introduction

Graphic Design is a constantly changing field, as anyone can see just by looking around.  Throughout history we have observed both fast and slow change based on the resources available at different times and during different developments.  This is my first quarter taking graphic design classes at Foothill.  Before I was inspired to pursue my interest in graphic design, my only knowledge and experience came from making business cards.  I was aware of different font styles and could distinguish different art styles with the time period from which they came but that was the extent of my knowledge.  Now I can say I know who influenced which font styles and which designers launched art movements.  I have a new appreciation for graphic design.  Over the last 11 weeks I have learned and wrote about Gutenberg’s artistic font styles, Sachplakate’s minimalistic poster style, the survival and advancement in graphic design due to the WPA FAP, Saul Bass and his influence on the film poster industry, capturing a whole culture in art through the psychedelic posters of the 1960’s, and the inspiring creative use of fonts from David Carson.   These blogs just touch on a few select elements out of many more that have made graphic design what it is today.  This class has helped me become a better graphic designer by exposing me to new styles and ideas that I can use in my own designs.  Balance and color schemes have always been something I am interested in and have wanted to develop more, how to draw the eye and capture the viewer.   Not only have I learned a great deal about the history of graphic design but I have also improved my eye for design, which will help me with my future pursuits.  Now that I have learned about the design history I am excited for the future.  What is going to happen next?  I don’t know but I can’t wait to be a part of it.  I hope you enjoyed reading my blogs as much as I enjoyed writing them. 

Meggs' pics.

As I flipped through the pages of Meggs' History of Graphic Design, I had so much to take in.  I enjoyed looking at all of the different pictures showing graphic design.  I have limited experience in the field myself and have a great appreciation for all of the work that goes into sending a specific message through art.  Each picture has a specific meaning it is trying to portray and a feeling it is trying to invoke.  Graphic design merges both art with specific messages.  Instead of have a "picture worth 1,000 words," we want our pictures to actually have a specific meaning.  It is fun seeing how other people do this.  I love seeing how aspects and ideas of graphic design change from person to person and in society overtime.  As time passes different methods and mediums change and I wonder how much I will learn and change over the course of this class. 

Fonts!

I learned a lot from this section.  I felt for Johann Gensfleisch zum Gutenbergwhen when his investor sued him and he got his equipment taken away before he could print him 42-line bible.  I learned a lot about fonts.  I love fonts.  I worked in a print shop for three years but never knew the origins on "Baskerville Old Face"  now I know who it originated with.  I never know how fonts originated until I read these chapters.  There is a lot of art behind different types of fonts and printing.   I have a real insight on how graphic design started and how mass production came to be.  Looking at this kind of early print is actually really inspiring.  I love seeing and understanding all of the hard work that went into printing and design.

David Carson

My history with graphic design started several years ago when I fell into a job at a copy and print center.  I wasn’t always interested in graphics but I picked it up quickly and learned every thing I could with our limited resources.  I enjoyed my job.  I was going to school to major in Sociology.  “But what do you want to do?” people would ask.  “I want to work in advertising.” And how does that relate to Sociology? Well Sociology is the study of people and society and how people interact to the world around them.  I think people with the greatest understanding of people and society have the best understanding of how to influence people through advertising and graphic design.  This is one of the reasons I was fascinated to learn that David Carson had a degree in Sociology. 

David Carson first got my attention with his “Hanging at Carmine Street.”

In this image Carson uses text as more than just text.  He goes beyond what we think the boundaries are for text and uses it as part of the artwork and not meant to be read.  It is mean to be visually enjoyed and has a meaning in its own.  It is supposed to symbolize and evoke the feeling of "hanging." Being free, having fun, at the pool.  I think the term thinking outside the box fits nicely here.  The idea of most designs it to make the audience feel something and make them remember what they have seen. 

In this next image David Carson uses text for the image itself. 

Carson forms the text to the shape of a face.  The text is not supposed to be legible but just visual.  Carson used many irregular shapes in his designs and this shows his use of "normally diminutive picture captions enlarged into prominent design element." 

This image is one of my favorites.  Carson makes this image look like a photo copy.  The text is faded and slightly illegible but I can read "hollywood the 4th international design conference in Aspen" and the date.  My eye is directed the the match and the red title.  The match feels symbolic to Bernhard and his influence in design.  It is simple in its own way but still has much going on.  Carson makes it so his artwork has to be deciphered by the reader.  Sometimes it is hard to know what is important to read and what is there just to be visual. 

I really like David Carson's work.  I also can see how lots of his creative freedom is due to modern technology and the ability to do many things faster and easier.  I cannot imagine how difficult and  frustrating accomplishing designs such as these would have been without the use of technology today.  Graphic Design would have missed out on so much had it not been for computers and software.  I am excited to see what other advancements we will have in the future in graphic design and other artist that otherwise would not have had the tools to accomplish amazing work,
 

psychedelic poster design

When I read Meggs section on psychedelic poster design in the 1960's a few different images flashed in my mind.  The first image was of my brothers room when he was a teenager when blacklights, rock music, and fuzzy psychedelic posters filled his room.

Unlike the concert posters of the 1960's this one is mass-produced and only made to look like the posters of the 1960's.  The bright colors and font style, as well as the reference to psychedelic drugs matches the feel of the posters of the same design in the 60's.

I was also reminded of living in San Francisco and still seeing this culture all around me alive in many of the little shops in the Haight-Ashbury.  I have read many books about the psychedelic culture and every once in a while I will see a poster for a concert from the 1960's hanging up in a bar or bookstore in San Francisco.  Many of the posters are for concerts at the Fillmore and I have seen many for the Grateful Dead.

The Grateful Dead and the Merry Pranksters were both major contributors to the artist movement in San Francisco in the 60's.  The artwork in the above poster has a very art nouveau feel to it with the use of flowing curves.  It is lacking in vibrant colors but has the same eye-catching font style shared by most of the posters in this movement.

 Posters from this era have a very distinctive use of fonts and warped lettering.  The lettering is its own art.  Every time I see posters with this font style I automatically think of the 1960's.  The vibrant colors remind me of day-glo, also a major influence on art at the time.  These posters are very distinctive and always make me feel uplifted.  Like something fun is about to happen.  They are just fun to look at.  Even though this was a short lives movement with few contributors I feel it had an important impact on the culture and gathering people together.  I hope someday to see more modern poster styles encompass and symbolize a culture the way these posters did. 

Saul Bass and my first love

My first love has always been film.  Which is why I am interested in all things related to film in graphic design.  From Edward Muybridge's Horse in Motion to Saul Bass and his movie poster designs.  Saul Bass' Commercial Art opened a new door for "unifying both print and media graphices" this can be seen with the synchronization of Bass' poster and the title sequence in The Man With the Golden Arm.

The film sequence involving Bass' image had great symmetry.  Bass used a lot of basic shapes and asymmetric balance in his designs.  He liked to get to the point simply and directly.  I can't help but be reminded of the first film festival I entered when I see his designs.  The logo reminds me of the logo used at the festival.  The arm and shapes are similar as well as the overall feel.  The logo used also had a dominate image meant as a metaphor for portraying a simple idea; the filmmaker. 

The image shows hands not unlike the one Bass shows in the above poster.  It is a powerful image meant as a metaphor for capturing an idea.  It shows a very basic idea many people associate with a camera.  Taking a picture.  Seeing through a lens. It is hard to see this picture as anything else.  The one main difference I see between the images is that Bass' image is more ambiguous than that of Santa Cruz Film Festival. 

While looking through Bass' other poster designs I came across Hitchcock.  The "Master of Suspense." When it comes to loving film I one can't help but love Hitchcock.  My first film class was all about Hitchcock.  Bass captures Hitchcock in his poster of Vertigo.

The image captures the suspense of Hitchcock without giving up too much about the film.  It has an attention grabbing image and has great use of shapes.  Vertigo and spirals go hand in hand.  The uses of red signifies intensity and I can't help getting a Hitchcockian feel while looking at it. 

I can't help but love this style.  And I can't help but associate it with film.  Maybe that is why it inspires me.  I hope to see more about the influence of graphing design in film as I read more. 

WPA Federal Arts Project

In a time when Art is being cut from our schools and being shutdown as not important enough for our children’s institutions it is interesting to look back at a time in our history when our nation was struggling and yet art was still a priority.  The WPA valued art enough to put money and effort into keeping artists employed.  The Federal Art Project was a big push toward helping the art movement survive, gain support, and move forward.   

 This is an example of a poster created by the FAP.  "Shall the Artist Survive" is not just a question of the time but a question throughout history.  The arts have always been somewhat under appreciated and this can be seen today as well.  The FAP gave the arts a step in the right direction by helping artist who would have never gotten together otherwise to collaborate on posters and advertisements. 

This ad promoting the WPA shows a style of Heroic Realism.  But also shows the characters as silhouettes. 

 These next two posters use a Bauhaus style common at the time.  This style was a major player in the modernist movement.  The shapes and asymmetry are very visually appealing.  The posters show the progression of art in a time of starving artists.  During the depression the WPA was able to promote the works of many artists who would have never made there name know had it not been for the help of the FAP.  

Art is always being under appreciated and put second to other programs.  Even in today's society.  I wonder how much will be lost if art keeps being putting last, especially in education.  I am glad that during a time of depression in the past, arts were still deemed important and given the resources to progress.  Unfortunately the future does not seem so bright for current and future artists.   I am however excited to see individual being able to create art on their own with cheaper resources due to technology but I am scared to see what the future will bring if we do not inspire art within our youth community. 

Sachplakate poster style

As I read about Sachplakate poster style and looked at many examples I started to really apprectiate the simplistic style.  I also got to thinking about how this idea of minimalism in advetisment is not as common anymore.  It seems that today there is more of an overload of information in advertisments trying to get as much information out to the public in the shortest amount of time.

This image of a cigarette ad has many things going on.  The focus is more on the people and less on the actual product.  The message is how the product will improve your life.  The idea that cigarettes will make life more fun.  Sachplakate cigarette ads focus on the product with a flat background.

In many current ads this simplistic product based focus has been lost.  I feel that is is due to the era of information overload.  With so many messages coming in from all over: TV commercials, internet, radio, and print ad, people are trying to say as much as they can in the quickest way possible as to not loose the attention of their audience.  But at the same time I also the meaning gets lost with information overload.

In this image of a champangne bottle at the bottom of the ocean, I have no idea what the message is trying to portray.  It is a very eye catching image but has no real meaning to me and does not make me want their product.

Recently an image that cought my eye that follows the Sachplakate style is that of many Apple ads.

This ad for an Ipod shows a sillouette of a person with a single color background and a contrasting color for the product, whch makes it stand out.  I know what this ad says just by looking at it.  Ipods are fun and Ipods are for everyone.  This ad created apeal for the product in a minimalistic way without overloading the viewer with useless excess.

Seeing the difference with ads in the technology and information era it is interested to think what the future will hold for the style of advertisements.  Will we keep heading in the direction of information overload with 3D ads?  or will we learn to keep things simplistic in an age of so much information?

Frank Lloyd Wright

While reading up on the transition from Victorian graphics to art nouveau I became became very interested in the change from Victorian embelishments to functional minimalism.  This led me to the further look into the works of Frank Lloyd Wright. 

As an architect Frank Lloyd Wright had an interesting idea about "organic architecture" and everything having a purpose.  Meggs History of Graphic Design states Wrights concept as: "He rejected historicism in favor of a philosophy of “organic architecture,” with “the reality of the building” existing not in the design of the facade but in dynamic interior spaces where people lived and worked. Wright defined organic design as having entity, “something in which the part is to the whole as the whole is to the part, and which is all devoted to a purpose."  When I looked up more information on Wright I came across two different styles of acritecture; organic arcitecture and Usonian.  The concept of organic arcitecture was to achive a feeling of getting back to nature and natural surroundings while the concept of Usonian arcitecture was to be smaller and have more open space.  This concept leads to more functionality in the home.  These homes had many built-in amenities including seating and fireplaces.  The idea was to have a space that could be taken care of with ease.  This concept was not unlike that of the Vienna Secession which also favored harmony and funcion with little decoration.  This idea led to the art being focused in geometric design.  Simplicity rather than decoration was the thing to strive for.  Making something function to the best of its abuility rather than cover it with decoration was a way of proving an individual designers abuility over the mass produced, machine built objects. 

Looking back at the Wrights architecture and ideas I see similar ideas in today's society.  There seems to be a continual back and forth in society and art between functional minimalism and decoration.  I see this especially with technology.  The new minimal and functional designed with technological devices along with the "useless decoration" of apps that most people don't use.  Will one of these ideas become dominant or will there always be a odd balance between the two?  Do we need both ideas in order to appreciate the other?  Art is open to so many different interpretations and all of them are equally as important. 

Simplicity Vs. Overwhelming

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The mid 1800s brought about new typography and fonts which in turn increased demand for advertisement posters. Often times when new inventions and choices come about people tend to go a little overboard with options. I feel this happened with vaudeville and circus posters in the mid 1800s.

A few years ago I worked in a business card design center. I asked a co-worker for advice on a business card I designed and he said that mixing serif and sans-serif font does not look right. The round fonts vs. the fonts with feet. When I look at vaudeville posters I see an overwhelming mix of fonts styles.

The above poster used several different styles of font as well as sizes.  It also has color and images.  Meggs History of Graphic Design states; "

-->access to a nearly infinite range of typographic sizes, styles, weights, and novel ornamental effects, and the design philosophy was to use it."  This idea is shown in most vaudeville and circus poster of this era.  Another example is shown below. 

Today the idea is to use fonts to capture the  attention of the viewer but not to overwhelm them.  Type styles can be very aesthetic if used in the right way.  The design above also shows the use of text forming various paths across the poster.  The posters in the mid 1800s used many different type styles to capture the viewers attention as well and emphasis certain points over others.  Below is a current example of a circus poster.  

The above modern poster uses all sans-serif style fonts and the visual layout is much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  The text is centered and lined up straight on the page.  The use of color is appropriate and not overwhelming.  The image at the top catches attention but also does not take away from the rest of the page.

Graphic design has come along way since the 1800s but both styles are fun in their own way.  I still think the the modern carnival poster design still shows some essence of the 1800s style while also being cleaner and less visually overwhelming than the others.  I look forward to seeing how graphic design changes in the future!