In order to get an idea of what designers and studios deem as what modern design should be, manifestos published by the manifesto project (http://www.manifestoproject.it).
Disrepresentation Now! Experimental Jetset 2010
The manifesto written in 2001 does not align with their design ideology today.
Disrepresentation should be Non-representationism.
Functionality and amoralism are not used anymore. Looking back they state their work is moralistic.
Political qualities of graphic design are situated foremost in its aesthetic dimension.
1. Theo Van Doesburg's point on both painting reflects the modernist principles of objectivity and functionalism. Representative paintings are suggestive, tendentious and false.
2. Jetset relates this representation to the filed of advertising where its design "is inherently representative". Advertising is never about its own message but about something else.
Advertising uses design and techniques to describe and represent appearances other than itself.
Presentative graphic design underlines its own physical appearance e.g. logo design. The message of the logo has to represent the value of the company. Advertising makes products look like they represent an ideology that doesn't necessarily align with the appearance of the company.
3. When "causes" are formulated outside of a design context and imposed superficially onto a piece of design, it becomes tendentious, representative and as a result reactionary. This evaluation of the design process can be related to the more superficial and subjective nature off ugly design because ugly design incorporates more pictorial and more literal forms in its style. It can be said its a form of representative design.
5. "To create a piece of design as a functional entity, as an object in itself, is the most social and political act a designer can perform." If functionality is regarded as being paramount, then ugly design should be evaluated to how well its functions with regard to its context and concept. Experimental Jetset refers to functionality as being colour, form, type, spacing, paper, ink, space, time, object, function and most importantly context and concept.
Context and concept should be the way to evaluate the success of ugly design.
Otherwise Forget It. Bob Gill
He states designers are to be problem solves if they want to survive in a world where computer and technology has made it easier for designers to create, which removes the mystique of ordinary design and print. Gil's description go what designers prefer to do, can be seen in the subjective tendencies of ugly design.
"They get these tricks for the culture. Most designers spend their time trying to emulate whats supposed to be hot, whats current, whats trendy." Itsnicethat.com is a prime example of a resource informing readers of whats trendy and current. Looking at this website, it si clear that ugly design is trending. If designers want to create something that's original, how can they if culture tells everyone the same thing. Therefore it can be said that ugly design inspires other designers to create ugly design.
"Most designers are not very interested in problem solving. They're more interested in producing work that looks good." Bob Gill offers a statement that supports the rationales behind the 'ugliness' of ugly design.
Ten Principles for good design. Dieter Rams
These rules can be a reference point to judge the effectiveness of ugly design and its purpose. However Rams was a product designer. Therefore he talks in terms of products, design as a whole. Nevertheless the designs these ugly designers create should be treated in the same manner because of their public domain.
First Things First 2000
For the most part, work done by modernists have in turn made the graphic designer create more commercial work. This manifesto is aimed to hopefully change all that and promote more work that demonstrates the skill and creativity of graphic designers. More importantly it calls on to create more 'design' rather than advertisements which are not honest forms of design as explained by Dieter Rams.
Experimental Jetsets manifesto to call for non-representation on design is similar to the message of First Things First. They both call for a shift away from advertising and commercial work. Although they do not have entirely the same message. First Things First calls for more recognition of the designer where as Jetset's manifesto calls for design to be more honest.
Tuesday, 27 December 2016
Monday, 26 December 2016
Pretty Ugly Visual Rebellion in Design
Pretty Ugly Visual Rebellion in Design
Die Gestalten Verlag
Twopoints.net, Published in 2012
A relatively recent publication due it being published in 2012. Therefore the designs featured in this book consist of modern 'ugly' design.
Most of these designs are produced in contexts where subjectivity is preferred over objectivity. I.e. Art shows, album covers and poster designs. This is because the context themselves are more subjective than corporate requirements. For example, music is a subjective and emotional medium where everyone has different tastes. To communicate the emotion of the music to the reader, a more subjective approach of the albums cover design would be effective.
What is common about these designs is the lack of consideration to modernist design principles. Typography is often the main focus of these designs but it is bent and manipulated to create a more pictorial and artistic representation to communicate the designers message. As a result these designs have a visual that are far from the corporate design approach. For example, the trend today amongst corporate design to use 'rounded' typefaces such as FF Mark and Gotham as seen on the recent Mastercard rebrand. Corporate designs are international and widely seen in society through billboards, advertising, social media, etc. They require more consideration to legibility and readability because of its larger audience and how the audience views their brand. As a result their design language becomes a definition of what good design should be because the success of the company is linked to its branding and therefore its design. The designs in this publication go against that, and by going against this definition is equated to being 'ugly'.
However ugly design is not just superficially ugly. Design studio Bureau Mirko Borsche's identity for the Symphonie Ochester des Bayerischen Rundfunks has clear rationales behind the unorthodox design treatment.
The corporate identity for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra uses a combination of different typefaces that come together to form an identity that is reminiscent of the work from Emigre. On first glances, this design is considered to be ugly due to the unusual letter forms that are rarely seen in corporate design. However when reading the rationale behind these choices it becomes clear the decisions the designers made to achieve the aims of the campaign.
However these rationales are hard to decipher without the explanation given by the studio. Modernism or 'good' design is designed so that communication of the message is paramount to the aim. Embellishments hinder the legibility and thus the the message isn't as effectively communicated. As Vignelli states "I can write the word 'dog' with any typeface and it doesn't have to look like a dog. But there are people that think that when they write 'dog' it should bark". Following this quote should Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra's identity try to explicitly communicate its boldness and creativity through the typeface? Another factor that possibly limits the designs communication is that ugly design is not the norm of design language today. Therefore the general public are adapted to ugly designs look. This point can be explained through Rick Poynor's critique of Modernist type design. He states that illegible black lettering of Pre-War Germany we see today would have been entirely legible during that period. Therefore the legibility of Swiss Design, according to Poynor, is not based on its principles but its exposure and continued use that has made it become the new paradigm for good design. This can be applied to the now known 'ugly' design. It is ugly now because the design language of today still retains clarity and order of that of modernism. Experimentation and expression through design has become the norm and therefore still suffers from lack of efficiency in communicating its message. However this point can be argued against through rise and fall of Post Modernism. Post Modernism failed to become the new 'International Style' and because it shares similar subjectivity in its design rationales to ugly design of today, it can be inferred that ugly design will ultimately be referred to as another fashionable trend in design.
This quote in some ways summarises the aesthetic and reasoning behind the emergence of ugly design. Modernist design had become corporate and impersonal as the aim of their designs was for form and function. The communication of the message was paramount and should be clear without any personal motivations from the designer. Therefore Modernism represented a cold and functional aesthetic. By breaking it, it allowed the designer to create more expressive pieces of work but at the expense of legibility and functionality of 'good' design.
An interview with Rob van den Nieuwenhuizen of Drawswords studio allowed for a better understanding of the emergence of ugly design. To establish some context, Drawswords is a Graphic Design practice that creates work for cultural institutions, publishers, the music industry and commercial clients. Nieuwenhuizen states that his influences growing up were punk music which is a key factor in the emergence of the experimental design as seen in Weingarts work and subsequently leading to Post Modernism. The anti establishment messages embedded in the genre encouraged people to go against the established norms, and for designers, this meant going against Modernism.
Another key factor is the DIY attitude present at the punk shows he attended. This aligns entirely with the studios who are championing ugly design. They are small independent studios and freelance designers who decide what design should be for themselves. Rarely is ugly design by larger, more commercial studios like Pentagram.
Being that music was a large influence on Nieuwenhuizen, the subjectivity of music s evident in his subjectivity of his designs. The punk influence can also be seen through his attitude towards his teachers, he did not like the style of his teachers designs which were "uninspired, reserved and by the book" which he did not agree with at all. It can be inferred that his teachers were following modernist design theory.
Finally Nieuwenhuizen states that he doesn't necessarily aim to create 'ugly' design, he designs more towards the unconventional. Making something unconventional in his terms makes the design more "dynamic and interesting".
In an interview by design studio Ines Cox and Lauren Grusenmeyer, their views on ugly design align with that on Nieuwenhuizen. Cox and Grusenmeyer don't intend to create 'ugly design'. they choose their decisions based on how well the choices achieve the aim or communicate the idea. they intentionally use certain styles but do not judge it on good or bad design. They state "Instead of concealing the process, we find it more interesting to dismantle it and expose it." Hence as the visually busy nature of ugly design unlike the clean and restrained aesthetic of Modernism. In their quote "The meaning of 'beauty' and 'ugly' is very personal. For us, beauty lies within things that come out of a necessity, things have to look the way they look." it bears similarity to form follows function. However in their context form takes on a more expressive and unconventional meaning that may not have the same clarity as established examples of form following function.
Die Gestalten Verlag
Twopoints.net, Published in 2012
A relatively recent publication due it being published in 2012. Therefore the designs featured in this book consist of modern 'ugly' design.
Most of these designs are produced in contexts where subjectivity is preferred over objectivity. I.e. Art shows, album covers and poster designs. This is because the context themselves are more subjective than corporate requirements. For example, music is a subjective and emotional medium where everyone has different tastes. To communicate the emotion of the music to the reader, a more subjective approach of the albums cover design would be effective.
What is common about these designs is the lack of consideration to modernist design principles. Typography is often the main focus of these designs but it is bent and manipulated to create a more pictorial and artistic representation to communicate the designers message. As a result these designs have a visual that are far from the corporate design approach. For example, the trend today amongst corporate design to use 'rounded' typefaces such as FF Mark and Gotham as seen on the recent Mastercard rebrand. Corporate designs are international and widely seen in society through billboards, advertising, social media, etc. They require more consideration to legibility and readability because of its larger audience and how the audience views their brand. As a result their design language becomes a definition of what good design should be because the success of the company is linked to its branding and therefore its design. The designs in this publication go against that, and by going against this definition is equated to being 'ugly'.
However ugly design is not just superficially ugly. Design studio Bureau Mirko Borsche's identity for the Symphonie Ochester des Bayerischen Rundfunks has clear rationales behind the unorthodox design treatment.
The corporate identity for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra uses a combination of different typefaces that come together to form an identity that is reminiscent of the work from Emigre. On first glances, this design is considered to be ugly due to the unusual letter forms that are rarely seen in corporate design. However when reading the rationale behind these choices it becomes clear the decisions the designers made to achieve the aims of the campaign.
- Black and white colour scheme is used to represent the suits and dinner jackets attendees wear.
- Mostly sans serif type design and seating to represent the events modernity and of the orchestra.
- The unorthodox type represents the orchestras boldness to create something new and unique.
However these rationales are hard to decipher without the explanation given by the studio. Modernism or 'good' design is designed so that communication of the message is paramount to the aim. Embellishments hinder the legibility and thus the the message isn't as effectively communicated. As Vignelli states "I can write the word 'dog' with any typeface and it doesn't have to look like a dog. But there are people that think that when they write 'dog' it should bark". Following this quote should Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra's identity try to explicitly communicate its boldness and creativity through the typeface? Another factor that possibly limits the designs communication is that ugly design is not the norm of design language today. Therefore the general public are adapted to ugly designs look. This point can be explained through Rick Poynor's critique of Modernist type design. He states that illegible black lettering of Pre-War Germany we see today would have been entirely legible during that period. Therefore the legibility of Swiss Design, according to Poynor, is not based on its principles but its exposure and continued use that has made it become the new paradigm for good design. This can be applied to the now known 'ugly' design. It is ugly now because the design language of today still retains clarity and order of that of modernism. Experimentation and expression through design has become the norm and therefore still suffers from lack of efficiency in communicating its message. However this point can be argued against through rise and fall of Post Modernism. Post Modernism failed to become the new 'International Style' and because it shares similar subjectivity in its design rationales to ugly design of today, it can be inferred that ugly design will ultimately be referred to as another fashionable trend in design.
This quote in some ways summarises the aesthetic and reasoning behind the emergence of ugly design. Modernist design had become corporate and impersonal as the aim of their designs was for form and function. The communication of the message was paramount and should be clear without any personal motivations from the designer. Therefore Modernism represented a cold and functional aesthetic. By breaking it, it allowed the designer to create more expressive pieces of work but at the expense of legibility and functionality of 'good' design.
An interview with Rob van den Nieuwenhuizen of Drawswords studio allowed for a better understanding of the emergence of ugly design. To establish some context, Drawswords is a Graphic Design practice that creates work for cultural institutions, publishers, the music industry and commercial clients. Nieuwenhuizen states that his influences growing up were punk music which is a key factor in the emergence of the experimental design as seen in Weingarts work and subsequently leading to Post Modernism. The anti establishment messages embedded in the genre encouraged people to go against the established norms, and for designers, this meant going against Modernism.
Another key factor is the DIY attitude present at the punk shows he attended. This aligns entirely with the studios who are championing ugly design. They are small independent studios and freelance designers who decide what design should be for themselves. Rarely is ugly design by larger, more commercial studios like Pentagram.
Being that music was a large influence on Nieuwenhuizen, the subjectivity of music s evident in his subjectivity of his designs. The punk influence can also be seen through his attitude towards his teachers, he did not like the style of his teachers designs which were "uninspired, reserved and by the book" which he did not agree with at all. It can be inferred that his teachers were following modernist design theory.
Finally Nieuwenhuizen states that he doesn't necessarily aim to create 'ugly' design, he designs more towards the unconventional. Making something unconventional in his terms makes the design more "dynamic and interesting".
In an interview by design studio Ines Cox and Lauren Grusenmeyer, their views on ugly design align with that on Nieuwenhuizen. Cox and Grusenmeyer don't intend to create 'ugly design'. they choose their decisions based on how well the choices achieve the aim or communicate the idea. they intentionally use certain styles but do not judge it on good or bad design. They state "Instead of concealing the process, we find it more interesting to dismantle it and expose it." Hence as the visually busy nature of ugly design unlike the clean and restrained aesthetic of Modernism. In their quote "The meaning of 'beauty' and 'ugly' is very personal. For us, beauty lies within things that come out of a necessity, things have to look the way they look." it bears similarity to form follows function. However in their context form takes on a more expressive and unconventional meaning that may not have the same clarity as established examples of form following function.
Tuesday, 6 December 2016
Study Task 06 - Consumer Identities
Jansson-Boyd, Catherine V. (2010) Consumer Psychology
Key points
We judge others by their material possessions, meaning that consumption is now an important part in the creation and maintenance of identities.
Identity is the subjective concept of how an individual views themselves that is influenced by individual experiences, and groups to which we belong or wish to belong to
The impact of who we are upon the way in which we behave has been suggested to be largely unconscious, meaning that consumers may not be aware if their self-concept guides their consumer behaviour.
Identities are multi dimensional because of the complex relationship between personal characteristics such as political beliefs, religious beliefs, physical appearance, group memberships, material possessions and age, that are used describe themselves.
Humans use a categorisation and comparison process to figure themselves out as individuals. To know where they stand in relation to what they represent and who they are.
The perception of others (person perception) is often affected by peoples material possessions.
Classification of objects (object perception) can be influenced by marketing and advertising.
We tend to focus on the group people belong to and the type of possessions stand for rather than as individuals in their own right.
People have a clear stereotypical concept of what kind of person would be a particular product, meaning that we can make use of those concepts to accurately categorise others.
The continuous comparison to others is driven by a need to maintain and sometimes increase positive self esteem, which is linked to feelings of belongingness, which is supported by being a member of groups.
From a consumer perspective, purchasing the right kind of products and services can make them feel as if they belong to certain groups as well as genuinely providing group membership.
Jansson-Boyd states two different social comparisons, downward and upward. Downward social comparisons are comparison made to those who do less well in order to make us look better. An Upward Social comparison is when consumers measure themselves against 'ideal' media images.
Categorising people through material possessions highlights how different good and services represent values and beliefs in which people can associate themselves to.
People view themselves from the perspectives of others.
Humans are exposed to symbolic values of products and services through the media and social interaction from childhood to late adulthood.
Summary
Summary
The passive experience of viewing art has little link to materialistic qualities. However an art gallery's identity is important in attracting their audience and setting itself apart from the competition, "the need for museums to compete more vigorously for their audience's time has led to more defined identities." (Williams, 2011) A successful brand is able to effectively communicate certain ideals that appeal directly to which its intended audience associate themselves with. An effective identity will produce a positive experience for its audience and thus form a relationship between the two, with the viewer seeing a reflection of what they perceive to be their identity in the branding. This relationship builds a level of brand loyalty that will keep people visiting the gallery/museum, "The continuous comparison to others is driven by a need to maintain and sometimes increase positive self esteem, which is linked to feelings of belongingness, which is supported by being a member of groups." (Jansson-Boyd, 2010) Therefore an effective identity will allow the audience to feel part of the gallery's community and be recognised as such, thus producing positive self-esteem for the visitor and a positive image onto others.
But not only does the identity have to work in the public space, it has to communicate its brand through digital platforms as well. “In the digital age, museums are no longer limited to the physical experience of the galleries, and face a rapidly expanding horizon of media opportunities and programming initiatives,” says Guggenheim’s managing director of business development, Karen Meyerhoff. Therefore the proposed rebrand of Leeds Art Gallery for the practical area of the essay has to work on digital platforms as well. This will help create a unified brand identity across all the platforms the gallery is promoted on, further emphasising the gallery's identity onto the viewer. Tate Modern's identity by Wolf Olins is an example of this. "Designed by Wolff Olins, the identity was intended to signal the arrival of Tate Modern, and in turn unify it and the various other Tate sites (Tate Britain, Liverpool and St Ives) under one distinctive look." (Williams, 2011) The impact of this must not be overlooked as the "Tate Modern had a seismic effect on the London art scene, with the landmark building alone proving a major draw. Combined with an engaging programme of exhibitions and events, the museum is now one of the most popular attractions in the city."
(Williams, 2011)
However, an identity alone may not be the most effective way in communicating the gallery's qualities. As Matthew Slotover, co-owner of Frieze and Amanda Sharp explain, "a brand for a gallery can also be more effective than the actual identity. I think the graphic identity is a different thing from the brand, which I see as the name. I think what a brand stands for and how people feel about it is much bigger than the logo." This could be a possible area to explore for the redesign of Leeds Art Gallery. To hopefully create an association to the title "Leeds Art Gallery" that attracts more renowned artists and curation in order for the public to take the gallery seriously as a curator of contemporary art.
Williams, E. (2017). Branding the art world - Creative Review. [online] Creative Review. Available at: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/branding-the-art-world/ [Accessed 5 Dec. 2016].
Jansson-Boyd, C. (2010). Consumer psychology. 1st ed. Open University Press.
Saturday, 3 December 2016
Study Task 05 - Research
Context
Client background/history
Leeds Art Gallery
Currently having renovations of their old Victorian roof.
It is the home of contemporary art in the region.
Displays work from "award winning artists, to understated master pieces from emerging lesser known talent".
Vast collection of paintings and sculptures.
Features big local names such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Gormley and Eric Bainbridge.
The gallery has facilities to teach as well as showcase art. These workshops are aimed towards schools and groups and the opportunity to work with local artists.
The Henry Moore Institute next door overseas the administration and curatorial development of the Leeds Museums and gallery's sculpture collection and the relationship between the two is a partnership.
Industry/Sector
Creative sector
Persona 1
Geographic
London
United Kingdom
Demographic
19-24
Student
Low income
Psychographic
Studies at Leeds College of Art
Likes to go on a night out.
Feels freedom studying away from home.
Thinks the Hepworth Wakefield and YSP are the museums only worth visiting in the area.
Persona 2
Geographic
Manchester
United Kingdom
Demographic
United Kingdom
Demographic
25-40
Full Time Creative
Moderate Income
Psychographic
Works in a studio.
Keeps up with the art world.
Goes out of the way to see specific exhibitions.
Frequent poster on instagram.
Social group mainly with other creatives.
Persona 3
Geographic
Leeds
United Kingdom
Demographic
United Kingdom
Demographic
25-40
Businessman
High Income
Psychographic
Father of 3.
Never took an interest in the arts.
Little interest in doing cultural activities during free time.
Travels a lot.
Geographic
Leeds
United Kingdom
Demographic
65+
Elderly
Retired
Psychographic
Enjoy’s cultural activites to spend time.
Indulges in reading.
Businessman
High Income
Psychographic
Father of 3.
Never took an interest in the arts.
Little interest in doing cultural activities during free time.
Travels a lot.
Persona 4
Geographic
Leeds
United Kingdom
Demographic
65+
Elderly
Retired
Psychographic
Enjoy’s cultural activites to spend time.
Indulges in reading.
Typography as discourse
TYPOGRAPHY AS DISCOURSE
McCoy, Katherine, with David Frej, 'Typography as Discourse', ID Magazine, New York, March/April 1988, pp. 34-37.
In 1971, McCoy became co-chair, with her husband Mike McCoy, of the design department at Cranbrook Academy of Art. This indicates a predominantly postmodern paradigm of her teachings and design practice. Being in Cranbrook for 24 years makes McCoy a reliable source to understand the rationales behind New Wave and postmodern design. Her reliability in graphic design is further evidenced by her presidential role at the Industrial Designers Society of America and an elected member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale. She is president of the American Center for Design and recently completed a term as vice-president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.
McCoy suggests that New Wave was started in the early 70's through a combination of external influences on American design students from Robert Venturi's Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture and Wolfgang Weingart's syntactical experimentation in Basel's school of design. This results in a style that incorporates the layered images and textures that were pioneered by Cubism, Constructivism and Dada which is evident in Weingart's work and the vernacular imagery and colours that reflected the postmodernist architecture that was brought into popular culture. New Wave represents a style that is made up of complex syntactical compositions that abstract type and images.
McCoy also gives a definition of New Wave. "New Wave extends the classical Swiss interest in structure to dissections and recombinations of graphic design's grammar."
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