Comments on: “It’s only a green stripe at the top”

By: Mark Boulton

Mark Boulton — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 22:22:30 +0000

Nigel – thanks for the plug! Hope you enjoy the article.

Jason – no problem :-)

By: Jason Liske

Jason Liske — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 10:41:07 +0000

Mark, thanks for sharing your thoughts in approaching this type of animal.

By: Nigel

Nigel — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 02:27:32 +0000

Mark, Since there’s a lot of interest in your work on grids I thought I’d let you all know that DIF’s April issue has been published with your article: “Feeling your way around grids”. Get it now [small subscription fee required]: http://designinflight.com/issues/2005/apr/12.html

Ah, I just know it’s going to be a great weekend.

By: Mark Boulton

Mark Boulton — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 04:35:15 +0000

I’ll certainly be posting about how the grid for this site was created and also the typographic relationships etc.

One thing to look out for will be my article in next months Design in Flight. the articles called “Feeling your way around grids” and covers grid design from a theoretical standpoint.

By: Addison Hall

Addison Hall — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 01:45:46 +0000

Graphic design seems to contain several sub-schools of thought that sometimes clash with one another. I’ve honestly tried to remain open-minded and believe that each of these mindsets have their appropriate applications.

In my opinion, Massimo Vignelli’s work is fascinating and beautiful, although extremely simple in most cases (at least on the surface). But you must consider the applications he designs for: an architectural digest such as Oppositions requires a different approach from a Pearl Jam poster.

In other words, I see your site as very thoughtfully constructed for your content, Mark. Excellent work.

By: Adam Bramwell

Adam Bramwell — Sun, 27 Mar 2005 13:54:22 +0000

If I can echo Khoi and Nigel’s encouragement for an article on your process from a grid design perspective, thanks!

By: Nigel

Nigel — Sat, 26 Mar 2005 04:13:36 +0000

Thanks for another interesting post. I like the clean uncluttered look and IMO your site is one of the best. It puts the focus where it should be, on the content. Glad you’ll be working on a post on your grid and typography – I’m almost finished Muller-Brockmann’s Grid Systems and am fascinated with grids. A breakdown of the what’s and why’s of your design would be a great “companion” case study. Typography and grids are usually weak areas for designers raised on and cocooned by the web. Print designers like yourself who share their knowledge go a long way to educating and improving the rest of us, so thanks.

By: Mark Boulton

Mark Boulton — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 19:04:20 +0000

Thanks for all your comments guys. I feel a bit like the post was digging for compliments, but I assure you it wasn’t. I really wanted to just give an insight into my thinking, from a design point of view rather than a technical point of view.

I’ve also received quite a few email regarding the actual process of getting down and designing this site - sketches and all. So, i’ll certainly be working on getting that post up soon.

There’s so much more I have to say on the subject of typography and grids. Typographic design has rules, rules which have to be understood before being broken. Trouble is, these rules aren’t being taught anymore and they’re in danger of dying along with the lecturers.

I tried to follow the rules with this site (and broke a few along the way, but the most important part is I know why I broke them, right?).

Anyway, cathartic rant over. Grrrrrr

By: Allan White

Allan White — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 10:34:06 +0000

Thanks for sharing your design process and methodology, Mark. Your site is really setting the standard for well-done portfolio/blog sites, and also for EE sites. I find myself constantly pointing people to your site to show them what’s possible with EE in the right hands. =)

By: Ryan Nichols

Ryan Nichols — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 07:43:12 +0000

Hey Mark, You know I stand behind your choices. *grin* I agree wholeheartedly about your comment on visual noise and standing out. That’s exactly how I felt in developing my site earlier this year. I knew that I would rarely suggest a graphic heavy worn look for my clients so why present myself that way?

I think your site is great and says a lot about your design sensibilities. It truely says a lot for a designer to design less than more.

By: Khoi Vinh

Khoi Vinh — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 04:32:02 +0000

Mark, I think I can safely speak for lots of other folks when I say that we’d like to hear more about your design process, especially how you formulated the grid. It’s such a beautifully designed weblog; we want to know how it got that way!