ARTIST BASED TYPEFACE CITY IN FLUX EARTH ARTIFACT
MODERNISM POSTMODERNISM ANALYSIS
New Visual Language 2015
F O R M F O L L O W S F U N C T I O N
Table of contents 1- 2
mODERNISM
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POSTmODERNISM
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bRANDON STATON
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cITY IN FLUX PRIMARY RESEARCH
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aNTHONY bURRILL
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cITY IN FLUX FINAL PIECES
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lARRY cARLSON
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kari reis
19-20
sacred geometry
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Earth artifact final pieces
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Max bill font
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Joseph muller brockman font
modernism
Modernism was a revolutionary art and design movement which arose at the end of the 19th and early 20th century. It was thought to have been centred around using art and design in order to improve the lives of postwar citizens. One major turning point in the increasing popularity of modernism was the opening of the first Bauhaus art and design school in Weimer, Germany. After the first world war Germany was plunged into depression and people were forced to rethink the ways in which they lived. The Bauhaus school was all about creating new products under strict principles including ‘form follows function.’ Household products and appliances created under Bauhaus practice were more cost effective and simply designed for their purpose and the needs of the user. Due to technological advances they were created in mass
production for the first time. Within graphic design and typography modernist designers shunned serif fonts under the belief that sans serif was much more legible and comprehensible by consumers. Straying away from the overly decorated style of the early 19th century designers of the era of Modernism abided to strict, structured grid system with emphasis on negative space. The idea was to create strong graphics that were against commercialism and greed. Typical typefaces used in the Modernism era include Franklin Gothic, Mono-type Grotesque, Futura, and Helvetica Neue. Modernism truly did spark a different way of thinking among artists and designers and many movements and art forms evolved due to its presence including surrealism, dadaism and many more.
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postmodernism Postmodernism is a late 20th-century movement in the arts, architecture, and criticism that was a departure from modernism. While many postmodern artists did not completely reject the tendencies of modernism they opposed many ideas about purity of form, eroding the divisions between pop culture and high art. There was also seen to be a lack of grand narrative or meaning behind many postmodern art and design pieces and this lack of
order and telling of history was as a way of questioning ideas set by governing institutions. First of all, postmodern art departs from modern art in its abandonment of political advocacy for a singular ideology. The modernist avant-garde viewed art as an agent of social change and even helped to shape many of the political movements of the twentieth century.
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F City in se lux Re
Humans of New York is a unique project created by Brandon Stanton in 2010. The amateur photographer approaches strangers in the street and asks for a portrait and personal biography. By now Stanton has captured over 10,000 photographers of the inhabitants of New York and is now working on a worldwide project. I found Stanton’s work both fascinating and inspirational as each character conveys a different perception of city life and what is important to each citizen. The biographies range from humorous to highly emotional and touching. This aspect of the project means that it truly captures the essence of the city through the eyes of the people within it. After undertaking further research on the Humans of New York project I found out more about how Stanton raises the confidence to
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Brandon Stanton approach unfamiliar people in the street. It seemed a highly difficult task to engage people while simultaneously making them feel as ease. I have documented his tips and videos on my blog and eventually ended up using some of these techniques within my City in Flux project. What better way to learn about the fluctuation of the city than to speak to the citizens who have witnessed these changes first hand? It was this mentality which drove me to get myself out there and speak to elderly citizens in order to gage a unique perspective. All together I spoke to a sample of 23 people ranging from the ages of 60-85. Spending a considerable amount of time with each person allowed me to receive detailed personal anecdotes and experiences of their lives from childhood to present day.
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Through the primary research I collected I found that there was a wide range of opinions on the current state of many living environments. Some of the people I interviewed spoke with a negative view of the change in general life e.g.. the current economical state and technological advances. This whole process gave an excellent insight into the minds and general
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upbringings of elderly people in my area. I documented the quotes I collected by handwriting them into a handmade book in order to give a reminiscent old-fashioned feel. I really enjoyed collecting this primary research as I had the opportunity to speak to real people about their past experiences and learnt a lot about how everyday life has devel-
Every morning a guy came with a long pole to knock on bedroom windows and wake people up for work. He was our human alarm clock.
We lived in darkness. There was no electric light. Electric light - What a wonderful thing!
Everything was a lot safer then.
Before the war it felt like we had nothing.. After the war it felt like we had even less.
I don’t know how we all fit on this tiny little planet.
It was a wonderful ear. How it all failed I don’t know.
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Cit
ux Res y in Fl
earch
Anthony Burrill
Graphic artist, print-maker and designer Anthony Burrill is known for his persuasive, upbeat style of communication. Words and language are an important part of Burrill’s output as he often plays with the connection between text and meaning in order to really get consumers thinking. One of his most famous pieces is entitled ‘Oil & Water Do Not Mix.’ During the printing process of this poster Burrill used oil collected from the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. This allowed him to play with visual metaphor in a positive way as his efforts
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worked towards raising funds for people and the environment affected. This technique is a classic example of combining the sign and the signifier within design. I went on to explore his use of semiotics within my own work as I found his typographic techniques and general way of thinking to be innovative and visually effective. Within my city in flux final pieces I chose to use inspiration from Anthony Burrill when it came to the typography as he uses large capitalised font and creative typography which connects the meaning to the text itself.
Elissa Boswell 2015
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city in flux final pieces For my final pieces for the city in flux project I used illustrator in order to create vector images of a range of buildings through to skyscrapers in order to represent the fluctuation of the physical city scape. The typography overlaid upon it is taken from the quotes I collected from my sample of elderly people who have seen these changes within their environment, first hand. The collection of this primary research was my favourite part of the project as I had the opportunity to speak to real people about their past experiences and learnt a lot about how everyday life has developed in the process. I spent an extensive amount of time with each person as it was
fascinating to hear about personal anecdotes and each one was completely different. As I formerly worked at a Masonic Hall within my home town for over 3 years I have become close to many elderly citizens aged between 60-85. Many of them were from neighbouring cities such as Manchester and Liverpool while a select few were from small villages or towns. I did not focus on a specific city within the project as I took the phrase ‘city in flux’ on a less literal level and focused around the fluctuation of society itself. In some ways I think keeping my options open in regards to not specifying a particular city location as this meant I collected a wide range of primary
Before the war it felt like we had nothing. Once it started it felt like we had even less. 11
- Patricia, 74
research from people all over the north of England. I used inspiration from Anthony Burrill in the composition and layout of my typography. Upon experimentation and deliberation Bebas Neue appeared to be the most effective as it resembles that of the font used by Burrill which is consistently eye-catching. The fact that many of his posters consist purely of typography conveys the real strength behind type.
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- Christopher, 80
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Earth ct Artifa
Larry Carlson is most well known for his ‘trippy’ surreal art. His work ranges from photography and digital art to film making and audio design. A common theme throughout is bending and broadening the limits of the human mind. He often uses the juxtaposition of surreal objects and patterns within his pieces in order to create something which is unrelatable yet fascinating. I have been a fan of Carlson’s work
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Larry Carlson for a long time now and I throughout the Astronimica collection (displayed left) would be particularly beneficial for this project as it encourages thought and conversation about astrology, the universe and wider realms. It is the black and white pieces within his ‘Astronomica’ series which I used as influence within the creation of my sacred geometry booklet as it is monochromatic yet detailed and aesthetically pleasing.
“Through my artwork I aim to offer the viewer a new way of seeing the world, to describe life as magical, and rich with wonder, mystery and possibility.” – Larry Carlson
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Earth ct Artifa rch R es e a
Klari Reis Klari is grounded in actions and reactions with a new media plastic - epoxy polymer. Similar to resin, the UV resistant plastic is her method and language for exploring and expressing interactions on a microscopic level. Powders, oils, acrylics and industrial dyes are used through many layers of ultra glossy, durable plastic. A technician of sorts, studio as laboratory, Klari has turned the invented process into a science in the service of
art. It is this artistic analysis of the microscopic world which fascinated me and I loved the way each piece was completely different. This inspired me to experiment with 3d mapping and symbols within adobe illustrator in order to create unique spheres which were reminiscent of the petri dishes. I ended up using these creations within the background of my booklet in order to add to the equilibrium of the composition.
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Earth ct Artifa rch R es e a
sacred geometry In nature, we find patterns, designs and structures from the most minuscule particles, to expressions of life discernible by human eyes, to the greater cosmos. These inevitably follow geometrical archetypes, which reveal to us the nature of each form and its vibrational resonances. Bruce Rawles, author of the ‘Sacred Geometry Design Sourcebook’
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Sacred geometry is the art of explanation of the creation of the earth and universe through the use of geometric shapes to represent ideas and processes which are far too vast to comprehend without such visual aids. I found this particularly fascinating as it is reminiscent of the use of graphic design as a visual language.
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Earth artifact final
Within my earth artifact project I chose to focus upon the subject of scared geometry and an alternative version of the creation theory. I found this subject fascinating as there are many well known theories behind the creation of Earth and the universe however sacred geometry is not one that is often known by the general public. I really enjoyed researching this subject as it opened my mind to a range of new possibilities which I was not previously aware of. It also used simple geometric shapes in order to metaphorically explain
each step of the creation process. This was something that I really appreciated as one of the main purposes of graphic design is to create a form of visual story telling and when done correctly this makes language and text obcelite. Sacred geometry is the only creation theory which uses just shapes in order to display its meaning. I used inspiration from some of the artists I had previously researched when it came to the overall aesthetic of the booklet. For example petri artist Klari Reis inspired me to experiment with 3d mapping which created similar looking spheres to her pieces. I ended up using these images in the background of
the booklet in order to break up the negative space and prevent the publication from appearing bare or boring as I was aware of the amount of blocks of text I had used. In regards to the geometry itself I used adobe illustrator in order to create each image which took a lot of time but was very enjoyable as I was learning about the subject through the creation of these shapes. This emphasises the point behind the theme of my booklet as the act of visual and kinaesthetic learning was beneficial in increasing my knowledge of the subject I was writing about.
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Font 2 -BILL
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mAX BILL
I chose to use the popular modernist designer Max Bill when creating my first typeface as he uses easy recognisable triangular shapes within his work. Although he uses a range of shapes within his pieces there are a few of his works of art which are made up purely of triangular shapes and I thought this would translate easily into a type-
face. Although I found it easier to create than my other font I was less happy about the result of the Max Bill typeface in comparison to the Muller Brockman based typeface. One of the main reasons for this was I do not think the final product (pictured left) is closely relatable to the workings of Max Bill.
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I found that the iconic circular segments within the work of Joseph Muller Brockman’s posters were easy to translate into a typeface especially within the curved shapes. I definitely preferred this outcome of the Brockman font as I felt that my influences were easily noticeable. One of the things I did find
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challenging when creating this font however was the forming of some letters with curved descenders such as the letters Y and G. It took a while for me to master the creation of perfect-looking curved shapes within some of the letters but in the end I was much happier with the result.
Font 1 -Brockman
Muller Brockman
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Elissa Boswell BA Hons Graphic Design University of Huddersfield