For centuries there has been a link between art and mathematics, but how can you quantify beauty? How can you create formula and systems to create aesthetic appeal? Philosophers, mathematicians, architects and artists have tried to answer these questions for generations.

Grids have long been used by designers to aid and measure composition — to create a framework with which to construct the design. The relationship a designer has with the grid is that makes them so much more than lines. They are the framework of possibility.

Mark Boulton takes you through the steps to designing a grid, using compositional tools like the Rule of Thirds, and the Golden Section, and the implementation using web standards and CSS frameworks such as Blueprint and 960.