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Visual Foundations

Grid as a Decision System

A grid is not decoration; it decides span, alignment, responsive recomposition, and density.

gridlayoutresponsive

Design Principle

A stable grid reduces ad hoc placement and keeps complex pages structured across viewports.

Principle A stable grid reduces ad hoc placement and keeps complex pages structured across viewports.

Design action Use clear content width plus a 12-column or 2/3-column structure on desktop; recompute layout on mobile instead of scaling text with viewport width.

Examples Positive example: Dashboards, libraries, knowledge bases, and admin consoles. Counterexample: Each section defines a different width.

Apply when Dashboards, libraries, knowledge bases, and admin consoles. Pages need columns and filter sidebars.

Source notes Source note: Synthesized from Apple HIG, Material Design, NN/g usability principles, and layout/hierarchy practices in mature design systems.

Agent Directive

Use clear content width plus a 12-column or 2/3-column structure on desktop; recompute layout on mobile instead of scaling text with viewport width.

Apply When

  • Dashboards, libraries, knowledge bases, and admin consoles.
  • Pages need columns and filter sidebars.

Avoid

  • Each section defines a different width.
  • Mobile merely shrinks the desktop layout.

Knowledge Metadata

Category
Visual Foundations
Quality
82%
Version
v1
Published
6/6/2026