Web design: Stuck on the grid?
![jake-rayson.png](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/9c0ec531cfd82490185a8a2627df5d2f36791cba/2014/07/22/2a5985bf-1175-11e4-9732-00505685119a/jake-rayson.png?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
"Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools." Thus spake sweary pilot Douglas Bader. Replace 'rules' with 'grids', and you'll get the gist of how I approach CSS grid systems.
Mark Boulton has a most excellent introduction to grid systems, and his book Designing for the Web is available free online. However, I do take issue with his logic first, feeling second approach to grids.
In the past couple of years I have tried using a grid from scratch. However, I inevitably create the design until it feels right and then apply a grid retrospectively. Invariably — well, the half dozen times I've tried it — there is a grid that fits. And once you have a grid in place, then it's a breeze to create further pages and add additional elements.
![Laurence Wood desktop site](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/7472c31eee91de82706775a2b099026098031bdb/2014/10/05/7441d9da-4cbe-11e4-b6a0-d4ae52e95e57/laurence-wood-desktop-site.jpg?auto=webp&width=1280)
Take, for example, a responsive portfolio site I created for the artist Laurence Wood. I created it in Fireworks until it seemed right, and then added a grid using the excellent Grids extension for Fireworks. There is an equivalent extension for Photoshop called GuideGuide. Turns out I was using a 27-column, 24-pixel column width and 12-pixel gutter, and I didn't even realise it.
So my advice is do what feels right. If that means starting out with a grid, all well and good. But don't be shy of trusting the inner feeling of something being correct. Heck, you could even do some sketches with a pencil.