How grids work in Collage Studio
Count-matched templates
Add two files and you see two-cell splits (side by side, stacked, and a few diagonals). Add four and you get 2×2 plus mixed hero layouts. Nine files unlock a classic tic-tac-toe. Sixteen is a dense sheet. The layout strip only lists templates whose imageCount matches — you cannot drop six photos into a four-cell map without removing files or switching. That constraint is why the board stays aligned. Clip-path shapes (circle, heart, star) appear mainly at low counts; they are still grids with a mask, not a separate product.
Cover crop, gap, and radius
Each cell is object-fit: cover. Extra picture is cropped; you pan with a drag so the leftover is sky or wall, not a forehead. Gap (0–32 px) is the gutter color of the canvas background. Radius rounds cell corners — useful for a friendly social tile, dangerous on a comparison where you need every millimetre of a product edge. Mixed-size templates exist so a hero shot can dominate while supporting angles stay small. Equal-size templates exist so a jury of SKUs feels fair. Pick based on hierarchy, not on which thumbnail looks busier.
Comparison grids vs recap grids
Two-up horizontal is the honest before/after. Four-up is a room walk or a colorway. Nine-up is an event dump that should still be readable on a phone — beyond that, labels disappear and the board becomes texture. If the destination wants a swipe through full-frame shots, you want carousel mode, not a 16-cell postage sheet. This spoke stays on Single mode: one file out, many cells in.