The 11th edition of Architectural Graphic Standards has redesigned the interior layouts from the previous editions, with new approaches to melding text and images.
The pages conform loosely to a grid, with the opportunity for elements to break out and take up more or differently shaped spaces while still fitting within the organizational system.
The book's designer, Bruce Mau, sees this layout as the floor plan of the book, while the steel plate on the cover (which will be a tipped-in label in subsequent printings) acts as exterior signage on the book's façade.
A ninth century architectural drawing of a never-built monastery in Switzerland, and Emil Ruder's cubic grid system. The grid system allows for data to be parsed out in small batches or grouped in several different variations across the page.
The design for the placement of text and images is a modified grid system, based off of the juxtaposition between the Plan of St. Gall.
The dominant typeface is a font called Bell Centennial Name & Number, designed by Matthew Carter at Mergenthaler in 1976. It is a revision of the original typeface for AT&T telephone books. The deep red lettering provides the only color in the 1,080-page book.
