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A true pioneer of graphic design and typography, David Carson’s experimental works blurred the lines between the art world and graphic design scene. He is the forefather of the use of “grunge typography” and became an example of imitation for other graphic designers to follow. Carson was born in 1955 in Corpus Christi, Texas, but it is Florida, of which he attended high school, that he considers himself the “most from”. Carson went on to study at San Diego State University, completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology and graduated with honours and distinction. It wasn’t until 1980 at a two-week graphics course held at Arizona University Carson would find a passion for design. Carson moved to San Diego, California and taught for 5 years at Torrey Pines High School. It was during this time Carson became a professional surfer, which a signature board model with Infinity Surfboards, a signature fin model with Rainbow Fin Co., and reached a world ranking of 9th. The surf scene, and its related grunge rock ‘n’ roll scene would become huge influences in Carson’s work and career path. Whilst still teaching, Carson attended the Oregon College of Commercial Art for a few months before landing an unpaid internship with “Action Now” magazine (formally “Skateboarder”). In that same year, Carson travelled to Switzerland to participate in a three-week graphics course ran by Hans-Rudolf Lutz, of who he holds as one of his greatest influences.
“subjective, personal and very self indulgent”
His work at Action Now Magazine didn’t go unnoticed and in 1984 was appointed as the art director. It was here he revised his signature style of “dirty” almost illegible type and experimental photo techniques. This helped the magazine create a distinctive look and an “against-the-norm” style. In 1989, Carson found a new job working for Beach Culture Magazine as an art director. The magazine only lasted for six issues, but this short amount of time was enough for Carson to earn hundreds of design awards and make a name for himself through his unique type and magazine design. Carson was then picked up in 1992 by Ray-Gun magazine, an alternative rock ‘n’ roll magazine with the publisher recognizing Carson’s prior work to have potential. Carson’s work at Ray-Gun Magazine would become some of his best with the infamous
dingbats-written interview one of the most infamous pieces of magazine layout design. Carson working at Ray-Gun tripled their audience and made a further name for himself becoming featured in The New York Times and Newsweek. In 1995, Carson left Ray-Gun with aspirations of creating his own design firm and later that year, David Carson Design was born. For the next three years Carson would work with a multitude of international major clients notably: Pepsi, Nike, Microsoft, Giorgio Armani, American Airlines and Levi’s Strauss Jeans. Whilst working under the firm Carson also created and designed the cover for 3 issues of Blue Magazine. The cover design for the first issue won an award as one of the “best 40 magazine covers of all time” by the American Society of Magazine editors. Carson would go on to complete various other work for clients all over the world designing posters, covers and other forms of print media.
David Carson was coined by Newsweek to have “changed the public face of graphic design”. His work is characterized by a sense of little order in his typography and overlapping photos and text. At first glance, Carson’s work would seem meaningless and fractured, of which led to him being repelled by some readers who were frustrated with the illegibility of his work. It is only until you realise that Carson’s work serves a purpose, with each element evoking a sense of different emotion, symbolism and ideas from the reader, that you can fully appreciate the genius of David Carson. Being innovative in this form of grunge design and adopting a radical and bold characterization of his work, Carson was more accepted amongst
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alternative music scene through the publication Ray-Gun. You can see parallels in Carson’s magazine design and typography with the songs/innovations of featured alternative artists in the magazine. Carson writes in the maxim of his book “End of Print” about the future of type in the emergent age of digital design. Carson, when questioned about the nature of his work, says it is “subjective, personal and very self-indulgent”. Design writer Steven Heller says his work has “significantly influenced a generation to embrace typography as an expressive medium”, and design educator and historian Ellen Lupton says Carson is “one of the world’s most distinctive typographic voices – much imitated, but never matched”.
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“much imitatedbut never matched”