Blog Seven 23rd March 2009

Post Cubism and Art Deco was the topics that were addressed today. In these periods we saw both graphic design movements from the period coming together. During the mid 1930s the arts were suppressed by the supremacist and fascists and mechanized war was devastating central Europe. As a result faith in the machine was at an all time high and pieces were reverting to geometric forms. I found it interesting that this was the time that futura was created and used abundantly in all poster works. The intentional spacing between the letters perfectly complemented the style of the time, as well as helping with the overall movement of the works. One of the greats of this era was AM Cassandre, who is also considered one of the great illustrators in history. Illustrator as well as designers look to him for emulation. What i found most intriguing was the concept of emulation and the question of what is original. Americans in particular mimicked i high volume of European design and made it appear as their own. What i found ironic was that the pieces that they mimicked mostly came from their enemies, Germany and Russia. Branding was another big factor of this period, it was readdressed and more importance was placed on it. It was Cassandre that brought about this attention, one of his prime examples is the Dubonnet rebrand, where he created a character as the brand.

Blog Six 16th March 2009

Tonight's lecture was a basic continuation of last weeks discussion on pure form. It addressed the influences pure form had on design and the involvement it had on the future movements. The majority of the lecture discussed the De Stijl and Bauhaus movements. These periods were profound stages in time, regarding the history of graphic design, because it was the basis of modern graphic design and in establishing it as a school. The De Stijl movement addressed the idea of functionality as well as pure form; Architecture was also a big sector in this movement. A notable artist of this time was Mondrian, whose grid and geometric structures profoundly influenced design. He brought about the birth of analytical systems of layout, which was widely influenced the world of typography. Although De Stijl is a widely hated art movement amongst designers, due the the rejection of images, i feel that this was a fascinating movement. It simplifies object down into its most simple geometric forms and use visually pleasing grids. This especially important because type classes evolve around grids. The other topic that was addressed in much detail in tonight's class was the Bauhaus. This is also an altering time in history, because a set of guidelines and rules were formulated for art schools of the 20Th century. Two notable figures where Nagy and Bayer. What really intrigued me was the discussion Tschichold and Dutch design in regards to the 'new typography'. This is probably because of techniques such as uses of diagonals in a composition that created unity within the whole piece. This simple techique brings a whole different feel and movement to a piece but is still orderly and atracttive. I find dutch design phonominal because the order and structre that appears in there work cant be compared to as well as having the abilty to create different, fun, and unique compositions while still maintaining a grid in their design.

Blog Five - 2nd March 2008

The topic of today's class consisted around pure form and its features. We began the discussion with Kashmir Malevich and Suprematism. This was an essential factor in history because it established a vocabulary of geometric structure and form and was the way that pictorial representation began to occur. This discussion focused around Russia, where ther Russian Revolution of 1717 casued high influence and brought the emergence of the constructive movement. This movement was different than what futurism and dada had spurned becasue it was united with the nation in strong opposition to art as an individual expression. Rather it centered on helping the nation and on a utopian lifestyle. Proganda art spiraled out of this period, i subject which i find intensely fascinating becasue of the wide variety of tactics the government managed to use to enforce the influence and control. I feel like studying propaganda art and gaining such knowledge in that topic is an essential part in my graphic design education. This is because these forms were so widely successful and actually where able to create influenece amoungst the public. As futures designers it is important to learn from these tactics so that we can effectively convey messages in our own works of art. Some major and important artists of that time where people such as Rodchenko and El Lissitzky, who is thought to be one of the greatest graphic designers of all time.

Discourse One

Grid and Design Philosophy
By Josef Muller-Brockmann

• Using the grid as an ordering system is an expression of a certain mental attitude.
• Work with grid systems means submitting to laws of universal validity.
• Every visual, creative work is a manifestation of the character of the designer. It is a reflection of his knowledge ability and mentality.
• The grid is used for solving visual problems in two and three dimensions.
• For graphic designers and typographers it is used for things such as press advertisement, books, catalogs, etc.
• By arranging the surfaces and spaces in the form of a grid the designer can place his design elements in the space with objective and functional criteria, allowing the information to be presented logically and clearly.
• The grid divides a 3d plane into smaller fields or a 3d space into smaller compartments, these can be either the same or of different sizes. The fields are separated by an intermediate space known as a margin so
• That pictures and text don’t touch each other, so that legibility is preserved. The grid determines the constant dimensions of space and there is virtually no limit to the number of grid divisions.
• “The smaller differences in the size of the illustrations the quieter the impression created by the design.”
• Economic reasons for using a grid: a problem can be solved in less time at a lower cost.
• Rational reasons for using the grid: simple and complex problems can be solved in a uniform and characteristic style.
• 
  

When searching for pieces to complement and support this article, i thought it be best to browse the works of the author , Josef Muller-Brockmann. All of these pieces are works by this artist. Thee first two are a series of posters. Good design is demonstrated in these series through simple use of the grid and hierarchical arrangement of the type. The first appears to be a 5 column grid with left-alignment and ragged right. It utilizes the grid excellently by either using one column for the basic text and then stretching out the more important information across two columns. The most emphasis is brought to the title, which is the only type that is white and stretched across all the 5 columns. The same can be said for the 9 column grid that is one the adjacent poster.




This piece is also by Brockmann. In this work more visual interest is spurred, because the type is on a diagonal grid. This is a great example showing that a grid does not have to look repetitious and can still remain orderly and legible.




The grid brings visual unity and structure to all of these pieces, making them legible and orderly. By just simply placing text and illustrative material on a grid, ones work immediately appears visually pleasing. These examples show the range of grids that can be used, from two-grids systems to nine-grid systems. It allows for spacing and grouping without making the composition awkward or claustrophobic

Blog Four 23th Feb

In today's class we addressed a variety of subject matter, all that lead back to the main theme of addressing the elements and movements that brought about twentieth century graphic design. We began by addressing the Plakastil movement, whose founder was Lucian Bernhard. I found it interesting that he was a self taught graphic artist whose techniques where outrageously experimental for his time. It shows that to progress in design and innovation one has to do a variety of unique experiments whether acceptable by society or not. Bernhard single handily set out the strategy for posters of the 20th century as well as having a understanding for the essence of the 20th century communication. Graphic Design was no longer limited to one medium of work and played and important role in national identity, through the use of propaganda posters. Another aspect of this lecture that i found interesting was the difference in elements of poster design in World War One. The Allies and Central Powers design aesthetics were greatly different. The Allies were into mythological figures and confronted individuals with patriotic emotion such as the iconic Uncle Sam posters, where as the Central Powers used symbolic images to convey the essence of the events as well as continuing the traditions of abstraction laid down by Bernhard. Another important topic that was discussed was dealing with typographic materiality and answering the question of where the typographic impluse came from. The emergance of this awareness arose from Futurism and Dadaism. It amazed me how many of our typographic fundamentals came from these periods such as the dna of how we make messages or using type expressively.

Blog Three 9th Feb 2009

Today's lecture encompassed the art movement, Art Nouveau. The period only lasted around twenty years however in was considered a vital movement because it was the initial art movement that transitioned into the twentieth century. Unlike in the early industrial revolution period, which brought the deterioration of the book in quality and in design in favor for mass production. The Art Nouveau period brought back the concern and need for design, focusing on quality and craft rather than design. It was considered the first international art movement because it did not just occur in one location or country, instead it grew from its creators in Britian. The movement brought back concern and focused on three key points: inventing their own forms instead of retaking from history, ornamental design blends into the structure instead of being added as a decorative after form, and designers becme involved in symbolic and philiosophic art concerns. There were many influences for Art Nouveau, ranging from Japanese design and Ukiyo-e to Pre- Raphaelite paintings and Illuminated maunscripts. However what i found most intriguing was the changed that occured through this period. The design went from more organic forms into geometric forms. Also new perspectives were discovered and flatness brought into forms. A great example of this is illustrated in the newer posters that became the first modern poster. Flatness was brought into the caberat girl icons that became the symbols for beauty. All these details that we learnt today are essential to mordern design because it lay down the fundementals such as basic geometric both in design and typography.

Blog Two 2nd Feb 2009

As we learned from the previous lecture type was evolving through the periods. Where we had left off was at the end of the transitional period and entering the modern style of the Rocco period that focused on the contrast on thick and thin strokes. However, from todays lecture we learned that it was the Industrial Revolution that radically changed and altered printing and type. It was in this period where many of the 'firsts' were created and invented. An example of the is the creation of paper making machines, however the most significant was the invention on mass communication. It is this invention that starts the ball rolling for the other evolutions in type and printing. It was mass production of products and the rise of the middle class that first brought around the need for mass communication. Companies were competing in the streets for advertisement of there companies, each making bigger posters to gain more attention. As a result larger and a variety of type was needed to distinguish each company from another. Books were also able to be mass produced, however there quality was less then low and the design wasnt taken into consideration. I found it interesting that type and illustration went hand in hand during this period. An illustrator needed to be a good type drafter to make it in the industry because it wasnt until the 20th century that photography was introduced into newspapers. Also editorial design emerged and the forefathers of such editorial publications are still around today, such as the Harper brothers' Bazaar. I find it fascinating how designers of that time had to be skilled in so many areas, however i feel that this was slightly detrimental becasue they werent able to focus on one component of design and produce quality rather than quanitiy. A good example of this is the mass production of book, as i had mentioned earlier. Being a designer today and knowing the history of were advertisng and design originated is very important becasue one can see all the basic fundamentals that were laid down and how successful they were that they are still in use today.