book" on amazon looks like it turns up plenty of good looking options. I also recently watched the documentary film "Helvetica" on netflix which gave a very good introduction to the Swiss typographical style. I'd highly recommend giving that a view when you have a chance.

Using a grid for your layouts is a very good practice, especially when doing multi-page layouts, as it builds consistency across the entire design. There are several rules of space and balance that go into choosing how to set up a grid, but I never learned any "master-grids" that should be used on a regular basis - it will be up to you to know what message you are trying to communicate and know how to set up your grid with the right breathing room and subject placing. Generally as soon as you know the rules and can work within them, you can start breaking the rules to achieve different results as desired.

You should definitely learn the rules as soon as you can, but don't assume just knowing them will make your design work improve by leaps and bounds. You need to design as much as you can, and keep flushing out the old ideas and force yourself to create as many completely new things as you can to get your brain in the habit of thinking originally. Learn to draw inside the lines, try drawing outside of them and keep drawing.