Today we discussed the modernism versus postmodernism and how these two contrast, follow each other and influence designers in today's world. Since it was our last lecture class, it was a very insight look at where we stand in the graphic design field and what direction we want to go in our career.
First, a little catch up from the class. Post modernism is defined with such characteristics as form over function (contrary to modernism), feel over rationale, self consciousness, self-referencing design, mix between high and low culture (pop culture) and experimenting with surface, texture and different materials never used before in the arts. It was a revolutionary time when people reacted to the world situation and broke the boundaries of art (kitsch). Design did not stand alone, but started to be combined with music, film and popular culture, especially accessible to the young generations. One of the prominent artists of the times was Wolfgand Weingart, German born typographer and graphic designer. His unique style from 60s and 70s was focused on letter spacing, the use of sans-serif, the rule of stair stepping applied in grids, diagonal lines. Because of his innovative approach to the design he is named the Father of 'New Wave' or Swiss Punk design. Weingart was an important person for introducing the brave and new that came in 60s, 70s and 80s. It is fascinating to note how the inspirations and the drive for design shifted at that time and it was not the mainstream art but music and cinema that design was responding too. Rock and punk brought new opportunities to attract young people to express their ideas through graphic design. One of the strongest fields for Punk, both music and design, was England, especially Manchester and London. These places were full of underground bands, youngsters forming groups and associations celebrating the freedom. Among working designers there were Patrick Negal, Charles Anderson, Peter Serville and Malcolm Mclaren. They represented a New Wave creating posters, CD covers, concern invitations for such icons as Sex Pistols, Joy Division and later New Order, David Bowie, etc. Another groundbreaking moment in the graphic history was the introduction of Mac computers into a public use in the early 80s. Although these revolutionary machines did not perform many options in the beginning, they were a source of inspiration for many artists. Designers got fascinated into the digital, pixelated effect, layers and blocks incorporated into a grid system. Ed Fella popularized the experimental, expressive typography. David Carlson stepping into the field without any formal design education was focusing on the spacing and legibility. It was an exciting time of experimentation and attempt to break the boundaries. Stefan Sagmeister has been a prominent example of such an approach to the arts and for many years has presented shocking and provocative works.
I think we all have a very romanticized image of the 60s, 70s and early 80s. For the people who were born in the 90s, everything before seems like a big wild party and young people had a tremendous freedom to affect the culture. How amazing it had to be to work for Sex Pistols or Sex Devision or The Cure even before the whole world heard about them? I believe it was the feeling of making something completely new and partially banned that electrified everybody and gave them inspiration and power to overcome the academic approach to the art. But 'those dancing days are gone' and I wish people today had such a direction to follow and be excited about. I think it became almost impossible to come up with anything completely new that would shock the people in the world and create such a strong international and intercultural reaction as New Wave. That could be the reason why so many people come back to the modernism and try to find the conformity into established design truths such as grid, rationale, function. It seems as if New Wave was a XX century form of Rococo and now after the frivolity and emotional expression, people seek for some stable and fixed solutions. Personally I think I include myself into the modernism. I feel that design should have a clear purpose and function rather than shocking just because. Getting to known the traditions and 'academic' basics is a backbone for further explorations.
First, a little catch up from the class. Post modernism is defined with such characteristics as form over function (contrary to modernism), feel over rationale, self consciousness, self-referencing design, mix between high and low culture (pop culture) and experimenting with surface, texture and different materials never used before in the arts. It was a revolutionary time when people reacted to the world situation and broke the boundaries of art (kitsch). Design did not stand alone, but started to be combined with music, film and popular culture, especially accessible to the young generations. One of the prominent artists of the times was Wolfgand Weingart, German born typographer and graphic designer. His unique style from 60s and 70s was focused on letter spacing, the use of sans-serif, the rule of stair stepping applied in grids, diagonal lines. Because of his innovative approach to the design he is named the Father of 'New Wave' or Swiss Punk design. Weingart was an important person for introducing the brave and new that came in 60s, 70s and 80s. It is fascinating to note how the inspirations and the drive for design shifted at that time and it was not the mainstream art but music and cinema that design was responding too. Rock and punk brought new opportunities to attract young people to express their ideas through graphic design. One of the strongest fields for Punk, both music and design, was England, especially Manchester and London. These places were full of underground bands, youngsters forming groups and associations celebrating the freedom. Among working designers there were Patrick Negal, Charles Anderson, Peter Serville and Malcolm Mclaren. They represented a New Wave creating posters, CD covers, concern invitations for such icons as Sex Pistols, Joy Division and later New Order, David Bowie, etc. Another groundbreaking moment in the graphic history was the introduction of Mac computers into a public use in the early 80s. Although these revolutionary machines did not perform many options in the beginning, they were a source of inspiration for many artists. Designers got fascinated into the digital, pixelated effect, layers and blocks incorporated into a grid system. Ed Fella popularized the experimental, expressive typography. David Carlson stepping into the field without any formal design education was focusing on the spacing and legibility. It was an exciting time of experimentation and attempt to break the boundaries. Stefan Sagmeister has been a prominent example of such an approach to the arts and for many years has presented shocking and provocative works.
I think we all have a very romanticized image of the 60s, 70s and early 80s. For the people who were born in the 90s, everything before seems like a big wild party and young people had a tremendous freedom to affect the culture. How amazing it had to be to work for Sex Pistols or Sex Devision or The Cure even before the whole world heard about them? I believe it was the feeling of making something completely new and partially banned that electrified everybody and gave them inspiration and power to overcome the academic approach to the art. But 'those dancing days are gone' and I wish people today had such a direction to follow and be excited about. I think it became almost impossible to come up with anything completely new that would shock the people in the world and create such a strong international and intercultural reaction as New Wave. That could be the reason why so many people come back to the modernism and try to find the conformity into established design truths such as grid, rationale, function. It seems as if New Wave was a XX century form of Rococo and now after the frivolity and emotional expression, people seek for some stable and fixed solutions. Personally I think I include myself into the modernism. I feel that design should have a clear purpose and function rather than shocking just because. Getting to known the traditions and 'academic' basics is a backbone for further explorations.
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