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Geometric & Parametric Grids

From islamic geometric patterns to Josef Müller Brockmann’s circular grid systems – grids are often constructed with geometric components, for example compounds of rectangles, circles or triangles.

Geometric drawn letters
Image from Wikipedia | Octagonal patterns in Mughal architecture, 1925

When creating grids and patterns from basic geometric shapes, things get especially interesting once you start incorporating different parameters: How many rows and columns does the grid have? How big is the gutter in between? – With just a few parameters, you can create endless variations of grids, and serendipitous encounters await.

“Defined broadly, a parameter is a value that has an effect on the output of a process. […] In the context of architecture, and design, parameters describe, encode, and quantify the options and contsraints at play in a system.”→ Form+Code in design, art, and architecture by Reas, C., McWilliams, C., & Lust., 2010. p. 95 

letters drawn in a geometric grid
Image of the Letter Spirit type system by Douglas Hofstadter, 1995
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1. Geometric
1.3. Circle