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].

Pop Art: Blog 9

Pop Art:

Pop Art was an artistic style of the popular culture. This movement showed positivity during the post-war period, where consumerism flourished. It happened together with pop music and they worked well together. Pop art was young and fun to the artistic movement. It included various styles of illustrations, paintings and sculptures in different countries. But the most common interest was the interest in mass production and mass media.

This movement aimed to remove the idea that art is associated with high standard cultures. They wanted to evoke that art is for everyone and that it can be influenced from any source. This idea was very influential at that time. Pop artist believed that everything is inter-connected. Most of them started their career in commercial art, like Andy Warhol, who was a Brilliant magazine illustrator and also a graphic designer. Ed Ruscha was also a graphic designer while James Rosenquist started as a billboard painter. Their experience in commercialism trained them to work for mass culture.

In the UK at around 1952, a group of artists started to discuss how they can incorporate art with mass culture. They were looking forward for this change. The most important topics they discussed were comic books, rock and roll music, and billboards. The first person to use the word POP in an artwork was Paolozzi. He created a collage with cut-outs of a pin up girl, Coca-cola logo, fighter plane and a pistol with the word POP bursting from it, in a white cloud.

In the United States, Pop art was developed from the reaction against the expressionists. The artists wanted to put art again in the real world, far from the abstraction that was being produced. The founders of American Pop art were Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. Jasper John was influenced by DADA, especially by the iconography. His use of these icons made his work recognisable. His works represent balance between reality and abstraction. He was also influenced from the cubist’s collages.

Robert Rauschenberg’s images are usually combined with real objects and also painting. The work of these artists is often referred to Neo-Dada. Rauschenberg experimented quite a lot; he tries to capture life’s chaos. Moreover, an artist that is mostly known for Pop art is Andy Warhol. He focused on commercialism and mass production. He is mostly known for repetition in his art, the idea behind it is to show how mass culture works. The subjects vary from celebrities to soup cans, but his approach was always the same. Warhol did not agree that craftsmanship needs to express the artist’s personality. In fact, he worked to remove both craftsmanship and personality from his art works.

Pop art is also mainly associated with comic strips. Roy Lichtenstein created this style of black outlines, bold colours, and tones produced by red dots. Lichtenstein’s hard-edged style was an answer to the misunderstanding of that time’s abstraction in art. Pop art was also seen in Sculptures. Claes Oldenburg was a main figure in this art. He brought the flat art posters and comics to life with his sculptures. His idea was not functionalism, but it was art as it is seen with our eyes.

In conclusion, Pop art was and still is a strong style which influenced every type of art from music to fashion. This style is very fun to look at, and I really like it as it can be taken as a lifestyle not just an artistic style. One’s taste of music and fashion style can depict his or her character, and this is what a movement or style should be about, a complete lifestyle.

Bibliography

Anon., 2014. Arty Factory. [Online]
Available at: http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/pop_art.htm
[Accessed 36 11 2014].

Wolf, J., 2013. The Art Story. [Online]
Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art.htm
[Accessed 26 11 2014].

Helvetica: Blog 8

Helvetica

       Helvetica is a well-known Typeface all over the world. It has also been the most popular typeface since it was published. We see many advertisements and other means of design done with Helvetica nowadays.

Post WW2 Swiss design was dominated by Akzidenz Grotesk typeface which was created by Berthold around 1898. After in 1957, Neue Haas Grotesk, the original Helvetica, was launched by the Haas foundry in Zurich, particularly by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman. Helvetica was licenced for the linotype machine. This typeface was created to represent functionality and also legibility. It was neutral and also without any particular meaning. That is why Helvetica was then used for almost every aspect in Design.

       

       In 1960, the typeface was licenced to a German foundry; Stempel. The marketing director decided to rename it Helvetica in order to make the typeface more popular internationally. Helvetica is a variation of the Latin word ‘Helvetia’ which means ‘Switzerland’. This brought up some controversy between the designers, as they did not want to name it after a particular country, therefore, they agreed on Helvetica.

Helvetica is a typeface used everywhere by designers, big corporations and also other small firms. This typeface received a number of rewards and it was recognized worldwide. We see Helvetica in our daily lives loads of time. We see it used in logos, websites, packaging, signs and more. This typeface has a lot of variations, also a number of language variants.

       

      Helvetica became really popular as when it was created many companies were looking for a change. Helvetica is very clean and modern, completely different from the advertisements created at that time, which were very fancy and decorative. Helvetica has that look that companies were looking for. It was sleek, fresh and new. That is why many chose to use Helvetica for their brand identity, so that to set themselves apart from an unpleasant past.

Helvetica is unique because it is all about the negative spaces that make up the characters. It also remains legible in all setups, like for example signage and airline logos. Helvetica is also widely used online. It is both classic and modern looking; edgy and elegant. It is simple, therefore, good for everything. Some companies that used this typeface for their identity are American Apparel, American Airlines, Target, the NYC Subway, etc.  

      

       Helvetica is also referred to as a safe font. It is a safe option to get started, but I don’t think it will get you anywhere. Helvetica has been overused and it has become meaningless. In order to succeed, I think that a designer should be a little daring; going through the safe track might work but will not be self-satisfactory. The aim of a designer is to always put full potential in a work, and this is done by experimentation and developing new ideas.

 

Bibliography

Anon., 2010. Web Designer depot. [Online]
Available at: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/01/the-simplicity-of-helvetica/
[Accessed 19 11 2014].

Anon., 2014. lino type. [Online]
Available at: http://www.linotype.com/188/helvetica.html
[Accessed 19 11 2014].

Jan Tschichold : Blog 7

Jan Tschichold   

Jan Tschichold is the person who applied new approaches to the daily problems in design. He explained these to wide area of people that has to do with graphic design work such as printers, typesetters and obviously designers.

Tschichold is the son of an artistic man, a sign painter and designer in Germany. Tschichold started training in calligraphy from a very early stage. At the age of twenty-one, he visited the first Bauhaus exhibition and was inspired instantly. In fact in his designs he makes use of characteristics from the Bauhaus and also from Russian Constructivism.

Tschicold goes to Switzerland during the rise of the Nazi. He focused on the new typography. He designed a magazine which explained the rules of asymmetrical typography to printers, typesetters and designers. This booklet’s main colour was red and black including avant-garde work. At this point in Germany, the most used layout was still medieval and symmetrical.

In 1928 Tischichol’s new ideas were all inserted in his book ‘Die neue Typographie’ meaning the new typography. He was fed up with the layouts and used at that time. He wanted to remove the use of clean lines and symmetrical layouts and to introduce new asymmetrical typography in order to create more visually interesting works. In his book, he set four main rules for the standardization of modern type. He rejected all use of serif type. Only Sans Serif types were allowed to be used. He also set standard sizes for paper and guidelines for those who form a typographic hierarchy when using the type in certain designs.

Tschichold aimed for functionality and also for the most direct way and clear explanation. He highlighted the importance of machine composition and its effect on graphic design. He favoured the beauty of modern design without any use of decoration. He also liked headlines that are aligned with the left of the margin, with different line lengths and also different weights for sans serif type. He says that this type of design expresses the new age of machine that they were in. These characteristics give value, texture and balance to the work. The white space was given new importance to the structure of the basic shapes used in typography. The significance of such rules was clarity and functionalism and not just beauty.

Tschichold’s text is still relevant for today’s design. Finally, he ended up working as a classicist theory, where designs were centered and roman typefaces were used as they were ideal for blocks of copy. Tschichold also spent part of his life working for Penguin Books where he established standardization for the covers of all their books. After a long time, we must say that he left a lifelong impression on designers’ work, thoughts and their use of typography. This will definitely continue to affect more designers in the future.

Bibliography

Anon., 2009. Design is History. [Online] 

Available at: http://www.designishistory.com/1920/jan-tschichold/

[Accessed 16 11 2014].

Purvis, P. B. M. a. A. W., 2012. Jan Tschichold and the New Typography. In: Meggs' History of Graphic Design. New Jersey: John Wiley and sons.