THE PUSHBACK ON MODERISM
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an Tschichold was an important figurehead in the modernist movement being a typographer and bookmaker. Working closely with Paul Renner who designed Futura font, he was inspired by the Bauhaus typography which he then adapted to his own work making serifless typefaces and simplified layouts. He fled during the rise of the Nazi party in Germany to Switzerland. He was at the forefront of type hierarchy and by using type within design, San serif type layouts flushed to the left where a signifying factor in Tschiloids work which was inspired from the Swiss style. He worked for Penguin Books where he spent part of his career personally overseeing the production of over 500 books. His Principles and innovations have steered modern graphic design principles and how designers use typography overall.
By the 1970´s, modernism was the benchmark of graphic design due to a rise in Swiss design applications and ideology. Following World War Two grid systems, Serif and San Serif lettering along with ´negative space´ was the practised methodology of graphic design. The merge of the Bauhaus movement, futurism and constructivism had amalgamated into modern Graphic design. At this point had been collectively associated with these exact principles. Architecture and artists had now transformed their ways of working into modern principles which opened the door to the push back of modernist design principles which were booming.
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assimo Vignelli was also hugely influential within the modernist movement. He was a strong believer in simplicity and that grid systems were the key to design. Stemming from an architectural background studying at The Polytechnic University of Milan. His work set the standard of the modernism boom in clean geometric design. He worked in branding and identity for Unimark International, one of the largest design studios in the world, with clients such as American Airlines. In 1967, the American Airlines logo was created by both Vignelli and Heinz Weibil. The corporate identity used Haas Helvetica along with red and blue to represent the USA´s identity. “We wanted to make one word of American Airlines. There were no other logos then that were two colours of the same word. So, we took the space away and split it by colour. We proceeded by logic, not emotion. Not trends and fashions” (M. Vignelli). Helvetica’s fame and glory is catalysed by this project. It has been deemed to be an iconic modernist corporate identity of the 20th century.
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im Crouwel was the founding father of Total Design, currently known as Total Identity, using Swiss type such as Helvetica. He played a key role in the designs of the Stedelijik Museum in Amsterdam for thirty years. He went on to design the new alphabet typeface in 1967 which was used in the early display screens. His work pioneered modernism cementing Swiss design style into the graphic design industry of the 20th century.
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olfgang Weingart taught at the Basel School of Design, where he was the instructor of typography with Armin Hoffman. His teachings paved the way for the postmodern style in the late 70s, inventing techniques such as the use of half tone screens and stretched blur type with overlapping colours. By the 1990s, Weingart was showcasing his own exhibition of his handwritten type in posters at the retrospective exhibition at new technical form
V i g n e l l i ´ s i c o n i c 1 9 7 2 d e s i g n o f t h e N e w Yo r k subway created a representation of the routes and stops rather than a geographically correct map. Making the map simple to understand to b o t h n a t i v e N e w Yo r k e r s a n d v i s i t o r s u s i n g t h e underground system.
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olfgang Weingart taught at the Basel School of Design, where he was the instructor of typography with Armin Hoffman. His teachings paved the way for the post-modern style in the late 70s, inventing techniques such as the use of half tone screens and stretched blur type with overlapping colours. By the 1990s, Weingart was showcasing his own exhibition of his handwritten type in posters at the retrospective exhibition at new technical form in Darmstadt, Germany.
im Crouwel was the founding father of Total Design, currently known as Total Identity, using Swiss type such as Helvetica. He played a key role in the designs of the Stedelijik Museum in Amsterdam for thirty years. He went on to design the new alphabet typeface in 1967 which was used in the early display screens. His work pioneered modernism cementing Swiss design style into the graphic design industry of the 20th century.
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he rise of technology in the 70s and 80s allowed for designers such as Peter Saville to flourish, bringing fresh visual language into the saturated design industry. Modernist designers were primarily targeting the commercial corporate culture only whereas the post-modernist movement concerned developing innovative perspectives - contradicting the modernist rules and flipping them on its head.
nspired by subcultures and stereotypical corporate branding to create a visual language referencing society. By doing this, it attracted individuals from various backgrounds due to its relativity, being artistically unique while continuing to incorporate principles of design, photography, and typography. The use of scanners to manipulate mediums and design programs allowed for the designing process to be fluid in the rise of post-modernist graphic design. The rise of technology has allowed more designers to be able to connect with each other and collaborate. There has been a boom in 21st century design with the rise of applications and websites such as Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook allowing people to learn, connect and share their work.
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eter Saville was an English graphic designer famous for his work on factory records LP sleeves as well as his work for New order, Joy division and the Pixies album artwork. A Mancunian by birth, he even collaborated with the transport sector of greater Manchester and acted as a creative director for the city of Manchester. Peter Saville was one of the pioneering post-modernist designers, refusing to conform to modern design principles which were influenced by his own involvement within the punk scene. His work as the graphic designer for Factory Records allowed him to experiment much of his post-modernist work on the LP cover sleeves for Factory Records and the likes of Joy Division and New Order. Tony Wilson giving Saville complete creative freedom when making his work allowed him to push his productivity with photography, production and typography allowing his work to thrive.
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avid Carson is a figurehead in the push back of modernist design principles. He is a selftaught graphic designer who made a huge impact through his experimental style. Carson is sometimes referred to as the originator of grunge typography and distinctive layouts. In 1984 Carson was the art director of Transworld skateboard magazine which his style and layouts flourished with his unique typography, hand collaged typography over photographs and layouts. Then the continued doing it for Transworld snowboarding magazine in 1987. Carson´s work stood out in the early 90s and was recognised and hired by Raygun magazine. He managed to triple their circulation through his unique layouts and cover designs. Brands were attracted to his experimental advertising that companies such as Nike, Quicksilver and Pepsi Cola commissioned him for work to attract new life and a new market of people into their companies.David Carson´s style is controlled chaotic typography with bold overlapping photos. His visual communication is bold, eye catching and detailed which has made Carson’s style become so individualistic. This has allowed more people to be able to get involved with graphic design due to his handson approach which gives of a sense of familiarity to young designers. For the reasons mentioned,
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ost modernism with the use of photography or quotes to amplify the subject matter with typography and collage. Geometric shapes and grids being experimented with to produce a new visual language which helped designers step away from the one field of clean aligned swiss design principles. Designers such as Massimo Vignelli, Jan Tschichold and Wim Crouwell allowed for graphic designers to make order to their work to and industry standard. Their persistence in adapting the traditional Swiss school / Bauhaus design techniques and pushing it further within their own practice solidified the modern world in graphic design but also in architecture and beyond. Modernism in graphic design allowed for principles being taught at the foreground of graphic design making it easy for young designers to learn about layouts and hierarchal structure importance. Having these ground rules on how a space and grid could be used opened a door to a whole new audience who were able to adapt their take on the subject matter. Comparison to peter Saville and David Carson they knew these principles when they were developing their practise which led them to be able to master it then flip into a new visual language. Stemming from their knowledge of modernism, they could adapt their grid layouts and typography, photography use in the way they felt their vision would be effective and give a fresh look on the industry of graphic design.
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n conclusion the pushback of modernism within the 1970s and 80s was a natural reaction to the creative individual and designer. When rules are made, they are undoubtably going to be broken and redesigned or broken down into something new, showing development and growth. Without the pioneers of modernism, we would not have had the key skills such as Tschichold typography methods or Vignelli clean use of simple clear graphics and layout. By having these standards and principles, today’s young graphic designers and individuals new to the industry can learn these practised methods and apply them to their own work. Peter Saville and David Carson are prime examples of why knowing the past principles and pushing your own vision on how something could be more effective and solve problems more effectively as a graphic designer. The push back of modernism within the 1970s and 80s was the catalyst of furthering expansion of the graphic design industry. Creating the push for new medium possibilities within the realm related to print, branding but also to the arts and entrepreneurship industry as a collective.
BY JAMAL JABBAR
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