If your base gutter is 12, the next step might be 18 or 24. You can also employ units with padding as you mentioned. To keep a well organized grid, you can set the type in some kind of container that adheres to the base grid with the type inset by a unit or two or three.
Updated for January 12, 2017 (Toddlers) patch. Pose Player. This is a mod that will add the option to play poses and animations in game. It adds an interaction to your sims called Pose By Name and Pose By Pack. Just click on your sim like you would to do anything else.
Poser. Any one who does not follow his/her own ideas of what he/she likes. Following no one set norm makes you real and following no one set norm makes you poser. Poser is governed not by the clothes, music, or makeup you wear, but rather by the state of your mind and the conformity to your own beliefs.