As I network more and more with designers, the more I realize how many designers miss this foundational side of design (in print) and revert to comfort zones of photoshop and illustrator. Dont get me wrong, I love the entire Adobe Creative Suite, but InDesign does things that no other program can touch. I wanted to provide a starting point for those who are afraid of the big bad multi page layout. These grid templates are based on 6 and 12 column grid layout, commonly used by our amazing Swiss friends. I have also set some basic 12pt & 13pt baseline grids with 16pt & 17pt gutters with some paragraph styles to get started.

My formula for the gutters is as follows: (Baseline Pt Size x 2 ) — (Font Point Size) = Gutter Pt Size

If you have any questions about the styles and how I arrived at my margins, gutters, baselines grids, etc feel free to email me. Hope this is of use to some of you. Also put together a simple screen cast just for fun. Enjoy! Much Love!

+ DOWNLOAD GRIDS HERE

The more and more that I fought & struggled through the beer popping nights and the caffeine induced days, I realized that I was in too deep. At the time I didn’t have a choice. I needed the money and the projects were rolling in, so I grabbed ever little bit possible. Now as I come into this new year I can look back at 2010, thank God for its blessings, curse the economy  for sucking, and kiss my wife on the cheek for supporting me. If you follow my rants on the inter-webs you will now that #balance is a very big deal to me. All the silliness behind, #balance is what I learned in 2010. Not just for work, but for family, spirituality, health, and sanity. I am a big believer that our culture is woven deep with the idea that if you work harder, you will win faster, and be happier. I think this is a toxic lie if not handled with care. Jesus had it right when he would eave the crowds to pray. Or when he would have special times to break bread. Of course, working hard is good, but if we are sacrificing our humanity and sanity, we are just martyrs to an empty pursuit of happiness. 2010 was a huge struggle for me as a man & husband and Im thankful that God saw me through.  Thats why my New Years Resolution (or Anti Resolution) is to work less and live more. As simple as it sounds, it is really hard to say no and let things take care of themselves.

As I was going through these ideas in my head I started sketching a brainstorm cloud of all the things I neglected in 2010. My resolution for 2011 is to sit in silence, rest in the Lord, and praise him for his beauty and power. My resolution is to treat my wife like the princess she is, spend more time with the people who spent 22 years teaching me how to be a man (my parents), and spend more quality time with my many communities and networks of friends (faith, design, music). Lastly, my resolution is to become an artist again. I want to get back to my roots and actually create something with my hands…experience that process through my senses, and express my self through something aside from bastardized commercial art (im only a little bitter…Im still thankful. It pays the bills). So my resolution is to work less and live more. Simple enough?

When we started this project I was excited to start the design and comps. We wanted something simple, contemporary, and not to serious. You can see what we came up with below.

We kind of took the summer off of trip, but we are jumping back into it this month. We have some pretty big ideas for the future of Being Gringo, but for now you can check out what we already done here. Enjoy!