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This discussion is forcing me to reexamine the reason behind basic design principles, which is good! Precise results and grid-like structures are not inherentl

This discussion is forcing me to reexamine the reason behind basic design principles, which is good! Precise results and grid-like structures are not inherently better than anything else. But the important point is that they're easier to get right. By "right", I mean, "supporting your site's message". If two blocks of texts are not aligned properly, people will notice it (even subconsciously). Does that misalignment help the message you want to convey through the site? Maybe it does, but in most cases it was just an oversight, and not a conscious decision on the part of the designer. (a counter-example: you want to promote a kid's toy, so you use misalignment to convey the idea of unstructured, chaotic fun). Same thing with the golden ration (which, by the way, I don't use myself). Maybe a 3:2 or 16:9 or whatever ratio will work better in some specific cases, but the golden ratio is generally considered pleasing to the eye, and is safer in most situations. Call it laziness, but I know that when I'm designing a new site, using a grid takes care of a lot of decisions for me. Sure it constrains the design. But in many cases, creativity is born out of contraint.

Silhouette 16y ago
I don't have a problem with the idea that some of these principles make useful rules of thumb, as long as it's understood that the goal is to make your site effective and any of the other stuff is just a means to that end. I do have a problem with defroost's position, which seems to be that using things like grids and golden ratios are somehow inherently "right" and if any of us don't agree then we just don't understand.
- sgdesign 16y ago
  I agree. For example Hipmunk's (http://himpunk.com http://himpunk.com) UI doesn't follow a conventional fixed grid, because it wouldn't make sense. As for defroost, I don't think that's what he meant, but I'll let him speak for himself.
- defroost 16y ago
  >I do have a problem with defroost's position, which seems to be that using things like grids and golden ratios are somehow inherently "right" and if any of us don't agree then we just don't understand. That's not my position, and again, I was responding to the guy above who called the OP's use of grids "rubbish". There is no right or wrong in design. Grids and golden ratios are just a couple of many techniques that web designers use. I'm not sure why you are arguing against such devices, because that's all they are. The are aids, compositional tools and saying they suck is a little like saying a hammer sucks for driving in nails.
  - Silhouette 16y ago
    My apologies if I misunderstood your position. From this more recent post, it sounds like we agree on the important points. I'm certainly not trying to "argue against" things like grids and ratios, just trying not to elevate them from rules of thumb that sometimes help to some sort of objectively superior choice.

Silhouette 16y ago

I don't have a problem with the idea that some of these principles make useful rules of thumb, as long as it's understood that the goal is to make your site effective and any of the other stuff is just a means to that end. I do have a problem with defroost's position, which seems to be that using things like grids and golden ratios are somehow inherently "right" and if any of us don't agree then we just don't understand.

sgdesign 16y ago
I agree. For example Hipmunk's (http://himpunk.com http://himpunk.com) UI doesn't follow a conventional fixed grid, because it wouldn't make sense. As for defroost, I don't think that's what he meant, but I'll let him speak for himself.
defroost 16y ago
>I do have a problem with defroost's position, which seems to be that using things like grids and golden ratios are somehow inherently "right" and if any of us don't agree then we just don't understand. That's not my position, and again, I was responding to the guy above who called the OP's use of grids "rubbish". There is no right or wrong in design. Grids and golden ratios are just a couple of many techniques that web designers use. I'm not sure why you are arguing against such devices, because that's all they are. The are aids, compositional tools and saying they suck is a little like saying a hammer sucks for driving in nails.
- Silhouette 16y ago
  My apologies if I misunderstood your position. From this more recent post, it sounds like we agree on the important points. I'm certainly not trying to "argue against" things like grids and ratios, just trying not to elevate them from rules of thumb that sometimes help to some sort of objectively superior choice.