A grid is not decoration
A grid is the decision that lets type, image and margin hold a relationship. It is not a pattern printed on the page. When it is working, the work looks inevitable.
House of ARA uses three systems, not as styles, as tools. Columns assign width. A baseline assigns height. Modules assign a plate a span instead of letting it float. The website, the lookbook and the guidelines should share the same decisions.
What a grid is for
To make emptiness structural. A margin that is leftover is a gap. A margin that is assigned is part of the identity. Captions lock to a column so they do not wander. Display type may break the grid; body type may not.
What it is not
A visible overlay on a finished page. A golden-ratio spiral. A diagram from a framework. A student project. If you can see the grid, it has started to decorate. If you cannot feel it, the work is a pile.