April 14, 2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• Postmodernism
• Wes Wilson
• Victor Moscoso
• Push Pin Studios
• Wolfgang Weingart
• New Wave Typography
• Willi Kuntz
• Rosmiare Tissi
• Siegfried Odermatt
• April Grieman
• Paula Scher
• Charles Anderson
• End of History and Death of the Author
• Neville Brody
• Jacques Derrida- Grammatology
• Cranbrook
• Ed Fella
• David Carson
• Émigré
• Deconstruction
• Bruce Mau
• Why not Associates
• Benjamin Saviginac
• Jonathan Barnbrook
• Chip Kidd


During class tonight we talked and saw works about several artist's and companies that I like very much such as Neville Brody, David Carson, and Why Not Associates. I find all of their work to be very different and innovative. They use things and combine things in a way that really call my attention and make me want to research them more and use them as inspiration. They mix images, text, textures, transparency, and many other effects that really make a simple photograph call anyone's attention. Many times the original image looks nothing like the end product, but it looks better and they add more life to them. The role of the graphic designer will be seriously challenged in the 21st century.

In the last page of tonight's lecture presentation it says "...Designers will need to have something to contribute other than basic production skills. Designers no longer work with stable flat compositions but instead conceive of graphic systems that coordinate multiple back–stage tasks..." I think this is very true. Graphic design is evolving and constantly in change. Once we graduate we have to be up to date with all the programs and new innovations because the basic production skills we learned in college will eventually become obsolete.

Design Discourse 2

Why Designers Can't Think
by: Michael Bierut


Key Points:
• Graphic Designers
• structure
• communication
• SPECIALIZED DESIGN SCHOOLS- two categories
- Process Schools: form-driven, problem- solving approach
drawing letterforms, "translating" three-dimensional objects into idealized high-contrast images, and basic still-life photography.
- Portfolio Schools: provide students with "books" that will get them good jobs upon graduation.
problem solving mode is conceptual, bias for appealing, memorable, populist imagery. The product, not process, is king.
staff is impatient with idle exercises that don't relate to the "real world."
-SOMETHING IN COMMON:
What's valued is the way graphic design looks, not what it means.
"Semiotics" or " Conceptual Problem Solving"
Employers want trained designers, not writers and economists.
• Typography
• Visual Problem Solving
• Advanced Aesthetics
• formal training
• curiosity
• culture, science, politics, history
• high school seniors-bright future in "graphics"
• Swiss style process schools- perceived "slickness"
• design education
• Corporate Identity Firms
• Package Design Firms
• diverse alternatives
• technical skills
• purely visual solution
• "Principles of design"
• "Communication Arts Design Annual"
• technology
• Graduates will continue to speak in languages that only their classmates understand. And designers, more and more, will end up talking to themselves.




In this image we see how graphic designers can partake of as many fields of interest as they have clients. In a single day, a designer can talk about technology with one client, cancer cures with another, and about beauty with a third. I imagine how hard it must be for other people that only have one thing to think about all day long. For example a dentist who has nothing to do all day but worry about teeth. I found this idea very interesting because I never thought about designers like that. We are versatile and are always working in different things. We learn about different topics every day, because to be able to come up with a good design we have to make some research about the topic, their competitors, and their customers or consumers.




So who decides what good design is?
Many successful graphic designers share the same traits that make artists, painters or sculptors unique. I believe graphic designers like artists are born with a gift that only a lucky few possess. There are a lot of people out there that may claim to be graphic designers because they happen to have the latest version of Adobe and a Mac. It’s not the tools, it’s the talent that exists within. A natural born designer will make it happen, they’ll find a way to express themselves. A person without raw talent can be taught the ins-and-outs of graphic design. They can learn the mechanics, concepts, theories and tools of graphic design but can they truly create great designs if they don’t possess that spark of creativity?

Design schools and degrees can only take students to a certain level. If that student lacks the imaginative talent, he or she won’t be a successful or “great” designer. There are many types of designers and I think there's a place for everyone although it might be more difficult for some to achieve. Unfortunately our educational institutions are sometimes more interested in collecting a paycheck than sending students along the correct career path. Unfortunately there are some who don't look at a career as something that engages and fulfills them, but to make money. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it may be for the wrong reasons.

April 7, 2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• Armin Hoffmann- Graphic Design Manual
• Josef Muller Brockman- Grid Systems
• Swiss Movement
• The Swiss Grid
• Paul Rand
• Lester Beal
• Saul Bass
• Bradbury Thompson
• Corporate Design
• Ivan Chermayeff
• Tom Geismar
• Chermayeff and Geisman Associates
• Vignelli Associates- NY City Subway System- Knoll
• Alexis Brodovitch
• Media revolution
• Henry Wolf
• George Lois- advertising
• Doyle Dane Bernbach
• George Lois
• The role of art director was expanded into editorial deliberations.
• Herb Lubalin
• Goal: give graphic form to a concept or message that engaged the reader through an intensification of the message requiring active participation.
• Postmodernism


From the film seen today in class I wrote down some of the main characteristics of postmodernism. Postmodernism rejects boundaries between high and low forms of art, rejects rigid genre distinctions, emphasizes parody, irony, and playfulness. Postmodern art favors reflexivity and self-consciousness, fragmentation and discontinuity, and emphasizes on the non structured, dehumanized subject.

The movement of Postmodernism began with architecture, as a response to the perceived blandness, hostility, and Utopianism of the Modern movement. Modern Architecture was focused on the pursuit of a perceived ideal of perfection, and attempted harmony of form and function by eliminating ornaments. Postmodernist architecture was one of the first movements to openly challenge Modernism as old, favoring personal preferences and variety over objective, truths or principles.

I found it very interesting how in the film they talk about all the different ways of communication and arts. How they talked about specific artists and what they did in this movement, also how their work was influential to what we know and use now a days. Many of these artists had different ideas that were very influential. They also talked quickly about Andy Warhol, which I believe is a great innovator. Personally I like his works a lot because of the different styles he uses.

March 31, 2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• International Style of Typography
• Otto Neurath
• Pictorial languages
• ISOTYPE Movement
• Rudolph Modley
• Ladislav Sutnar
• Herbert Bayer
• Lester Beal
• Art of construction
• Bayer Zwart
• Paul Rand
• Alexey Brodovitch
• Martin Munkasi
• Age of Information
• Claude Shannon
• School at ULM
• International Style of Typography
• Theo Ballmer
• Max Bill
• Anton Stankowski
• Emil Ruder
• Armin Hoffmann
• Josef Muller Brockman


During tonight's class we saw the movie "Helvetica", a documentary film about typography and graphic design, centered around the typeface. It was directed by Gary Hustwit, and was released in 2007 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the typeface's introduction in 1957. The documentary was provocative and included interviews with graphic designers and theorists that explain Helvetica's impact on human life and though. Some of the people interviewed seemed too obsessive and eager to explain their feelings about the font. Others though, shared their thought about the font, why they like or don't like it. Neville Brody explained the difference of using a grunge typeface and Helvetica to sell a pair of jeans. He explained that if the ad of the jeans was made with a grunge typeface, then we would expect them to be ripped and in that similar style, but if Helvetica was used then those jeans would be clean and fit. It's versatility is showcased in shots of storefronts, street signs, public transportation systems, governments forms, newspaper vending boxes, etc. Helvetica makes an attempt to understand how typefaces have been applied to contemporary modes of information and how battle lines have been drawn about their usage. Personally I like the font Helvetica, it looks nice with any design and there is a big variety of sizes and thickness'. Whomever you end up siding with, you’re guaranteed to spend the next few days looking for Helvetica everywhere you go.

Automobiles & McLuhan's 4 Laws of Media

Automobiles, as well as other methods of transportation, where created to enhance mobility. This invention made it easier to travel from one place to another in a shorter amount of time and more efficiently. Driving around extends your memory because you remember areas you have been through, you learn different routes and eventually you also learn shortcuts. Although automobiles have been a great invention, they have made obsolete the other methods used before. Before all of these inventions people traveled by foot to any place they wanted to go. Horses where later used to travel faster from place to place but depending on the destination this could take several days. Carriages where then pulled by horses, bicycles, skateboards and skates where used by many instead of the cars, but as time passed these became more popular and not having one was impossible. The invention of automobiles has created a lazy and mostly overweight population because many people stopped walking and exercising with their use. We simply sit in a chair, twist the hand a little to turn it on, push a pedal, and get to our destination without really moving. These also have caused ecological damage because of the strong chemicals and gasses they release.

Automobiles have become necessary for many people now a day. Many depend on them to move around and if we don’t have one then we don’t do anything, we simply stay wherever we are. There is a very small amount that walks or uses a different method for transportation, such as walking or one less harmful to the environment. Some of the old mediums are still used, but rarely. Bicycles, skateboards, and skates have been retrieved once again because of the ecological changes we have been experiencing. Horses are no longer used as a method of transportation, but are mainly used as entertainment now a day. Carriages have become completely obsolete. Personally I don’t believe that automobiles are necessary at all moments. They definitely help when you have to travel long distances and they permit us to do this in less time than using a bicycle. We have many ways of transportation that may not be as easy, but they are cheaper and less harmful. I believe that for long distance they are acceptable, but if it is a short ride, why waste money and gas? When pushed to its extreme automobiles can be very dangerous. Other than causing ecological damage they are dangerous. Every year we experience countless accidents and deaths when these are not used correctly and responsibly. These may also fail on us. For example breaking down in the middle of the road, causing you to have a bad day.

Automobiles are basically the product of a designer. Without the designer we wouldn’t have the variety of styles, colors, and designs that we see now a day. Slowly we have seen how the design and technology of every automobile has improved. Before they where very simple and just had what was needed to move from one place to another. Now they have air conditioner, power doors and windows, radio, mp3 players, and even dvd players in some. As a designer I believe that automobiles will have a greater variety of accessories. Their design will be sleeker and cleaner. The interior will have the latest technology including touch screens, integrated computers and televisions, and numerous things that one could never imagine an automobile could have. Hopefully they will be hybrid or powered by the sun in a near future to control the ecological damages they cause now a day.

March 3, 2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• Dutch Modernism
• Paul Shoetema
• Hendrick N Werkman
• Used collage technique with parts from the typecase.
• Piet Zwart
• Abraham Games
• Jean Carlu
• Herbert Bayer
• Post Cubism
• Art Deco
• A.M Cassandre
• Art Deco Moderne
• E. McKnight Kauffer
• Joseph Binder
• Ludwig Hohlwien
• War propaganda WWII
• Herbert Matter

Throughout time everything changes, but it is very interesting to see how this takes place in design. The new ideas and styles that come up, designers and artists, and in general how it is used at the moment to send a message. We started to see how posters where used to sell things and make people get interested in things happening around them. I found this very similar to what happens now a day with advertising. It is mainly used as means of communicating and selling products, but most give false expectations and ideas of that product. For example the ad for a new perfume most of the time has nothing to do with perfume, but instead it makes us think that maybe if we use that perfume men or women will come running to us. This gives us a false ideas.

Design Discourse 1

The Case for Brands
by the editors of the Economist

Key Points:
• brands
• advertising
• billboards
• McDonald's
• Budweiser instead of local tipple
• ditch nameless shirts for Gap
• prefer Marlboros to homegrown smokes
• pawn theory
• Naomi Klein author of No Logo
• brand advertising
• local alternatives
• consumer protection- a brand provided a guarantee of reliability and quality
• Amazon
• Evian
• Consumer trust is the basis of all brand values
• competition
• good marketing
• brands fade as tastes change- Nescafe has fallen, while Starbucks has risen
• Microsoft vs Apple
• Companies exploit people's emotional needs as well as their desires to consume
• Nike's- personal achievement
• Coca Cola's- carefree fun
• Story around their service or product
• Social cachet
• A failed advertising campaign, a drop-off in quality or a hint of scandal can all quickly send customers fleeing.



Here are some of the most famous and recognizable brands that we might see now a days or we used to see very much before. Many of these can be recognized from far away just because of the colors. Even little kids learn the McDonald's logo before they know how to really talk, they recognize it without problems. We know the Coca Cola, Disney, Heineken, and many others from miles away. Even if we just see the colors in something completely different we relate it to these brands.



These commercials and ads about PC vs. Macs have been very good. We recognize these characters and immediately connect them to these commercials. Now a days most of the people are going with Macs and if they do go with a PC they usually go for a Dell because it is a well known brand. Many people would think about it twice if they where to buy a brand that was not well known but was a lot cheaper. Here is a good example when the article says that it is all related to social cachet. We want the best products or better known brand names just to be more accepted and have a higher stand. This happens a lot more with car brands.



This is another example of what brands can do. Here we have the original Robitussin brand and the Walgreens brand. Both have the same thing and work the same way, but one is cheaper than the other. Many people might think that just because the Walgreens one is cheaper it will not do the same and just to go safe they might take the Robitussin and pay more. Brands play a big role now a days because we are surrounded by them. No one wants something that doesn't have a name, we all want a known brand. Same thing happens when we go buy for clothes. We might see a shirt very similar to the one we liked in Armani, but just because of the name we get the expensive one.

February 24, 2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• De Stijl
• Gerrit Rietveld
• Theo van Doesburg
• Mondrian
• Kurt Schwitters
• EL Lissitzky
• Gerrit Rietveld
• Peter Oud
• J.J.P. Oud
• The Bauhaus
• Walter Gropius
• Johannes Itten
• Laszlo Moholy Nagy
• Herbert Bayer
• Jan Tschichold

The most interesting thing in tonight's class was the short movie about the Bauhaus. I found it interesting because of the clear and constantly changing images and music. The information given was also very interesting, since most of it was unknown to me. When the Bauhaus was first open half of the students where women, although they were confined to certain sections that they taught. This was impressing because is was very uncommon for women to go to school in that time. Their idea of less is more has been seen today all over with graphic design, architecture, industrial design, and basically anything we might see around us. I would have never thought that some of the things we use now a days, like the table lamps that are so common, where designed in that time. Their architecture, specifically in the second building they had, is very common in these times where everything looks very modern by using clear windows which allows people from outside see everything going on inside. Many buildings in big cities, such as New York, use same style of architecture that was used during the Bauhaus.

February 17, 2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• Kasimir Malevich
• Suprematism - school of painting using only pure form and color.
• Suprematism- creates a theoretical model for an abstract visual language where form is understood as a set of forces soon aligned with those of revolution.
• Constructivist Movement
• Alexander Rodchenko
• Constructivism
• photomontage
• Salomon Tellingater
• EL Lissitzky
• The Steinberg Brothers
• Theo van Doesburg
• Gerrit Rietveld
• Cubism


In tonight's class we talked about the works of Rodchenko and Gustav Klutis. I was very interested in both of their works and how they mixed photography with type and still gave their message. In the work of Gustav Klutis I liked the mixture of the cut out images and how he played with the text. He used techniques of collage, which I have always found very interesting because there is always something to look at. Rodchenko's works where a little more laid back and had more white spaces, but he still played with the idea of collage and images. He used several techniques that are still used today, such as: showing simultaneous action, superimposing images,using extreme close-ups and perspective images, and rhythmic repetition of an image for
effect. Throughout the entire class we also saw many other artist's works that had the same techniques including strong diagonals and forms.

February 10,2010

Important topics introduced tonight

• Pictorial Modernism
• Plakastil
• Sachplakate
• Lucian Bernhard
• Cubism replaced a rendering of natural appearances with purely invented form.
• Lucian Bernhard
• Hans Rudi Erdt
• Julius Gipkens
• Joseph Leyendecker
• Mythical Realism - promoted patriotism at all levels of society through national symbol full of realism.
• Futurism- voiced enthusiasm for war, danger, and the machine age,
• DADA- “Replace man’s logical non- sense with illogical nonsense”.
• Stephane Mallarme
• Guillaume Apollinaire - Closely associated with the Cubist helped define its principles.
• simultaneity: text playing several roles at once both visual and verbal. Poets began considering the arrangement of words on a page as much as the words themselves when making poetry.
• Synthetic Cubism
• Filippo Marinetti
• Avant-garde poets of the 1910s became the graphic designers, teachers, and systematic theorists of the 1920s and 1930s.
• Duchamp
• Propaganda Art
• Kurt Schwitters
• Andre Breton- emerged as a new leader. Believed DADA had lost its relevance.
• Automatism- A pure psychic exercise intended to express verbally or visually the true function of thought “dictated” by the absence of all control exerted by reason.
• Max Ernst
• Rene Magritte
• Salvador Dali
• Man Ray


In tonight's class we discussed the works of Surrealists Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte, which I find very interesting. I like Dali's works because to really understand them you have to look closely and analyze every little detail and even like that many times it is not easy. The entire Surrealist movement is actually interesting, especially their works. In class we also saw various posters and works of other times that called my attention such as the posters of Uncle Sam that became very popular and still are very popular today.

January 27,2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• Victorian Period- no design philosophy
• Chromolithography- drives culture towards commercialism
• Louis Prang
• John Gamble
• Monotype-compose typographic layouts with a keyboard
• Thomas Nast- father of American political cartooning
• Development of illustrated newspapers from broadsheets
• John Ruskin & William Morris- believed that role of the artist/designer had no imposed boundaries
• Total design- art + craft = beautiful utilitarian objects
• Art Noveau-Influences
• Alphonse Mucha- carried art noveau to it's zenith
• Toulousse Latrec- french painter and designer
• Main focus of communication has the detail
• Modern art posters are the birth of art noveau
• Jan Toorop
• Jugendstil & Sezessionstil
• Open Space- poster for first Secessionist Exhibition
• Glascow School
• Peter Behiens- New objectivity
• Edward Johnson- Railway Type

In today's class I noticed that we all get inspiration from past artist's or older times. This happened during Art Noveau. It is interesting how the oldest thing, such as the Illuminated Manuscripts inspired many artist's long after that. I really liked learning about the posters and how they influenced communication, especially when it came to advertising products or shows, etc. I was impressed to see that the General Electric logo was designed in this time. I really would have thought it was made long after this time. The other fascinating thing is that the logo still is pretty much the same, maybe a few changes in some areas, but in general it seems pretty similar. It's not like some logos that they are good for a certain time and after that they have to redesign then and basically change all of their things. This one stayed and it does not look old or boring as some do, it could actually stay for very long and work with any period, I think.

January 20, 2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• Symbolic forms suggest early humans did not simply record their needs and activities but also placed value on the representation of these ideas.
• Words represent unspoken thought.
• Petroglyphs/ Ideographs: reduced to the point resembling letters.
• Egyptian experimentation when writing their texts. Introduction to hierarchy
• Egyptian innovations triggered the development of the alphabet and graphic written communication in Phoenicia and Greco- Roman world.
• Greeks adopted and refined Phoenician alphabet. They determined the direction of reading.
• Greek alphabet fathered Etruscan,Latin, and Cyrillic alphabets.
• Romans finalized our our 26 letter alphabet.
• Christian belief in sacred religious writings became the primary impetus for the preservation and making of books.
• A more refined uncial and half evolves in the earliest manuscripts during the Dark Ages. Intent for faster writing and more legibility.
• First type printed by Gutenberg was based on "textura" from Gothic Manuscript.
• Albrecht Durer
• Six Historical Categories of Type.
-Old Style Roman
-Italic or Cursive letter form
-Transitional Period
-Modern Period
-Egyptian or Slab Serif
-Sans Serif

I found it very interesting to learn how exactly type came to be what it is now a days. Personally I'm not a big fan of type, but I still like learning about it's history and how they got to us. I never would have never thought that to get out a new idea the scholars would just do it and publish it. With this they would receive ideas and feedback about what they did. They would also see what worked better for the public and any other person that might read it.