Even though the following quote is spoken about designers who work with digital graphics, the photograph pictured is a key example of how artists communicate feeling as well as provoke feeling within their audiences, “The designer’s mission was simple: to create the simplest, most harmonious, most neutral form, thereby enabling communication to the widest possible audience.” (Helfand,J. 2009). The colours and effects used within this piece allow for multiple feelings of mystery, nostalgia and curiosity to be expressed as well as encouraging the viewer to reflect on what the subject or photographer may be trying to communicate through the feeling captured.

This published image combines strong design and story, the above poster is part of a fashion shoot based off of Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Clockwork Orange, this quote summarises how two sides of design can exist simultaneously without overpowering each other, “Design that strives for neutrality, that seeks to extinguish its relationship to the human condition, risks removing itself from the very nucleus of its purpose, which is, yes, to inform and educate — but also, to enchant.” (Helfand,J. 2009).

Multiple mediums from design are used to create the ‘Call for entries’ megaphone, the combination of collage, print and digital typography allow for a more dynamic and interesting composition working in a way that is similar to that described in the following quote, “They used a variety of resources and approaches to make sure their graphics translated to their audience.”(Anon, 2013).

I personally think that making sure that the piece is clear to its selected audience is important and a fundamental within Graphic Design as visual art can communicate many things to its audience that other mediums might not be able to communicate to the same standard.

References

Helfand,J. (2009) Can Graphic Design Make You Cry? Available from:  https://designobserver.com/feature/can-graphic-design-make-you-cry/9737 [Accessed 2 December 2017]

Anonymous. (2013) How to tell a story using Graphic Design. Available from: http://www.harrington.edu/student-life/blog/july-2013/graphic-design-how-to-tell-a-story-using-graphics [Accessed 2 December 2017]

Images:

Ingledew,J. (2011) The A-Z of Visual Ideas. London: Laurence King Publishing.

Pages (Fraser Hudson) 59, (David Abrahams) 122, (Thea Swayne) 137.

Is it possible to be truly authentic?

The first poster is a visual pun. It says “piano” but the typography appears to be piano keys. Which of course relates to the word itself. This is a smart visual pun, quite an obvious one. Not every visual pun is as clear as this, some are difficult to figure out or understand. The colours used are minimum, black and white. Simple, plain yet affective. The black is powerful, taking up almost the whole poster. But of course the keys are white, to point out the fact that they are meant to show off piano keys. If any other colour was used, for example pink, it wouldn’t fit the typical image of a piano. 

The second one is from a magazine. This is great hierarchy, with exaggerated “OIL” placed on the double spread. The “OIL” really catches the audiences eye, dragging them in. Also they have created this dripping effect, relating to the word oil. The first poster and this relates, as they are both classed as visual puns. It is a smart design, the paragraphs beneath are placed around the dripping of the oil, which makes it look unique and different. The article is all about the trouble with oil, so a very dark and unpleasing colour is used to portray the oil. Just like a very dark colour was used for the “PIANO” poster. Black is a colour that is very powerful. It is dark, gooey, sticky looking. An all round a negative image. This works with putting across their opinions on the troubles with oil.

• Anonymous (n.d) Amazing use of typography Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/493284965421569625/ (Accessed 20 November 2017)
• Anonymous (n.d) Piano Typography Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.pinterest.com/amp/pin/366199013435871480/ (Accessed 20 November 2017)

Show – Editorial Spread

Focusing on the image labelled ‘3’, I found that this work showed that a magazine spread or in fact any type of organisation of information can; as an individual presentation, be Graphic Design and Graphic Art in its most contemporary form as well as showing how post-modernism is being embraced in modern Graphic Design. This particular piece features the work of multiple designers embracing the abnormal within design and in some pages of the editorial (from which the image is found) the almost illegibility of the typography shows how communicative Graphic Design can be.

Reveal – Wet Magazine Cover

The secondary image combines media, in this instance it provides an almost psychedelic affect to be integrated with the aesthetic of the brand “WET”. This design allows for photography, illustration and graphic design to create a complete scene that reveals something to each viewer; I see the image as a metropolis and as a shrine to a celebrity, this is an effect I particularly enjoy as it encourages a private moment between the image and each viewer in an interaction summarised here “…our connectedness as humans to one another in the globalizing world and with fictional characters as representations of ourselves.”(Gibbons, A. 2017).

Deconstruct – Music Poster

The first image showing a concert poster not only allows for eye catching design through simplistic shapes and colour pairings from deconstruction, but also design that encourages you to think as is emphasised here “The postmodern denial of this viewpoint—which follows from the rejection of an objective natural reality—is sometimes expressed by saying that there is no such thing as Truth. “(Duigan,B. 2014). After dabbling in trying to learn musical instruments and how to read sheet music as most have, I can understand that this piece is a deconstruction of sheet music and instruments. Using the strong shapes and repetitive patterns the designer has been able to not only communicate the purpose of the poster but also entice the target audience of concert attendees to look closer.

References

Duigan,B. (2014) Postmodernism and Modern Philosophy. Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/postmodernism-philosophy [Accessed 3 December 2017]

Gibbons,A.(2017) Postmodernism is dead, Now What? Available from: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/postmodernism-dead-comes-next/ [Accessed 3 December 2017}

Images:

Anonymous.(2017) Early Swiss Postmodern Design. Available from: http://www.historygraphicdesign.com/the-age-of-information/postmodern-design/765-early-swiss-postmodern-design [Accessed 2 December 2017]

Poynor,R. (2011) Did We Ever Stop Being Postmodern? Available from: https://designobserver.com/feature/did-we-ever-stop-being-postmodern/30798 [Accessed 2 December 2017]

Nariman-qizi,S. (2016) Postmodern Movement in Design. Available from:         https://www.behance.net/gallery/32508169/Postmodern-movement-in-design-Editorial [Accessed 2 December 2017]

This image represents spirit through the smaller details of the image where the artists life is displayed, not only as an embellishment to the focal image which is communicating what the artist feels is the death of his work but also as a timeline for the artists life. The image and overall message wouldn’t have been communicated as well if the style of the 1960’s and 1970’s wasn’t as psychedelic and visually vocal. Artists often wish to affect the ‘now’ within counter culture,“They stress so much happened to them by chance. There were no contracts, no career plans. But the era’s pioneering and radical graphic design influenced everyone who came afterwards – punk was only a few years away with its DIY graphics.“(Hoggard,L 2016).

Within this image, the contrast between the type and the visual art is vivid and noticeable for both symbolic and design reasons. The bullet facing the barrel of the gun suggests the damage done from war is more significant than who claims victory, a very relevant part of counter culturism is how it came to be “The counter cultural movement started on the background of Vietnam War. It was a post-war generation as a result of baby boom. The young people were frustrated due to racism, gender issues, consumerism, and the conservative nature of the society in general.“(Anon 2016). This is supported by the almost illegible white ‘victory’ on the yellow background. The frustration and exhaustion that this image displays is relevant to my world views regarding political topics, however I wouldn’t be as eloquent as this image.

As with counter culture work, this piece shows how distorted some world views become because of the repercussions of war and politics that affect how protest is voiced through art. Marginalia 1 is a collection of text, which was common in counter culture “There were feminine writers such as Gloria Steinem and Slyvia Plath who fought for the equality of women. In the long run, it led to the rise of political activism on the part of women. One such example was the formation of National organization for Women (NOW). “(Anon 2016), Marginalia 1 was influential to the Brazilian counter culture movement (Tropicalism), what I enjoy about this cover for counter culture text is how the visual can voice a message just as clearly.

References:

Anonymous.(2016) The Counterculture Movement and its Effects. Available from: https://brainmass.com/history/cold-war/the-counter-culture-movement-and-its-effects-285642 [Accessed 5 December 2017]

Hoggard,L. (2016) The revolutionary artists of the 60’s colourful counterculture. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/04/revolutionary-artists-60s-counterculture-v-and-a-you-say-you-want-a-revolution [Accessed 5 December 2017]

Images:

Novin,G. (2016) A History of Graphic Design: Chapter 33. Available from: http://guity-novin.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/chapter-33-pop-art.html [Accessed 2 December 2017]

Anonymous. (2017) Art and Design. Available from: https://www.manystuff.org/?p=20047#.WiUgmUpl_IU [Accessed 2 December 2017]

In a world where we have all been programmed to follow the same basic routine tasks, to follow the same lives, how can anything we do now be classed as ‘authentic’? How can anything we create be original? We all wake up, go to work, buy into capitalism and come home again. We seem to repeat this routine day in, day out without question.

Over the past 100 years we have seen a radical change in the way we live our lives and this is dramatically shown by the change in art styles. We have gone from very traditional drawings of portraiture and landscape to very simplified and abstract pieces showing hurt emotion.

The rise of technology greatly aided to the idea of ‘Modernism’; the introduction of machines meant artists had to strategically re-think their practice. Items were now available to be mass-produced, making artwork easier to distribute, though in a very different style. There have been countless revolutions in the past which have called for change through art but now we seem to have hit a brick wall. We have just become robots, following one day to the next without any challenge to the norm. Today, we do see principles of Modernism like ‘form follows function’ (Louis Sullivan, 1896), but we only see products being improved, not reinvented. Just like phones and computers, for example. We have run out of original ideas, we have run out of rules to challenge.

There will always be people out there who want to create something new, who want to become known as an inventor and to be ‘authentic’. But, it would appear that all the good ideas have been used up.

Image one: C.A. Hannaford RBA – Early 20th Century Watercolour, Canal Landscape

Image two: Mark Rothko, Light Red Over Black, 1957, Oil on canvas