Alignment is one of those things that comes hand-in-hand when working with grid systems. The subject of alignment isn’t simply a matter of choosing whether or not you want to align text or images to the left or right of a design (though those decisions obviously still matter), instead, we employ alignment to improve our designs. Proper alignment in your designs will make them visually more appealing and will also make it easier for users to scan over a page, sub-consciously also offering a calmer reading experience. All of the elements in your design will have to be aligned in some way, whether this is just plain text on your page, images mixed within the text (or even header or hero images), videos, buttons and call-to-actions, links (within the text or in modules such as a navigation section) or any other elements you might have. Grids will go some way to helping you solve alignment issues or decisions in your design, but what we need to focus on here is how the different elements, groups of elements or particular modules in your design work together. I’ve emphasised from the beginning the importance of a cohesive user experience, and getting alignment right is one of those really important things that can help to enhance an experience for the user. Alignment also allows us to make conscious decisions about where elements are placed and how they interact with each other.
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