If you are looking for inspiration for grid and column design, here is a nice collection of 32 column-based websites. These sites show how grid layout can be applied on various type of sites — whether a massive content editorial site or just a personal blog. Check out how the layout can be divided into 3 columns, 4 columns, a mixture of narrow and wide columns.

Editorial Sites

First let's check out some of the famous editorial sites. Can you imagine how these sites would be organized without a grid system due to their massive content?

• The New York Times
  
• National Post
  
• Guardian
  
• Times Online
  
• Frieze Magazine
  
• Wired News
  
• The Morning News
  
• Porfolio
  
• We Are Survival Machines
  
• UX Magazine
  

Grid in blog design

Here are some of the blogs that adapted the grid style. I have to specially mention Khoi Vinh, who played the big part in grid web design.

• AI Alex
  
• 5 Thirty One
  
• Subtraction
  
• Astheria
  
• Jeff Croft
  
• Hell Yeah Dude
  
• Jon Tangerine
  
• Mark Boulton Design
  
• The Technology Herald
  
• Gapers Block
  

Break out of the box

Column design doesn't mean you have to be within the box. See how you can break out of the box by using images to form unsymmetrical shapes.

• UC Berkeley
  
• J R Velasco
  
• Chrizdee
  
• AIGA Los Angeles
  

Columns on eye-catchy background

Getting bored of the white background? Here are some good samples of column layout on graphical background.

• 31Three
  
• A Tennessee Winter
  
• Sundance Film Festival
  
• Ungarbage
  

Boxes and Columns

Content can also be organized into evenly distributed columns and rows.

• Kineda
  
• Rainfall Daffinson
  
• Erskine Corp
  
• Stuff and Non Sense
  

Useful Links

• Subtraction: Grid Computing... and Design
• TutorialBlog - Web Design Grid System Links
• Design Grid Systems by Mark Boulton
• Smashing Magazine - Designing with Grid-Based Approach
• Mezzoblue - Columns and Grids
• Design by Grid (gallery site)