Grid & Composition beginner orderededitorialconfident

Modular Grid

Modular Grid example frame

A field of equal modules that lets text, image and white space share one rhythm.

What it does

Müller-Brockmann's argument is that the grid is an instrument of proportion, not a cage. Columns divided by horizontal flowlines produce modules; every element occupies whole modules, so an image and a paragraph relate by arithmetic rather than by eye. The baseline grid must divide the module height exactly or the type drifts. Karl Gerstner's Designing Programmes pushed it further into parametric systems. The common failure is a grid so fine that everything fits it, which makes it meaningless.

The prompt

An editorial spread for [Subject] on a visible modular grid. Twelve columns crossed by six flowlines, every element snapped to whole modules, images occupying exact module blocks with no bleed. Baseline grid dividing module height exactly so all text across both pages aligns. Generous white space as an active element, single grotesque typeface in three sizes only. Offset print on matte coated stock.

Replace [Subject] with what you are shooting. Everything else is deliberate: the gear, stock and lighting are what push a generator towards this look.

Works well in

Midjourney, FLUX, Ideogram

Pairs with

Swiss International StyleLetterpress Impression

The Prompt Atlas

Every prompt here is a starting point. The Prompt Atlas is the full system: hundreds of production-ready prompts organised by outcome, with the reasoning behind each one so you can adapt rather than copy.

See The Prompt Atlas

Back to the Graphic Design Prompt Library