Typography layout systems

Elam's premise: "All design is based on a structural system." There are eight, and the grid is only one. Reaching for a grid by default is a choice made by habit rather than by reasoning.

1. When to invoke

• Composing a page, spread, poster, hero, or screen at the structural level.
• A layout "feels arbitrary" or elements sit without visible relationship.
• Someone reached for a 12-column grid without asking whether it fits.
• You want deliberate movement, tension, or expressive composition.

Do not invoke for sizing (hierarchy-and-scale) or spacing detail (microtypography).

2. Required context