The short version

Twelve columns, then everything else.

The long version

Every project starts on a twelve-column sheet. We set the type, block in the colour and only then bring in images. It sounds slow. It is faster, because every later decision has somewhere to sit.

We write these notes to keep ourselves honest. If a rule does not survive a real project, it goes.

What to try

Take your homepage, print it, and draw the grid over it in red. Wherever nothing lines up, start there.