stevedmccall

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Project 5 History&TheoryofGD

If there is one main thing History & Theory of Graphic Design taught me it is that artwork can be used to persuade mass amounts of people into opening up their minds to a different point of view not previously familiar with. A good point was brought up during class about how this is our chance to make art that will last a lifetime. These moments in time are recorded as a part of history and if the specific piece you make is impactful enough it can sum up an entire era and the problems the people during that time had to face. It is such a strong platform for persuasion being an artist and having the ability to pull off a certain emotion or feel. So much is happening nowadays where more and more movements are being led by people who are demanding change and need more people to hear what they have to say. The position we are in as artists is a platform that needs to be utilized in the correct way. Everyone has a different opinion that comes from another perspective completely with an entirely different background which made them what they are.

Shepard Fairey has had a strong influence on me in a fashion sense to the point where I’ve purchased stickers to cover my macbook and expensive clothing items from his brand, Obey Propaganda Clothing. Obey Propaganda Clothing was formed in 2001 after his rise to fame which began in 1989 and is just a branch on the tree of skills Shepard Fairey possesses. His street art is not only designed with preciseness but it has meaning backing each piece up. Fairey utilizes many different psychological tendencies to his benefit. His entire Obey Propaganda brand is almost entirely based off of reverse psychology despite it being named “Obey”, Fairey’s goal is to get people to stand up for their rights and act out against biased authority figures. His work appeals to me so much not only because of his color scheme but the content and how it is used. Fairey uses the power of sarcasm mixed with his own unique reverse psychology to keep consumers on their toes and keep them curious.

Many different kinds of social causes are covered by Fairey. He doesn’t limit himself to just one cause and this just shows that he is truly a jack of all trades. An artist’s fame can only last so long and so many are just one hit wonders, Fairey covering a wide variety of world issues but mainly sticks around the topic of political agendas which keeps his work relevant to an even longer period of time.

Shepard Fairey often uses the lotus flower in his designs. This is a symbol used in religions like Buddhism which is actually a type of exercise that is known for bringing inner peace. In this particular piece he also includes a dove centered in the middle of the lotus flower. Dove’s are also a symbol known for peace and also hope. This is a piece of art that will forever mean something because it used symbols based off of religion to signify that there is hope in whatever situation the viewer is in, but since this is Fairey is more into the political side of things and likes to have a point of view on things happening in the world I take this more of having hope in humanity including things that are going wrong in the current times. The color scheme used in this piece is used throughout more than half of Shepard Fairey’s works of art.

When we watched the documentary on Mr. Brainwash in class it included Shepard Fairey and I thought it was ironic that this man ripped off the style of this major artists and used a name like “Mr. Brainwash”. Fairey’s art can often feel like the idea behind it is to brainwash people and have some sort of power over the thought process of the viewer. “Never Trust Your Own Eyes, Believe What You Are Told” is the saying Fairey chose for a piece displaying that classic red and black color scheme he likes to use. In this piece the eye represents a sort of paranoia, like you’re being watched by a higher power. Fairey even goes as far as to include around pointing one’s eye to the location of the actual eye used in the work. It’s like he is literally telling us what to view similar to what is being said. This piece is different from the first in that he put his classic Obey logo inside the pupil of the eye. Fairey is known for including his Andre the Giant logo in the main focal view of his artwork.

This last piece displays the more political side of Fairey and shows that he has a political agenda along with the rest of the world. Here displays a piece previously designed by him, printed onto the headline of a newspaper with a lady using it to block out the sunrays. His use of irony in this piece is that climate change is happening and we are slowly killing our own planet. This is another political piece done by Fairey where it will always be relevant because more than likely we will always be killing our planet. He uses his classic color scheme as mentioned before is common in most of his work. Instead of centering the logo this time Fairey chose to display it in the upper left hand corner which still shows the same effectiveness as having it in the center of the piece like the work before this one. All in all Fairey nails a highly controversial topic with his use of irony. Naming the newspaper “The Sun” is ironic because that is one of the main things doing damage to our planet besides ourselves.

Shepard Fairey will continue to inspire fellow artists to think outside of the box when it comes to the concept of designing. His work reflects how highly intellectually he actually is which I believe all artists should aspire to be. If the concept behind your work is weak then the piece usually will come off weak and ineffective. Fairey has practically patented this unique style he has displayed all over the streets. I don’t believe one of Fairey’s main goals was to have a clothing company but since his work became such a hit so fast where else was there to go. Billboards, t-shirts, stickers, Fairey is covering a wide variety of mediums and when you see the Andre The Giant logo you know exactly what to expect and that is a well-thought, conceptually strong piece of art. He not only covers multiple media platforms but the topics are all over the place in the best way possible. You can’t help but to see the humor in it all and still find the most respect for artists like Shepard Fairey.

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History & Theory of GD

Trying to predict where the graphic design world will be in a couple years is tough because you have to try and predict not only the movement of the entire thing but also where the human mind will be intellectually. The reason design has evolved so much in the past years is because the intelligence of the human mind continues to grow at a rapid rate. This is one of the reasons now a days that trends only last for a few months at the most. Which leads me to another point and that is things like attention deficit disorder shouldn’t exist. Things are meant to be disposable nowadays. The shelf life of popular trends like clothing and dance moves are not meant to be a lasting thing. Everyone is always rushing to find the next best thing or create something that will catch the eye of consumers but this rush almost makes the content created less meaningful.

Interactive design is something that has only been around for a handful of years but it is so important to the design world. When it comes to graphics and art things like posters and fliers are able to be disposed of within less than a day. Interactive Design on the other hand is something that exists for the user to actually get involved with. This is something that can’t just be discarded or ignored, It’s becoming fully involved in whatever it may be. For a consumer to become involved with the interaction of a design is so much greater than to simply walk by and view a poster for some concert. Lately many restaurants have been ditching paper menus and have been slowly transitioning to the usage of touchscreens. Sheetz has been doing this for years now where you simply walk up to the screen and place your order with no unnecessary  human contact involved. This is all by design. The customer doesn’t need to interact with the workers besides when it comes to checking out. Each page of the menu is specifically designed to pull you into another food item or get you to supersize a meal. Chili’s has just recently began to place a small touchscreen on every table in the restaurant where the customer can use it to play games, order a dessert item, or when the time comes can swipe their card for the payment and be on their way. No matter the use of interactive design, it is meant to make life somewhat easier.  

I have owned about 5 different Apple iPhones since they started being released around 2008. What seemed to be the goal for Apple was simplicity and clean designs. I’ve noticed as of lately they have been moving backwards with the direction they were heading in at first. Apple made it seem like they were aiming for the quickest, sleekest interactions but have recently been changing things up a bit. They have taken plenty of steps proving that they want to make the smoothest and quickest operating systems in the business and I would still agree that they do when comparing them to companies like Samsung. One of their most recent updates had me confused though. Long time iPhone users have a sort of routine that they form when using the device whether it be setting an alarm or the unique way one chooses to pause a song, there are different ways of pulling of the task at hand. You can see this every time someone fiddles with their device. Tasks are able to be pulled off without having to pay the slightest bit of attention to the device. The latest update has implemented a second page when swiping up to turn on the flashlight or enable bluetooth, now in order to pause music you have a second page that sits to the right of this original menu. In my eyes this is a huge step backwards in the direction that Apple was originally heading. The people of 2017 want this continued sleek design apple was shooting for but now we have extra work that needs to be put in just to pause a song. Interaction is everything when it comes to Apple and I just feel these new layouts and new ways of having to find the correct subpage is just a step in the wrong direction.

Before I was familiar with the world of Graphic Design I had a close friend that was taking courses at Kent State University. He shared what kind of work he was assigned to do and mentioned how Kent State is big into Swiss Design. I grew to enjoy Swiss Design very much due to how simple it was and how little you had to work to understand what point the piece was trying to get across. Swiss Design is something I see used every day. The way it utilizes typography and simplistic color swatches shows that is is very user friendly even to this day. I think a certain type of Swiss design could be used in a wide variety of things like menus or interactive media. With the direction the design world is heading in, Swiss Design seems to be the most common type of design used in pieces today.

Augmented reality is the movement of the future. Even today you can get a good idea of what augmented reality is just by using your cellphone camera and some basic apps. Snapchat’s latest filter involves the use of augmented reality where they try to make it seem like there is actually a cartoon rainbow sitting in whatever position you want and when taking a video the camera maps out what spot that rainbow was sitting in and holds it in the place to give off the illusion that it’s actually in the room. Again, this is one of the most simple ways of using augmented reality. When Google Glass came out it was clear which direction things like ads and menus were going. Google implemented augmented reality into things like maps so when you were curious as to what purpose a building had it would hover in mid air explaining what the building was and other basic information like hours of operation.

Something that excited me about augmented reality was when Rich showed the class the booklet with a scancode inside and once you used your phone to scan the code a video played using the design of the spread to convey an actual person walking around on the pages explaining important information. It gives off a wow factor that no other design can come close to. The feeling that this design just came to life and is now interactive expands the lifetime of the design tremendously. Another reason why I was so excited that Rich chose to share that with the class was because I was huge into preaching about the benefits of augmented reality before this sample was shown and it’s tough to do when you aren’t actually there experiencing it first hand.

So in the near future I see a combination of Swiss Design and augmented reality. The way Swiss Design comes off so simple and user friendly combined with something as futuristic and interactive as augmented reality has success written all over it. Even though Google Glass is very rarely spoken of nowadays and seemed to be a short trend, I believe it will make it’s way back around in one form or another. You can’t ignore the demand for wanting to make things easier and safer to use, whether it be a road map on your glasses or a road map displayed on your dashboard, there are so many important uses for augmented reality. With how simple Swiss design comes off and the use of minimal colors I see it as a smart choice when wanting to make interactions a little easier.

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Chip Kidd

When trying to decide what artist to pick for this project, it was an easy pick for me. Although he came off a bit misunderstood when he was first shown in class performing goofy interpretations, Chip Kidd is truly a character most people in the design industry should look up to. I’ve found that some designers take a road that leads them into just being purely professional and sometimes that leads to dullness. Chip Kidd keeps the creativity alive through his actions. It’s important to maintain a sort of character that is going to keep this sort of playfulness alive for your viewers to get involved with and most importantly, feel. Being a book cover designer Chip Kidd has a stressful job of not only getting the audience to be attracted to the content but in a way has to summarize what the book is about. It’s a tough job that is tackled very strategically by Kidd. He almost always has a vision for what he is trying to convey and reasons for doing so. It’s admirable that he is in between being very outgoing and fun while at the same time having an order to his process. One needs to be very careful  when deciding what route they are going to take but Kidd has successful qualities from both sides of chaos and order.

Chip Kidd explains his process in a humorous Ted talk called “The Hilarious Art of Book Design”. Here he mentions how it has worked out for him so far. He starts the speech off with a joke about Lady GaGa which just goes to show that he really is in it for the fun. Multiple times throughout the Ted talk he makes the audience chuckle with laughter almost coming off as a stand up comedian rather than a book cover designer. He explains his design process furthermore and talks about how he needs to be able to completely understand the content of the book he is designing for. Kidd talks about treating his audience which I have much respect for. You need to make the people feel comfortable and he does that with eccentric humor. I truly believe humor can make anyone feel at least just the slightest bit more comfortable. Kidd gives off a sort of effort in his work that you have to respect including his interviews and speeches. He respects his audience and doesn’t believe it is necessary to treat them like a moron.

On Chip Kidd’s website you can find all the work he has ever done. Most of his work is made up of purely book cover designs so the layout of the website really succeeds at letting his art speak for itself. Here you can see just how much strength Kidd has as a designer overall. He is able to produce original material that summarizes an entire story. His accomplishments have definitely never went unnoticed to the world of graphic designers. When you click on the headline it pulls you into the page where a video plays showing Kidd in an interview explaining how he got the jobs he has done. Kidd is not afraid to talk about his accomplishments and his process. He comes off as very prideful with how he handles interviews and his design solutions.

When discovering Kidd was responsible for graphics such as Jurassic Park really hit home for me. As a kid the movies were iconic and even to this day it is still popularly recognized, that’s 26 years and still going. He simply chose an iconic dinosaur, the T-Rex, and used what we humans know as the truest form from what we can actually see with our eyes, the bone structure, or fossil, of the dinosaur and added a “park signage” theme to it. This is a simple yet genius concept. It’s genius because of how simple it is. He doesn’t over design the piece and over state that is it a park he just uses the angle as park sign inspired. Reminds me of a deer crossing sign silhouette. The rights to the design were purchased soon after by Universal Studios which I imagine he made very good money from.

Another reason it was easy for me to pick Chip Kidd as the designer I got into more detail about was because he has done work for one of my more favorable comics which is The Watchmen. Actually, I hadn’t realized until I did my artist blog on him earlier in the semester that my roommate owns one of the issues. Kidd was assigned in 2013 to do a series of cover designs for the deluxe edition of Before Watchmen. Before Watchmen is a series of comics from DC that dive deeper into the back stories of each member of the superhero team. Kidd designed 4 separate covers which had two heroes on each. He went with a simple design which succeeded in showing what kind of content was within the issue. The cover really focuses on each character as an individual at the same time as having two characters on each cover. Again Kidd is able to show that his concepts are simple but admirable.

Designing the Naked cover, Kidd used bone structure from an x-ray to display a message once again. He mentioned in a n interview about the design how the bones are the “deepest form” and what I think he’s talking about is that the bone structure is relative to everyone and it’s the truest form of a body. To be completely naked is to be stripped down from all covering. Kidd didn’t stop at cleverly designing just the cover but he also designed the sleeve of the book. The sleeve was an undergarment to signify an actual cover.

Batman Death by Design was a project done by Kidd and artist Dave Taylor. Kidd is known for his comic book fandom but he has a special place specifically for superhero Batman. Kidd’s goal for this book was to create something based off of the 1930’s Batman movie that never happened. The more you look into Chip Kidd, the more you see he really is just a big kid trying to have some fun and work on what he enjoys. By no means does this mean what he’s doing doesn’t work because he is able to pull it off in the most professional way possible.

Which brings me to my last piece done by Chip Kidd, Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design. Kidd was chosen to write and design a book for kids to learn about the art of graphic design. To be able to communicate with children in an appropriate manner that they fully understand is a skill in itself. Kidd was picked for a specific reason and they knew exactly what would work best for the subject. He covers the basics and everything you need to know about the subject when coming at it from a kid’s viewpoint. Kidd not only simplified the content inside of the book but was also able to simplify the cover. He chose to place the word go on a stop sign which to me signifies inspiration to go forth and succeed.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

Stefan Sagmeister is a designer based out of New York. His work consists of graphic design and typography. He has designed album covers for huge artists such as Lou Reed, OK Go, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and more. He retired from the design business to edit for Colors magazine which was previously spoken about on earlier blog posts. Sagmeister’s work often included hand rendered type calligraphy mixed with photography. Sagmeister utilized the entire canvas meaning he used every inch of the piece to display loads of information. His pieces were sometimes overwhelmed with information due to this technique.  Designing album covers gives a lot of leeway to do your own thing which Sagmeister did. He brought his own characteristics to the table and merged them with appropriate musicians that complemented his style. He received a Grammy in 2005 in the Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package category for art directing Once in a Lifetime box set by Talking Heads. He also received a second Grammy for his design done for David Bryne and Brain Eno’s album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today in the Best Recording Package in 2010. Stefan Sagmeister is a character to say the least. He was recently involved in a reoccurring joke that did not land very well with the public so is now facng even more scrutiny than your average graphic designer already does.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

Josef Mueller Bockmann as a swiss styled graphic designer and also taught the subject. He had knowledge in fields such as architecture, design, and the history of art. He was big into designing concert posters for the Tonhalle in Zurich. His style utilized simple elegant poster layouts filled with type and simple use of limited colors. Viewing his pieces you really get a sense of directional movement. This movement was often conveyed through the use of shapes like rectangles or sometimes circles. Strong influence on where the eye moved throughout the piece was utilized for the consumer to take in the information in the correct order. Important text was seen first followed with short body text. This was key when making poster designs. I would consider Brockmann a typographer from the amount of text he used on his pieces. If any imagery was used it was usually just a simple shape formed in a unique way to compliment the piece and its subject. Repetition was also a major key to success with Brockmann’s posters. He was able to take a design and repeat it throughout the piece and fill it with text-based information. No two designs produced by Brockmann were alike. He was able to produce the same style but in a unique way that set each piece apart from the next using very simplistic techniques.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

Lucian Bernhard was a German graphic designer, type designer, professor, interior designer, and artist. He designed during the first half of the 20th century. His style resembled that of a poster layout. His image was often large and the main focal point of the piece. These were complimented by type which were also very large and important to he piece as a whole. Bernhard was involved in World War 1 propaganda, which used his poster style design to convey a message urging to support things like purchasing war bonds. The type and imagery often played off of one another. They were usually overlapping each other which gave them a strong relationship in the piece. Images used consisted of simple, one piece illustrations. His color usage was flat and often simple leading to a stronger connection with an under-barring image. He was not big into having things pop his simple designs spoke for themselves. His pieces focal points were often right in the center. Text would be placed at the top followed by the imagery being directly under. This paved the way for most poster designs still used to this day. His pieces were able to be used for many of different things. Advertisements were utilized to have a simple goal in mind and that was letting the product speak for itself. His propaganda work gave off emotion to persuade people to pursue investments or support. When viewing his work as a whole you really get a sense of that 60’s-70’s illustrated poster design.

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Project 1: Designer Interview

Looking for a job can be difficult for many designers out there not really knowing what industry they want to get themselves involved with. Good thing for graphic designers there are many forms to choose from. Varying anywhere from prints to interactive media, you're certain to find a field that is just right for displaying your skills. In order to find a field fit right for you, you have to explore your options. Maybe the field you want to work in isn't popular in the area you're from. For example, Youngstown, Ohio may not be the area you want to be in if the video game industry is something you want to pursue. This should lead to heavy consideration as to what is available and in high demand when considering the location you will be working in.

Eric Johnson is a Youngstown State graduate who majored in Graphic Design. He has owned his own business for 10 years. Johnson starting getting involved with art during his younger years and was voted most artistic in his high school. He finished YSU's graphic design program in 4 years and started his own company his senior year of college called Pier Graphics located in Hubbard, Ohio. Being a dirt-biker, Johnson knew exactly what kind of market he wanted to reach out to. When he was a racer he thought about designs that he himself wanted for his own racing bikes. He says his strongest aspects as a designer is thinking outside of the box and giving them and extra pop. Which is definitely displayed in every one of his pieces. His company doesn't get too involved with the interactive design world as their website seemed to be a little outdated.

Pier Graphics specializes in a wide variety of customization geared mostly towards automotive decals and banners. This is a design field that will always be growing and at high demand. Pier offers products like; magnetic signs, banners, auto graphics, business graphics, trailers, business cards, and anything else involving company advertising. This reaches out to anyone and everyone who wants to display their companies name at a larger scale who know little-to-nothing about the design world.

Johnson finds influence for his work by reading magazines based around the needs of his customers like automotive or racing types. He received a 4 page spread in Auto Graphics magazine back in 2005 which included 2 spreads featuring his work. Johnson also won a national art contest sponsored by TIGE wakeboard boats. They actually ended up choosing his design to be featured on the main show boat the upcoming year. Despite all of these accomplishments, Johnson's favorite one is still being in charge of his very own company. Designers are always put under specifics sorts of pressure. When asking Johnson about a time where he had to overcome stress he simply replied with stating that he does every day. As do most jobs, Johnson always has a deadline he has to meet and the customers want their product as soon as possible. Since his field is mostly decals this often involves bringing the product the customer wants designs for into his large, garage-sized shop. The deadlines have to be met at a timely manner being that it is most commonly their work vehicle.

At Pier Graphics they know how to handle and apply certain prints and vinyl that most customers would not be able to do by themselves. They work with vinyl 3m, convex materials, canvas vinyl and banner vinyl. These take a strong understanding and certain tools to handle properly. Since these are being applied to most vehicles, sometimes dirtbikes and four-wheelers, they need to be strong and able to withstand the most intense weathering so proper installment is a must. What sets Pier Graphics apart from other graphic design businesses is that they have one specific goal in mind and that is helping other businesses display their name in a way nobody else could using signs and decals. The consumers that come to Pier Graphics for help are usually the type that has a well-established business motto. In other words, it seems Pier Graphics is getting paid good money to do what they do.

Pier Graphics seems to have a certain style they are pursuing when considering their customer market. Mostly, their customer base consists of hard working business who aren't afraid of getting dirty and have little down time. The design is often meant for the side of a heavy-duty truck or trailer displaying the number and what services the company provides. This deals with heavy type usage. Not only do they need to be clean with their designs but they need to be persistent and detailed with their installments.

The text is usually layered with background colors that give it a 3-dimensional shape like it is popping out at you. If I had to describe their designs with one word I would have to go with, “extreme”. Which is appropriate when considering motor-cross is an extreme sport meant for extreme people. Being that the clients of Pier Graphics are usually made up of hard working companies and have more hands on jobs these designs are able to pull off flames integrated into them. Again, these designs aren't meant to be viewed on small scaled canvases such as computers. These designs are very appropriate on the sides of work trucks, trailers, and such.

The layout of the designs are utilized in a very strategic way. It gets the name out there with bright, flashy colors and explains what the company does often with the companies own slogan. The color palette of most designs consist of 1 to 2 colors and sometimes features a gradient applied to the text. You get the sense of their personal logo to be slashing across the canvas which you can sort of see throughout the rest of Pier Graphic's designs. Their work is very theme-based. Meaning if they are doing a design for a race car decal than it is most likely to feature some sort of flame or slash signifying the illusion of movement. If their customer needs something done for a lawn care company than the design will usually be clean and very legible. When doing designs for the wakeboard competition, the design featured a very tiki-based feel to it. It's all about what the consumer wants in a design. Johnson sits down with each customer and figures out what image they are trying to get across to their very own customers. Although Johnson's most interesting designs are that in which he is able to free rain the projects and the customer just kind of leaves it all up to him.

Johnson had many words of advice throughout his interview aimed towards fellow graphic designers. He said he handles criticism as a learning experience which in terms makes you a stronger designer. Since he accomplished his goal of owning his own company, Johnson's next goal involves getting more printers for further company expansion. He said that despite being able to think outside the box and go above and beyond sometimes in the sign business, simplicity is key. This shows me that it isn't always just about your interest and what kinds of designs you like, you will meet customers that have a completely different goal in mind. Johnson also added that when owning your own business you have to be personable and social because it helps with happy, comfortable clients. Turnaround rates are also very important because it shows you're a company that gets work done and grinds it out till the project is finished. Last but not least he said to pay attention to the details which is very fitting for a decal company with room for little to no error.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

Tibor Kalman was born in Budapest, Hungary and moved to the United States in 1956. He attended NYU and dropped out after one year of Journalism classes. He is well-known for his work as editor-in-chief of Colors magazine. Colors covers controversial topics such as animal cruelty and racism.

Kalman’s style was loud. Often his pieces had a focal point that was in the very middle of the page. The type was often part of the design which played off of the image. The imagery set in the middle was very simplistic and bare. you knew exactly what was being said after just seconds of looking at the page. His opinions were bold and expressed through his pieces. his color palette was often dull which worked because he didn't want to take attention away from what was being said.

Colors magazine had very controversial topics which were unheard of at the time. He wanted to be heard through his designs. His style was very raw and the images he chose spoke a thousand words. No matter who you were you had some sort of connection to what was being said. Which was unique because he was able to grab the attention of everyone whether you were black, white, male, or female.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

Armin Hofmann is a Swiss graphic designer who began his career in 1947 as a teacher. He was instrumental in developing the graphic design style known as Swiss Style. He portrayed simplicity and complexity in his work using point, line, and shape. His color palette usually consisted of black and white and sometimes red. This gave his pieces a gloomy complex feel to them.

He had a strong understanding of type placement which complimented the imagery just right. Hofmann often kept type inside the boarder and led his imagery off the page which left the feeling of some sort of wonder. His style was very geometric and played off of shapes. At times you had to work for what you were reading in his titles due to his abstract nature.

His logo designs were simplistic and very understanding. Again these logos were of similar color palette being either white or black. He let the designs themselves do the talking feeling no need to have bright vibrant colors popping out at you. This was the beauty of Swiss Design. Pieces were never over designed and felt that they had just the right amount of thought put into them.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

Chip Kidd was best known for his book cover designs. Based out New York, he is one of the most famous cover designers to date. He is very out going and playful which not only was shown through interviews but also with his cover designs. It was his job to get the readers interested and attracted to the books.

Being that he was a book cover designer he had to mix imagery and text together to form one piece. That means he had to have a strong understanding of type and subject layout. Not only did he have to understand the layout of a cover but he had to understand what the book was really visualizing. He was big into designing superhero book covers. He designed several for DC Comics ranging anywhere from Batman to Before Watchmen. He had a childhood obsession which turned into an adult passion for Batman.

Being that he was passionate about the work he was making made the covers very successful. At the 2011 Comic Con it was announced he would be writing Batman: Death by Design, an original graphic novel later published in 2012. I personally feel Chip Kidd is one of the more playful graphic designers, not taking himself too seriously and genuinely enjoying the time put into his work which is not always the case for some people.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

April Greiman was recognized as one of the first graphic designers to use computer technology as a design tool. She was the cause of a design style called the “New Wave”. This was during the 70s and 80s in the US. It was a combination of Swiss design and west coast postmodernism.

Her design portrayed a very futuristic style with sharp edges and bright colors. Some of her work looked similar to a sort of scrapbooking. Her designs were loud and very cut and paste based. She would take shapes from other images and pull them all together to form one major piece. This was all done using a computer unlike the hand rendering style that was so common before.

She had a piece that was called “Does it Make Sense?” which was one of her more famous pieces of art. It depicted a human body laying down with bits and pieces of other images layered on top. I think what she was going for here is for the viewer to try and make some sort of sense or deeper meaning out of what looked to be something chaotic and not able to be understood. She mixed in all different kinds of well-known symbols ranging from science to the zodiac.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

Milton Glaser is an American  Graphic Designer best known for his involvement in the psychedelic era which may have single handedly shaped the way psychedelic art was made during the 60’s and 70’s. In 2009 he was given the National Medal of the Arts award from President Barack Obama.

Glaser’s work involved the use of illustrations and he also was big into logo design. During the psychedelic era of design he produced colorful, curvilinear pieces. He had a recurring theme where his designs had a sort of flow to them and sometimes felt like they were about to burst into more color. His flow was unmatchable. His color palette often included vibrant colors with a white background which gave a feeling of depth in a piece.

I Heart New York was one of his most famous pieces. The iconic logo is still around today with many many different variations based off of Milton’s original design. When you think of New York City you think of Milton Glaser’s I Heart NY. This just showed that Milton was capable of making many different styles of art. He didn’t get lost in his psychedelic ways like some artists he was still able to make well put together logos for major companies like ABC, Yale, UPS, IBM, and many more.

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History & Theory of Graphic Design

David Carson is an American born graphic designer, art director and surfer. He is commonly known for his magazine design. Another artist that was highly attuned in the use of type, his layouts mainly consisted of text. Unlike most typographers though, Carson used hand rendered lettering. His use of hand rendering his pieces gave a sort of naturalistic style to a world that is very sharp and shape driven.

Carson’s magazine designs often covered the complete spread of a page layout and would sometimes run off of the edges. This gave major wonder to his pieces. He was the type of designer that made you work for the information you were trying to read. This was a very bold move in the magazine business. He also mixed the use of fonts up on a single design, hardly ever sticking to one single font family.

Ray Gun was a magazine company directed by Carson. It featured chaotic layout designs that were sometimes illegible. The magazine covered pop culture icons and music. It had a very vintage look and feel to it. Carson often used body copy as part of a design. Sometimes it was simply rotating paragraphs or leaving spaces between to give the illusion of shape using negative space.

David Carson has won over 230 Awards for his work in graphic design, photography, advertising and branding. Carson’s layouts are like no other in that they are abstract and sporadic which is hard to imitate. He broke almost every rule possible with his designs sometimes leaving the consumer confused or uncomfortable.

[stevedmccall]

History & Theory of Graphic Design

Neville Brody is a graphic designer based out of London who did work around the 1970s. He is a part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Brody’s work is mainly based around the use of type. He’s considered one of the best typographers in the business.

Brody’s use of thick and thin letters persuades the piece to have strong movement. He commonly used text as an image to create intricate masterpieces. When thinking about type used as an image some people might think the sound of that is very boring but Brody was able to portray expressive, bright designs.

The challenge of making a piece with the use of letters being the main subject is not only tough to pull off, you have to make sure it is still legible. Neville Brody was able to keep strong legibility at the same time as using colors that stood way out. The color palettes of his work mostly consisted of bright lettering with a completely black or white background. This caused the type to stand out even more.

Neville Brody is one of the cofounders of an interactive magazine called FUSE, which I found to be quite entertaining. The topics range anywhere from Runes to Pornography. The subject of a magazine is really what grabs the attention of an audience and when you have subjects that are ever changing, like the world of design, you're never going to run out of things to talk about.

[stevedmccall]

History & Theory of Graphic Design

Alexey Brodovitch was an influential simplistic designer. His layout and designs were a massive change up for the time. Most designs were spreads which used the gutter of the page as a main focal point. The way Brodovitch balanced his layout with content was something very new for the time. It was considered simplistic compared to the cluttered pages that were common back in the 1920's. He used photography and type which can still be found in modern fashion magazines. He had a strong understanding of linear movement and used darks and lights as a way to pull you in. Obviously back then images were black and white so the contrast was capable of being very strong, another tool Brodovitch used to his benefit.

[stevedmccall]

History & Theory of Graphic Design

Saul Bass was most famous for his work in filmmaking, graphic design, and corporate logos. His unique style often used a type of silhouette mixed with type. Blocky and unorthodox lettering gives off the feeling of an expressive art piece. Usually designers shoot for a straight and clean look but Saul Bass used crooked sentences and lines to create movement and show expression. The use of silhouettes is impressive because there is only so much you can do but Saul Bass found a way to make each and every piece special to the specific needs. His designs resembled a sort of paper cutout in that they all looked hand made and genuine. The sharp edges of the shapes used gave off expressive feelings catered to each movie. His logo designs each have a familiar feel to them. Still using a limited amount color, he also used the same spacing between the shapes he used when making his logos. Saul Bass will forever be looked at as one of the most influential designers of his era. He worked for huge names like Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, and many many more. To this day you still see a hint of Saul Bass in modern designs.

[stevedmccall]

I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.

Saul Bass (via lazypacific)