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here is an ever on going discussion in design as to whether it is true that form follows function. There are a lot of designers out there whom agree with this statement and follow the term strictly, this being reflected on by the designers from the Bauhaus school. It is believed that those who follow this idea of form follows fucntion are those who tend to produce the stronger designs, as they are not just for the aesthetic purposes, but instead having the intention to put a message across the a design, this being on of the key elements that graphic designers intend to fulfill when producing a publishment - in particularly when producing an advert of some sort. However, some designers choose to challenge this idea of form follows function, producing designs just for the visual pleasure, however with no intention of promoting some sort of message of discussion. These are the designers who are frowned upon by others as there work does not serve a purpose, instead it is just there for a beauty. Though, in some cases these forms of designs can be useful depending on what the function or purpose of the design actually is. So it is fair to say that this statement does stand great meaning in design, as it is true that form follows function however this only dependant on the actual purpose that the design serves. It is understandable that the function of a design is only emphasised the the form in which it posesses, therefore the purpose that the format serves is merely to assist in the transmission of a message, however the underlying context is what allows the visual to serve a purpose, this being a very fair statement in reflection to the idea of form follows function.
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oth the Modern and Post Modern artists have been very influential towards todays current Graphic Design industry, with recent artists capturing a series of elements from these methods of design and applying them in to their own work. However, the question still remains as to which form of art is ‘better’, with each style capturing several different approaches to design. In history there is a great amount of artists focusing on either Modern or Post Modern styles who are both famous and very influential towards todays design. For example, from the Modernist era, artists such as El Lissitzky, Josef MüllerBrockmann, Pablo Picasso etc. as well as the German Bauhaus School all producing designs which reflect greatly on modern designers work. However, this could also be said by the Post Modern designers such as David Carson, Neville Brody and Jamie Reid, a long with certain fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood all producing designs and products that are still currently being used in the current time. However, with society changing dramatically day by day it is difficult to argue that either Post Modern or Modern work is more effective or maybe ‘better’ as they both serve different purposes in different areas of design. For example, in terms of music based design, it is much more common to feature Post Modern design elements, in particularly in Rock music as this has been a continuous trend since the Punk and the Mod era, with designers such as Jamie Reid producing the album artwork for the Sex Pistols. It is with these artists that cause the argument of which style is better as such, as they each have such influential designers historically as well as some very fascinating attributes to themselves, such as the actual design style itself.
This on going discussion will never settle to a definitive answer as it is too opiniated and the use for each style is very different. Therefore, the question of which is better is not the correct question, instead I think this should be an opportunity to reflect on the positive attributes of the two styles, and the ways in which these periods have created some influence on todays design. Starting with the Modernist design, the steady level of simplicity in this style is what allows it to be so successful, with the use of very easy to read type, simple photography and the use of shape and block colour in order to create a design. Different to this, the Post Modern designers take up a much different style, with their approach using interesting colour variations as well as tearing parts of images away and reconstructing them into different designs. With the Post Modernist designers taking up a Punk fashion in their work, there are elements such as tears in paper and reconstructions of words using newspaper cuttings, bringing out an almost grungy effect in the work. With this being said, it is clear that both Modern and Post Modern art and design is very interesting in their very own personal ways with each of them carrying their own attributes which allow them both to stand out amongst one another. It can also be said that designers of the current era take elements from each style of design, however this does depend on what the designer is actually producing as, like previously noted, it is justified by the actual production itself and the underlying purposes, for example what the products function is a long with the target audience, and the general area of market in which the design is trying to target or enter into, leaving the question of which is better not answered but understood. april 2013
A short synopsis on the Graphic Designer Neville Brody and his influence on current design, a long with some of his milestones he has achieved during his experience as a designer.
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eville Brody is a greatly successful Graphic Designer who specialised in a Post Modernist style with in his work, this being noticable in his designs created for his own magazines The Face and City Limits. Inside these magazines featured some very interesting layouts, experimental techniques and formats, with the introduction to paint, fascinating fashion, iconic musicians from the current period and several other Post Modern related attributes. With all of these features, Brody’s magazines stood out amongst others, with his work being new and interesting, a long side trending at this time as it fitted in with the current time period, where the Post Modernist ways were being introduced, highlighted through the Punk fashion that was being worn during this time. His work has gone on to be renoundly known in the current design industry, with artists aspiring to produce work in the same manner as he does, pushing the boundaries and exploring new methods in order to create publishments that are eye catching and new.
“Design is more than just a few tricks to the eye, its a few tricks to the brain� - Neville Brody
Neville Brody has gone on to publish two books based on his work in which explore all of the various elements captured within his work, a long with the history of his work and his experience as a designer. These books are The Graphic Language of Neville Brody Version 1 and Version 2, both featuring some very interesting and well evaluated information on the designer himself, as well as an in depth focus into his work, featuring some very nice double page spreads with his work presented. Through these elements it is clear that Neville Brody is a highly successful designer, with his work being very influential to current design, also he has achieved many milestones during his experience as a designer and will go down in history due to his fascinating exploration of the Post Modernist ways, pushing the boundaries of design and bringing through new elements which had never been captured before.
april 2013
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april 2013