Jive modernism zine

Jive Modernism An introduction and investigation into the ‘not so new’ instant style movement within graphic design.

An Instant Style

Contents

Introduction Not A Revival Modernism VS Jive Modernism Instant Style, Instant Popularity Form Swissted Bridging The Gap Applied Theory

Jive Modernism

Introduction

Jive Modernism or ‘The Instant Style’ is a design movement most popular in graphic design that relies on mimicking successful attributes of Modernism with little concern towards function in relation to form.

Jive Modernism is not a new or innovative style nor is it unique.

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An Instant Style

Not A Revival

‘Modernism was an attempt to jettison the confining aspects of history. It replaced the nineteenth century’s deep infatuation with the past with the twentieth-century optimism about the present and the future’ Jive Modernism is not considered a revival of modernism. It is a denial of the essential point of modernism, its faith in the power of the present, and the potential of the future.

‘Modernism was never a style, but an attitude. This is often misunderstood by those designers who dwell on revivals of the form rather than on the content of Modernism.’

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Jive Modernism

Modernism VS Jive Modernism

Modernism was optimistic about the role of design, designers believed that design has a responsibility to carry a new message. Modernism believed in itself, in its contemporaneity: It believed in the present.

Modernists invented new formal languages that changed not just how things looked, but how people saw.

Modernism was a heartfelt attempt at using design to change the world.

Jive Modernism carries forward the aesthetic element of Modernism and disregards the meaning and beliefs.

Where Modernism looked to the future, Jive Modernism looks to the past, it solely focuses on the surface of the design and not what’s behind it.

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Josef Muller Brockmann

Swissted (Mike Joyce)

Emil Ruder

Bridging The Gap (Ross Gunter)

Armin Hofmann

Album Anatomy (Duane Dalton)

Paul Rand

Swiss Style (Juan Pablo Imbrogno)

Wim Crouwel

Realswisstic (Silvo)

Jan Tschichold Massimo Vignelli

An Instant Style

Instant Style, Instant Popularity

Jive Modernism offers instant legitimacy for commercial success.

It cashes in on history without reinterpreting it, the complete opposite of what Modernism stood for.

Below is an example of Jive Modernism in action: On the left hand side is an original Josef Muller Brockmann poster for the Zürich Music Festival, and on the right hand side is a poster from the series ‘Swissted’ which has mimicked concept, layout and colour for instant popularity and commercial success.

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Josef Muller Brockmann Zürich Music Festival 1958

Swissted (Mike Joyce) Germs 2013

Jive Modernism

Form

Form is key to the success of the instant style, it has become a detachable attribute that can be applied in multiple situations.

The form can be anything that looks modernist in style, it can be used without any concern in relation to form.

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Whereas Modernism keyed the term form follows function, Jive Modernism both form and function are separate entities, they simply co exist in the same design with little or no relation.

The template on the opposite page illustrates that this aesthetic can be used regardless the message and still have the same relevance.

An Instant Style

Further information

Date & Time

Venue

Title 7

Jive Modernism

Swissted

Swissted is an ongoing project by graphic designer Mike Joyce, owner of stereotype design in New York city. Drawing from his love of punk rock and Swiss Modernism, Mike has redesigned vintage punk, hardcore, new wave, and indie rock show flyers into international typographic style posters.

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The majority of posters from this series are styalised in the form of a modernist posters but is completely irrelevant to the content. They’ve gained worldwide popularity through simply copying a style that serves no purpose towards the content.

An Instant Style

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Jive Modernism

Bridging The Gap

Bridging The Gap is an ongoing personal project by Ross Gunter. The series are designs for a club night in London. ‘Emphasis is placed on simplicity, with two core elements: a consistent layout, alongside a substantial eye-catching graphic’.

This statement shows that there is no regard to the relation between form and function, the designs replicate those of modernists simply to be ‘eye catching’.

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An Instant Style

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Jive Modernism

Applied Theory

This series of prints were created as a way of illustrating the irrelevance style has in relation to content and how replicating popular aesthetics from the past can create something both aesthetically pleasing but also design that is on trend, but serves no purpose whatsoever in relation to the content.

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The shapes replicate popular designs from the era of Swiss Modernism and solely rely on the image as its main focus, not the content.

An Instant Style

Instant Style

Jive Modernism Jive Modernism offers instant legitimacy for commercial success. It cashes in on history without reinterpreting it, the complete opposite of what Modernism stood for.

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Jive Modernism

Instant Style

Jive Modernism Jive Modernism is not considered a revival of modernism. It is a denial of the essential point of modernism, its faith in the power of the present, and the potential of the future.

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An Instant Style

Instant Style

Jive Modernism Jive Modernism carries forward the aesthetic element of Modernism and disregards the meaning and beliefs. Where Modernism looked to the future, Jive Modernism looks to the past, it solely focuses on the surface of the design and not what’s behind it.

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Instant Style

Jive Modernism Form is key to the success of the instant style, it has become a detachable attribute that can be applied in multiple situations without any concern in relation to form.

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