Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
LessMore
Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
When should I pick Slide and document grid?
When the story is: PowerPoint or Google Slides, one-pagers, classroom posters.
When should I avoid Slide and document grid?
Skip it in cases like: stacking free-floating boxes with no shared edges.
Who invented or popularised it?
Swiss grid systems; later presentation templates and CSS Grid
What does it encode?
columns, gutters and margins as a shared spatial system
Is it OK in ads?
Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.
Will a teacher accept it?
Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present.
Slide and document grid encodes values as columns, gutters and margins as a shared spatial system. Swiss grid systems; later presentation templates and CSS Grid.
In reports, ads and assignments it fits PowerPoint or Google Slides, one-pagers, classroom posters. Skip it when stacking free-floating boxes with no shared edges.
Mistakes
- Failure modes 1 — stacking free-floating boxes with no shared edges
- Failure modes 2 — 3-D pies and perspective bars
- Failure modes 3 — Dual axes that fake a correlation
- Failure modes 4 — Truncated axes that shout a small delta
- Failure modes 5 — Legend only, no direct labels
- Failure modes 6 — Missing source, unit or period
Fixes
- Fixes 1 — Return to PowerPoint or Google Slides, one-pagers, classroom posters.
- Fixes 2 — Flat, one axis, direct labels.
- Fixes 3 — Color-blind-safe palette plus pattern.
- Fixes 4 — Rewrite the title as a claim and add a source line.
Slide and document grid: honour columns, gutters and margins as a shared spatial system, and switch when stacking free-floating boxes with no shared edges.