A successful grid-based design that I like is the website of the Book Cover Archive (http://bookcoverarchive.com/). This website is an archive for book covers (hence the name), and it utilizes a grid-based design for its posts.
Each book, except the first book example which can be seen as two grids, is seen as a single grid. I like this design because it is simple and clean. There is not much clutter and it is easy to realize what the website is about and it is also easy to navigate because of the initial format of the website. This grid-based design works because it is proportioned, spaced well, and easy to view on our eyes. The overall feel of continuity and the various designs of each book is very appealing visually.
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A successful layout design that “breaks the grid” is the website Accueil (http://marchenotredame.com/). The website is clean and still has the functions of a grid-design yet it is off-grid and works perfectly with its brand image. Although their overall website uses a grid structure to divide its different contents, the content is broken down within the structured sections.
I really enjoy the way they used their fonts to separate themselves from any other cafe or store. They are able to differentiate themselves and also clearly deliver their brand message as well as their values. The website engages the customer looking at their website with new elements with each scroll and different styles and texts that make the customer interested in what they would find next on the site.
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A non-successful layout and absolutely awful website design can be seen in Arngren (http://arngren.net/). This website is very cluttered and it has a poor grid layout. When I first looked at the website, I wasn’t sure where to start looking. The inconsistency of the pictures and fonts, as well as the disorganization of the products, is just awful.
The overall feel of the website is a nightmare that you would find when the internet just started out and it seems as if someone who doesn’t know how to properly use CSS created the website. The overall design is not engaging at all and it’s as if the site is throwing all of its information to the customer at once. Every single element on the website vies for the attention of the customer and it also doesn’t have any white space where the customer could look to have a rest from all the clutter.
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