Stefan Sagmeister : Blog 16

Stefan Sagmeister

Stefan Sagmeister is known for his unusual and subversive designs that question the designer’s role in society. His works are quite rebellious and he is sometimes known as a bad boy. He is known for upsetting norms in society and also for his tricks used in the design, typography, conceptual art and also videos.

          

  At first, Sagmeister treated his style as an expression of his attitude. His designs show disoriented images. He moved on from a graphic designer to conceptual typographer and also to a performance artist but sometimes he feels the need to return to his role of graphic designer in order to start something completely new. Sagmeister is very dedicated and committed to his work, when he comes up with something new which is always very innovative he makes sure to get everything right, and also catches one's attention with originality. Once in 1999, he had the lettering of the event poster carved into his skin. Another time in 2003, he ate about 100 different junk food in order to show a before and after picture where he gained 25 pounds. This was used for an exhibition poster. Additionally, he once hanged dangerously out of an upper-story window of the Empire State Building. These are just a few examples of what he is willing to do.

            Moreover, Sagmeister was born in Austria in 1962, where he started his career at the young age of 15. He also went to the University of Applied Arts and also received a scholarship to study in New York. As a young designer, he took several different roles, this served as experience in other fields. Sagmeister also worked with Tibor Kalman and M&Co.  After this stage, he began to specialize in CD cover designs. He says that music inspires him. I.D. magazine was a very good promoter for Sagmeister’s cover designs. They said that this artist’s intentions have set a new standard to this field. He used different techniques such as, printing, laser cuts, die cuts, model building etc. Stagmester is not a computer based designer, he loves to travel and experiment with different mediums. He also likes to take breaks in his careers; some think that this makes him not reliable but in fact, this is a trick in order to come up with more original ideas.

          Sagmeister also worked as a text- based artist. In his designs, he included a personal touch but still kept the individual or group in mind. Some of his designs were kept in his diary while others were published in magazines and also used as commercials. Sagmeister also included shocking changes in his own personal business design. He once posed naked on a postcard advertising his new film.

        

   In conclusion, Sagmeister is known for his ways to shock the audience and for his originality. He does not follow any rules and his risky work encourages more artists to experiment and move away from the obvious. Sagmeister is still very active in his work till this very day. I believe that he will continue to be a very important figure in the history of Graphic Design.

“If it’s too familiar I get bored.”

Stefan Sagmeister

Bibliography

Heller, S., 2013. aiga. [Online]
Available at: http://www.aiga.org/medalist-stefan-sagmeister/
[Accessed 14 01 2015].

Sagmeister, S., 2004. Happiness by Design. [Sound Recording] (TED).

Grunge: David Carson, Blog 15

Grunge: David Carson

Grunge is a particular Art movement that emerged in the 80’s and become more popular during the 1900s. It was a movement that spread from music to fashion and also to Graphic Design. Grunge was inspired by previous style like Punk, heavy metal and also Indie rock. Some characteristics of this movement are messy and chaotic design and also scratchy typefaces. The typographic style used to create adverts, posters and other designs was very different. It specialised in imperfection and it also become the most widespread and universal movement in recent history of Graphic Design.

David Carson is the perfect example that represents the Grunge movement. Carson developed his own unique style through experimentation. This took quite some years, but now everyone can tell a Carson design at a first glance. David Carson is known to be the most popular designer of his time, and obviously this made him a role model for other designers. He was imitated by many around the world, and his style defined the Grunge style perfectly.

Carson’s style explored the ‘rule-breaking’ ideas of the Punk and deconstructive design. Legible typography was not important; he challenged the traditional design of the years before him. He did not follow any rules because he believed in expressive design. His approach was spontaneous and non-formal to the point that sometimes experiments become some of his most popular works.

David Carson’s original career was not Graphic design, but he graduated with a degree in Sociology. He started teaching Sociology while training to be a surfer. His career made him realise how important is design and therefore he started experimenting in the early 1980’s. Surfing served as a great role in his career as it inspired him to design and work for surfer magazine and other sports related magazines. Besides all the magazines, Carson continued with his experimentation and deconstructive typography. He also becomes an art director of Ray Gun magazine. Ray Gun magazine was about music, pop culture, advertising, lifestyle, celebrities and so on. Carson succeeded in designing this magazine for several years and become best known for his designs used for Ray Gun. This was the peak of his graphic design career where he left huge impact on the young generation of designers.

Moreover, later, he experimented with image and text by blurring and manipulating the image or text in order to intensify the content and its meaning. Some characteristics that describe his work are; asymmetrical layouts, densely layered images and fragmented typefaces. He also looks at photography as one of his techniques used in his designs. The contrast he creates, in the weights, sizes and forms are the main method of his experiments and designs. When Carson left Ray Gun he established David Carson Design in New York and was commissioned by several companies such as Nike, Microsoft and Armani. He also produced two books in  late 1990’s.

In my opinion Carson has been a great designer because he was not afraid to take risks. From his experiments, there were mistakes that become unique designs. By breaking the rules, he become an influential designer and also someone so successful that is admired and followed by many.

           

Bibliography

Lupton, E., 2014. Aiga. [Online]
Available at: http://www.aiga.org/medalist-david-carson/
[Accessed 08 01 2015].

Tododrova, N., 2013. Neli todorova. [Online]
Available at: http://nvtodorova.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/david-carson-the-father-of-grunge/
[Accessed 08 01 2015].

Neville Brody : Blog 14

Neville Brody

            Neville Brody is one of the many designers in Britain who experimented in the ‘New Wave’ style. Brody is possibly the best designer of his generation. He studied graphic design at the London College of Printing during 1970’s. He spent three years in total studying at the London College, where his work here, was very experimental. He first made his work public through his record cover designs and also when he was involved in the British music industry.

            

Moreover, Neville Brody becomes the Art Director of Fetish, where he began to experiment with new visual elements, which was also characterized by the mixture of visual and architectural features. He was able to use his new language through a very popular magazine. His ideas were set into practice in a very innovative style for The Face magazine. He gained a lot of attention from being the art director of this particular magazine. This magazine was very popular in the 1980’s, in fact, it was referred to as the ‘Fashion Bible’ and it set many new trends which were a huge success.

            

           Furthermore, his reputation developed strongly from his work on magazines. He became to be known as the world’s leading graphic designer, particularly from his artistic work done on the Face magazine, which was a very different approach to that of other designers at that time. Brody’s unique style started being used as a template for other magazines, adverts and other graphic designs. Neville Brody was also popular with the public for his innovation of combining typefaces and design into a well-composed work of art.

           

           Later, Brody decided to make a bigger step. He started creating his own typefaces. This opened more opportunities to the digital tech era of the time. FUSE is a published collection which includes experimental typefaces and posters that are produced in a challenging way. These posters are a combination of typefaces and design. Fuse is a result of Brody’s spirit in typography.

           

 

On the other hand, Brody changed his style completely while working for Arena in the late 1980’s. He started using opposite ideas of his earlier style. He used minimalist, non-decorative typography, but after a short while he returned to his expressive visual style. In 1987, the Studio was founded in London by Neville Brody. From there on his digital unusual designs become even more popular outside London. His work has been commissioned by many famous organizations from all over the world. Now he makes part of the Research Studios where he focuses on creating new types and new designs. Till now he has designed over 20 different typefaces. His contribution in Graphic design is priceless and invaluable.

            In conclusion, Brody has been an inspiration for several graphic designers, and this happened because he took the risk to experiment and use original ideas in a public work. He wasn’t afraid to use the new technology, and with it he managed to create some very interesting designs which were liked by many.

           

Bibliography

Anon., 2014. Font Font. [Online]
Available at: https://www.fontfont.com/designers/neville-brody
[Accessed 29 12 2014].

Flask, D., 2009. Design is History. [Online]
Available at: http://www.designishistory.com/1980/neville-brody/
[Accessed 29 12 2014].

Wolfgang Weingart: Blog 13

Wolfgang Weingart

Wolfgang Weingart is a graphic designer mostly known for his work in typography and for being one very influential teacher around the world. He used to do experiments through his students’ work while teaching in Basle. He began teaching at the Basle School of Design in 1963, when he was given the role of a typography instructor by Armin Hofman. He travelled to almost all continents in order to lecture more students during his career.

His new approach to typography was different and it was very influential on the development of the ‘New Wave’ later on. His style developed from Swiss typography but the typography that his students created led to a whole new generation with totally different characteristics and manners. Weingart’s class in Basle served as his classroom as well as his laboratory. His best works and experiments were created there.

His experiments included 

circular compositions, interwoven geometric text and others. He rejected the typography of Tschichold and Emil Ruder. Even though he prohibited the rules that were in use at that time, he still made use of the grid but he took the grid to another level. Weingart took the grid and the typeface Akzidenz– Grotesk from its restrictive Swiss design and applied it to his work in order to create more experiments. His designs were more visually complex than others. He also created the famous rectilinear stepped blocks. This technique was used by many other designers after him. The overall appearance of Weigart’s works resembles a grid-based design.

 

Moreover, in order to challenge the Swiss design idea, Weingart, incorporates the collage technique and also the breaking of the grid. When the 70’s era approached, Weingart started to move away from exclusively text-based design to non- typographic imagery. This changed his style completely. He made use of, dot- screen, printing texture as well; he also experimented with layering effect of the film. Weingart embraced the collage technique and used it along with other techniques in his later works.

 

During this time, Apple contributed in establishing the key features which later become essential for Graphic Design. Some of the technologies created were the mouse and the postscript laser printer. Adobe also published new software; this was the innovative approach to graphical communication. Some of Weingart’s students are; April Greiman, Daniel Friedman, Neville Brody, Studio Dumbar in Holland and more. All of his students were influential to the postmodern era and they continued with the experimentation of their master. 

April Greiman was one of his students and also the first graphic designer to use the digital design possibilities. Greiman made use of Swiss modern design mixed with the Californian colours and also the new technology; the Apple computers. She made use of the multi-layering effect which was very effective at that time. April Greiman becomes the leading figure in the ‘New Wave’ graphic design. She also experimented with video commercials; in fact she designed and worked for several huge companies such as Esprit, Optica and Benetton. Like Greiman, there were many other Weingart’s students who succeeded in graphic design.

In conclusion, I think that Weingart made huge steps forward when challenging the rules of Tschichold. He created a new path towards postmodernism. Weingart influenced the development of the ‘New Wave’, the deconstruction and much of the graphic design that was produced later in the 1990’s. The most special thing that I find interesting about Weingart is that even though he was famous, he still taught his students his techniques in order to keep the development process going. This way his influences kept running through the minds of graphic designers.

Bibliography

Burton, P., 2013. Aiga. [Online]
Available at: http://www.aiga.org/medalist-wolfgang-weingart/
[Accessed 22 12 2014].

Flask, D., 2009. Design is History. [Online]
Available at: http://www.designishistory.com/1960/wolfgang-weingart/
[Accessed 22 12 2014].

Modernism and Postmodernism in Graphic Design : Blog 12

Modernism and Postmodernism in Graphic Design

Throughout the 19^th century, Art and Graphic Design works, were produced in a certain artistic way which was about traditional values. Most artists worked in that manner, but the 20^th century brought about some changes. It was a new period in design known as Modernism. Modernism will eventually lead to Postmodernism were other changes occur. The Historical aspect affects the changes that happened in art and design.

The modern and post-modern periods included different works of art from those created in the 19^th century. The works evoked revolutionary ideas and different opinions. These contributed for a more open-minded and democratic world. Modern artist did not look back to the traditional ideas but looked into the future. Everyone was free to express themselves, and equality was given utmost importance.

Modernism developed between World War 1 and World War 2, therefore, the propaganda of the war posters were few examples of the revolutionary ideas of the time. Modern Artists supported and worked for several political revolutions. The Russian revolution was one event that provided brilliant opportunities for artists to try out various experiments and methods. The works expressed futuristic and abstract designs. Typography was given an important role in Modernism. Typefaces were developed and used for specific artistic meanings. We see an end to the spirit of modernism when World War 2 approaches.

Modern designs make more sense when seen in their actual social and political backgrounds. Images were usually symmetrical, structured and simplified. There was a specific way how fonts were aligned in order to compliment the images themselves. Typefaces were simple and basic such as sans serif fonts. Important facts in modern designs were the rules and grid of how empty space should be used in order to have a well-structured composition. This briefly explains Modernism.

Moreover, after Modernism, Post-Modernism followed. Post-Modernism was the exact opposite of Modernism. It was more chaotic and stylized, often with no meaning behind a design. Unlike the structural modern designs, Post-Modernist designs were all about style, creativity and how something looks. Graphic design was for the popular culture like fashion. Technical aspects also were different, postmodern design included collages, photos, and also hand drawn images. Later, the development of the computer made it easier for graphic designers to present more creative work.

Postmodern designers re-established an interest in ornaments and symbolism. They challenged the idea of ‘Form follows Function’ and in fact believed that illegibility can still communicate well. They rejected the teachings of Tschichold and took an anarchic approach known as The ‘New Wave’. The Term ‘New Wave’ was used for everything; graphic design, fashion, music etc. While modernists sought to create a better world, Postmodernists just accepted the world how it is.

In conclusion, even though the two periods have different characteristics, they both are a result of each other and of the current situations and context of the time. Art changes through time, artists look back for inspiration, but they always look forward to new ideas. I believe that the future will come, new experiments will be tested and some may succeed but the best thing about art is that it will never die.

Bibliography

Anon., n.d. Pure Graphics. [Online]
Available at: http://shanny12.wordpress.com/modernism-vs-postmodernism/
[Accessed 17 12 2014].

Anon., n.d. The History of Visual Communication. [Online]
Available at: http://www.citrinitas.com/history_of_viscom/modernists.html
[Accessed 17 12 2014].

Punk : Blog 11

Punk:

The Punk generation was established mainly in London in the 70’s. This movement rejected fundamental values and wanted to eliminate everything that has to do with the establishment, meaning the Queen and the Royal institution, Flag and so on. This style affected every artistic aspect, for example; fashion, music and design. Clothes were usually made from unwanted fabric, and other stuff that they found. They were usually cut, torn and also wrapped with tape and written on. Jewellery was all about safety pins and razor blades.

This is a result of the social and historical context of that time. The post-world war 2, liberal society led to a decaying society. In the 60’s, there were various changes in society like, for example, the rise in divorced couples. Also, all the ‘free love’ ideology meant an increase in teenage pregnancies, and this all resulted in a lot of rebelling teenagers in the 70’s.  In the late 60’s protests started to increase. All the traditional norms that the society was used to were being challenged and therefore changed. The economy was the worse it could be. There were the worse economic crises since the great depression of the 30’s.

Moreover, everything was about mass consumerism, the oil prices and buildings were rising and there was a high amount of unemployed people. Society felt bored, and there was a general feeling of discouragement. No one had hope for a brighter future, and their rebellions were cynical. One industry that was developing is the music industry. Rock music developed into an advanced music industry with multinational companies by the 70’s. They were more concerned with money making and competition for profit than with the idea of rebellion of the earlier years.

All this combined resulted into a new movement in Britain and even in the USA. The Punk movement is referred to as a subculture which was motivated by the negativity.  The Band Sex Pistols was an icon for this movement. It neglected all norms found in society. Jamie Reid is the designer behind the promotional posters of the Sex Pistols. He created some controversial posters which were perfectly combined with the Punk street culture.

Jamie Reid was born in 1952 and studied art in London. He used several techniques to advertise Sex Pistols, but mostly the collage technique. He used random unusual typography. He also made use of the letraset transfer technique. Ransom note lettering was his main characteristic, along with the use of highlighter pens and day glow inks. Reid also used icons from the British establishment and manipulated them. This juxtaposition of order and chaos created shock within society.

Furthermore, these posters and designs continued to become popular and everyone started practicing this style even those who were not artists. This happened exactly before digital typography was created, and therefore changed the design of the future generations. Punk is a free movement, and those who contributed left a great impact. I believe that, even though, today we do look back and get inspired from such styles, we still find Punk as an exaggerated style. Some ideas and motifs are important but in my opinion, Punk was an overstated expressive style.

Bibliography

Anon., 2011. Design History. [Online]
Available at: http://www.designhistory.org/PostModern_pages/Punk.html
[Accessed 10 12 2014].

Anon., 2013. Type Tasting. [Online]
Available at: http://typetastingnews.com/2013/10/24/how-punk-changed-graphic-design/
[Accessed 10 12 2014].

Anon., 2014. 99 Designs. [Online]
Available at: http://99designs.com/designer-blog/2014/04/25/ripped-punk-influences-graphic-design/
[Accessed 10 12 2014].

Psychedelic 60s : Blog 10

Psychedelia

Psychedelia is an artistic movement that emerged in America in the 1960’s. It was mostly associated with Rock music and the hippy lifestyle of that time. This movement had an effect on almost everything; fashion, language, art and even literature. The name came from a drug which was popular with the young people at that time. Images were made to recreate sensations like tripping out. They were also distorted and lettering was illegible. These were applied to posters, album covers and any graphic design work.

This movement is a result of post-war economic and baby boom. In the 60’s, the babies from after war are young adults, and this is a result of their reaction. They questioned everything, like the materialism and political norms. They wanted to create a democratic society free from discrimination. They spoke about various issues, like civil rights, sexual freedom and more. Music was prominent at the time, therefore, art and music were combined and a unique art form was born to create band posters.

These posters included general vulgar and bizarre commercial graphic design. Designers were inspired from previous movements like Art Nouveau, Op art and Pop art. Some characteristics are; flowing curves like those from Art Nouveau and intense optical illusion colour vibration. Also, the lettering is generally illegible, elongated and warped. Colours used are close complimentary colours and the artist usually made use of images found in popular culture.

Two graphic designers that were very influential are Wes Wilson and Victor Moscoso. Wes Wilson was one of the best designers of Psychedelic posters. He was an innovator and very influential. His most well-known works are posters for Bill Graham of the Fillmore. His style is a reminder of this particular movement. He is also famous for inventing a very popular font in the 60’s. Design was much more important to him than legibility. He thought that whoever will be interested will figure it out.

 Victor Moscoso was one of the few artists at that time that was properly trained as an artist and not self-taught like most of the other designers. He was influenced from several styles like comic books, pop art, Art Nouveau and also Victorian images. He used a technique that was about reducing photographs to their basic fundamentals. He also used curved lines and linear shapes with vibrating colours. His technique to create the psychedelic effect is created by choosing contradictory colours on purpose. The images he chose do not always reflect the concept of the poster or work; he simply used them for the effect and for design’s sake.

This movement, although very influential at the time when it was popular, is not very pleasant to see. In my opinion there are very few aspects to appreciate, as every technique used is used wrongly, and the results are very bright and illegible posters that almost hurt to look at. The fact that the designers were not interested in the legibility and message evoked is a bit worrying. It is true that the design needs to take utmost importance but with that design, a message will be conveyed.

The culture at that time works perfectly with this type of art, and this style is also one of the most significant in history. Moreover, the issues fought in the 60’s are still very crucial for today’s world. Therefore, we can conclude that values survived, and after all, Psychedelia’s effect is still rooted in our past and visible in our values.

Bibliography

Anon., n.d. Graphic Design History. [Online]
Available at: http://visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com/psychedelic-60s/
[Accessed 03 12 2014].

Anon., n.d. Irondance. [Online]
Available at: http://irondance.blogspot.com/2011/10/wes-wilson-fillmore-and-more.html
[Accessed 03 12 2014].