Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
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Quick answers
When should I pick Slide and document grid?
When the story is: PowerPoint or Google Slides, one-pagers, classroom posters.
When should I avoid Slide and document grid?
Skip it in cases like: stacking free-floating boxes with no shared edges.
Who invented or popularised it?
Swiss grid systems; later presentation templates and CSS Grid
What does it encode?
columns, gutters and margins as a shared spatial system
Is it OK in ads?
Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.
Will a teacher accept it?
Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present.
Slide and document grid encodes values as columns, gutters and margins as a shared spatial system. Swiss grid systems; later presentation templates and CSS Grid.
In reports, ads and assignments it fits PowerPoint or Google Slides, one-pagers, classroom posters. Skip it when stacking free-floating boxes with no shared edges.
Principles
- Encoding — The core mark of Slide and document grid is columns, gutters and margins as a shared spatial system.
- History — Swiss grid systems; later presentation templates and CSS Grid
- Fit — PowerPoint or Google Slides, one-pagers, classroom posters
- Shared baseline — The eye compares length and position more accurately than area.
- Audience — PowerPoint, Excel or Google Sheets and Meta, Google and retail print share the same geometry.
Misconceptions
- Pretty equals true — Decoration rarely persuades; it slows reading.
- 3-D helps — Perspective distortion wrecks comparison. Keep it flat.
- More series is richer — Do not stack stories. One Slide and document grid, one claim.
- Default palette is fine — Rainbow defaults fail color-blind viewers and grey print. Change Excel or Google Sheets defaults.
Why it matters
- Work — Work: PowerPoint or Google Slides, one-pagers, classroom posters. Readable in four minutes in PowerPoint.
- Ads — Ads: one number and one shape speak first in Meta, Google and retail print.
- School — School: for lab reports and poster boards, pick the form that answers the rubric.
- Craft — Craft: honour columns, gutters and margins as a shared spatial system and decoration falls away.
Slide and document grid: honour columns, gutters and margins as a shared spatial system, and switch when stacking free-floating boxes with no shared edges.