Grid systems vs trusting your eye, still torn after 3 years

When I started making flyers for local bands back in 2021, I went all in on strict 12-column grids because every tutorial swore by them, but after a few months everything looked stiff and samey so I ditched them completely and just eyeballed spacing... turns out my gut layout for a punk show poster got way more compliments than any grid-based one I did, but now I worry my stuff looks sloppy to actual designers. Do you guys use grids as a starting point or just feel it out as you go?

1 comments

1 Comment

grant.kevin15d ago

Ha! My buddy spent a week rebuilding his whole portfolio with grids, then deleted them all in one night.