Vary the Premise, Not the Layout

Rule. The axis that varies is the premise. Three layouts of one premise are one option in three costumes.

Why. A site revamp shipped three "distinct" front doors: an index, a masthead over a list, a contact-sheet grid. All three were a homepage that catalogues their things, in the palette the site already wore. One was picked, fully built, then rejected ("this doesnt feel right… more options?") and the old site kept. The build wasn't the failure; the spread was.

How to apply.

• Write each option's premise as one sentence before generating. Two sentences that differ only in nouns are one option: cut it, find a real second.
• Good spreads cross kinds: no navigation at all / time is the spine / it asks before it shows / it is a publication, not a site / never the same twice.
• Palette and layout follow from the premise; they are never the variable.

Related: vary-the-interaction, judge-at-full-size, breadth-after-a-miss