Experimentation in Communications Design: Moving Toward a Methodology of Innovation by Jennifer Shepard

In COMMUnICATIOnS DESIgn

MOVIng TOWARD A METHODOLOgy OF InnOVATIOn

by Jennifer W. Shepard

in communications design moving toward a methodology of innovation by Jennifer W. Shepard

A thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Communications Design

Pratt Institute December 2012

Received and approved

Tom Klinkowstein date Thesis Advisor

Jeff Bellantoni date Chairperson

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Contents Preface

Introduction

The Debate:Practice Versus Theory

Some Proposed Methods of Inquiry: Pure Science

Pure Research in Art = Visual Research

Visual Research in Communications Design

The Experimentation of John Cage

Embracing Chance: The Creative Potential of Randomization

The Process: Hexagram Experiments by Page

Index: Legible Texts by Hexagram

Bibiliography

108

Image Credits

113

This book was created using a methodology that is based on the ancient Chinese oracle, the I Ching. The I Ching is an oracle that draws upon a series of 64 shapes called hexagrams that each correspond to a text. It is traditionally used for divination. For this book, I created a series of instructions that correspond with each of the 64 hexagrams. I then tossed the coins to determine 2 hexagrams for each spread. I located the instructions that each hexagram corresponded with and manipulated the page in whatever fashion was advised by the Oracle.

Due to the experimental nature of this book, please be advised that many pages will be illegible or non-sensical. I chose to preserve the illegible spreads in an attempt to honor the true nature of the process. If any particular page is unreadable, please refer to the index in the back to determine the corresponding text and proceed to read the sections which have been obscured through experimentation.

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Preface My interest in this topic stems largely from my own attempts at parsing my experiences as a studio artist versus my experiences studying design and working towards merging my practice as a visual communicator so that whatever ends the projects that I am pursuing come to: they always come from a place of sincerity and autonomy that I hope will better communicate to my viewer. I once saw a lecture by Jerry Saltz where he claimed that in order to really move people, you must be â&#x20AC;&#x153;nakedâ&#x20AC;? in your work. I think this statement means different things for different people, and certainly for me, indicates a certain amount of emotional vulnerability regarding personal work. However, I think this statement still translates to the designer who is mediating for a client. That is, people respond to sincerity no matter what the intention of the final outcome. And of course, this is related to the idea of empathy in design. Empathy and sympathy are two different things. One who sympathizes merely pays lips service to the idea that they intellectually understand another personsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience. Empathy is more like being a medium in a sense. One who is empathetic actually feels the psychic energy of the person or group that he or she is conferring with. It is funny that we use the term medium both to describe a vehicle for transference of psychic energy and as a tool for creating visual objects, because when we are creating visual works we are using the tools of paint, pencils, paper, and bits and bytes to transfer the energy of our emotions. So the empathetic designer actually absorbs the emotions of the client and transfers them to a visual medium in order to provide a conduit for others to experience the work. It is those communicative pieces that really hit home emotionally with the viewer, that ultimately resonate and stand the test of time, whether it be an advertising campaign or a painting. For me, experimentation, in a sense, is the idea of coming by something honestly. That is, I feel that if I can really get my hands dirty and get into something by tinkering, that I can better understand it and connect with it. For me, connecting with a medium is the surest way to ensure that I can be sincere in my work and hence, become a more effective visual communicator. By connecting with the medium, I hope that it will also bring me full circle back to connecting with my viewer. That is, aside from being a mediator between the client and the audience, I hope to procure a separate relationship with the medium itself, so that I can serve as a translator between the client and the media.

Introduction The conventional approach to communications design is to elevate practice over theory; it is pursued with a commodified end result in mind. However, communications design would benefit from a greater emphasis on pure research outside the constraints of commodified production. Free exploration of materials, methods and context would allow practitioners to make profound discoveries such as new visual languages, new substrates and new mediums. Communications design is currently studied primarily as an applied art. Since the late 19th century, the profession has undergone a great deal of change. From early printers to the poster design of the early 20th century, communications design is often relegated to a role primarily as a communication tool for commerce. However, communications design has a far greater role in society in general. From governmental and administrative communication to a widely disseminated tool for public discourse, the modes and methods of communications design have always played a large

role in the dissemination of information in society. For this reason, communications designers must actively pursue a method of practice that allows for freedom of exploration, so that new tools and innovative means for production can be discovered. Aesthetic explorations are typically most successful and innovative when pursued in an open-ended manner, where the ideas and questions posed are the focus as opposed to the product. Although this type of research has long since been embraced by other fields such as art and science, the field of design is just beginning to embrace this mode of inquiry. This is largely due to the fact that design, particularly in the 20th century, was frequently employed in advertising, and many have come to view that as its sole function. Consequentially, a debate has emerged within the design community that questions the role of theory-based inquiry as opposed to product-focused activity. The opposing points of view inherent in this debate have typically been referred to as practice versus theory.

Rapidly developing technologies and political upheaval were the norm, and many divergent ideologies formed as a result of reactions to these activities. Cultural movements such as Futurism, Constructivism and De Stijl developed on the heels of rapidly changing political environments. Manifestos were written and ideologies touted and expressed through works of art, poetry and other communicative mediums. It was a time of truly uninhibited exploration that reflected the tumultuous nature of the time period (Meggs).However, after World War II, the political climate in Europe and the United States became more stable, and this ushered in the appearance of the International Style in graphic design.

Andrew Blauvelt, creative director at the Walker Art Center and curator of the recent international exhibition, Graphic Design, Now in Production, discusses this phenomenon. He describes a “schism,” which crosses generational boundaries. He notes that many view theory as antithetical to practice due to the inherent disconnect between thought and action and also due to the common vagaries of design theory. Those who hold this opinion, consider the act of designing to be “external”

is model an extenon of the prentice odel that as commonused at e turn of e centuand prob-

Loraine Wild discusses this time period in her essay, “That Was Then: Corrections and Amplifications.” She talks about the fact that after World War II graphic designers “championed a hidden process that was supposed to deliver a visually potentproduct” and espoused the belief that the designer should be “invisible.” Designers were considered mediators that created a seamless line of communication between the client and the audience (43).

is odel m s Thi sion exten nan re e app hat h t f o t odel tice m mmonly co rn was the tu t a d use ntu e ce aof th ob d pr n a a y r flects e r y m bl fro ver holdo s before from the design process and ultimate- the day was ly counterintuitive to the flash of insight design as lished n b a needed for creativity (102-3). t s a e sion, profes ec i In her essay, “Education in an Adolescent rs p o printe d bo Profession,” designer and educator, Kathmeale pub erine McCoy discusses this phenomeand in in an non in relation to educations te a tion. She discusses the crimin o q fact that the study of ion t ce graphic design is often produ d an focused on application rials em that simulates profesdiss . sional projects. The them Bauhaus Basic Course It also was the first course to be a establish the idea that many all design proceeds from desig a basic foundational understanding of the aesthetic principles, and this has become cen the model for most graphic design educahol tion. However, upon completion of basic on courses, students quickly move into the th realm of producing iterations that mirror e the applied results of professional pracn tice. (McCoy).

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In his seminal essay, “First Things First,” Ken Garland, a British graphic designer, offers an intense diatribe against this litany of vacuous communication. His manifesto was originally penned during a meeting of the Society of Industrial Artists in London in 1964. In this manifesto, he discusses the fact that, at the time, graphic designers were indoctrinated into a profession that touted the production of work that directly supported the function of advertising. He caustically describes this phenomenon as a system, which lauds the exploitation of a designer’s creativity and skill in service to such banal items as cat food, detergent, toothpaste and more. He argues that these pursuits amount to trivialities that fail to contribute anything of value to society. He states, “we have reached a saturation point at which the high pitched scream of consumer selling is no more than sheer noise” (Garland,154-5). He goes on to suggest that there are more meaningful uses for the talents that are wasted on these pursuits. Although, this essay was published in The Sixties, it still rings true in the present day. However accurately Garland’s sentiments reflect and describe the almost assured indignation of many a contemporary designer, it remains that his argument is a bit more of an emotional response to the situation.

But what are the actual consequences of this phenomenon?

By many accounts, the consequences are a minimization of public discourse, and especially in the United States, many see this as synonymous with allowing the majority of our mass communications materials to be generated by and for,a or as a voice for, the omnipotent corporation (Lavin).

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Van Toorn States, In our culture, the tradition is to strive for a closed product: a kind of statement composed of form and content that is somehow complete in itself [..] graphic designers find themselves in a situation which supports the institution and that becomes part of the product. If you strive for a closed message, both in form and in content, then you are not being true to the communicative character of the message, to the real aim of the communication. Producers of information try to hide their real aims and motives. Information becomes a commodity. Design is the ultimate answer to that. (97)

Magnus Enzensberger, and Viktor Shklovsky just to name a few. Enzensbergers was a poet and cultural critic, and one of his key philosophies focused on the differences between repressive and emancipatory media. He defines repressive media as that which has a central source, a single sender or communicator and many recipients. Emancipatory media, by contrast, involves decentralization and treats every recipient as a potential communicator. The theory of emancipatory media states that each recipient is encouraged to mobilize. He states, “repressive media encourages passive consumption and depoliticization and is produced by specialists and kept under bureaucratic control. Emancipatory media encourages interaction and feedback, contributes to the political learning process, and is collectively produced and autonomous” (Poyner, 95). These ideas reflect Barthes’ ideas that the receiver becomes author, through interpretation. Receivers bring the meaning to the message and hence play a part in authoring it. Barthes believed in “polysemy,” which is the idea that one object or image can have many meanings, and the meaning is created when the viewer interprets the image. He referred to images as texts and postulated that their meaning was literally created in the process of being read by the viewer, thus placing authorship with the viewer instead of the creator (Baldwin and Roberts, 34-5).

These ideas are based on the basic concepts of semiotics as defined by Charles Sanders Pierce, an American philosopher from the late 19th century (13). Pierce used the term semiosis to describe the transfer of meaning from author to viewer and acknowledged that the act of signifying, or creating meaning, is not a one-way process. He

suggested that the meaning of a signifier is affected by the background of the viewer or reader, and their personal interpretations and experiences will influence how it is read (Crow, 34). The writings of Viktor Shklovsky, a Russian formalist critic, also

influence Van Toorn’s work. Shklovsky’s ideology centers on the notion that people need to be jarred to break out of their normal perceptual modes and “habitualization” that lead them to fail to question or recognize their surroundings. He touts “defamiliarization”

in art or “making strange.” He calls the process ostranenie (Poyner, 95). Van Toorn typically is known for creating forms that reflect this type of process. His constructions are intentionally awkward, and their manifestation reveals the process by which they were created. This aspect of his work is also reflective of the ideas of Bertolt Brecht, a playwright who thought that audiences should view plays with emotional detachment. Brecht felt that plays should not function as transcriptions of reality but instead that they should retain characteristics that make audiences aware that they are viewing a

representation of reality. He used disruptive techniques, to reveal the mechanics of making a play, such as having actors speak stage directions aloud. This demystified the act a bit and drew on participatory elements, such as having the actors addressthe audience directly. He termed thistype of activity as “the alienation effect” (97).Van Toorn’s ideas of engaging the viewer in an act of participation is evidenced in one particular spread from his book, Design’s Delight. In typical Van Toorn fashion, he has composed a series of photos together in the same layout that are seemingly unrelated. A photo of a family on a train is

To discover new means and methodologies that promote breaking out of the typical functions of design, and hence nurture creativity and innovation, we can look to other disciplines as a model. The natural sciences employ a number of research methods that bear a relationship to those that are often pursued in design. For instance, probably the best known method for scientific inquiry that exists is the scientific method. The scientific method begins with defining a problem, creating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis and forming conclusions based on the experimentation that is performed.

This methodology is akin to problem solving in other disciplines and is derived from psychology.

Communications design is frequently pursued in a similar fashion. Many define the activity of designing as problem solving, and thus a problem solving methodology is employed. In his book on the fundamentals design, Introduction to 2-Dimensional Design: Understanding Form and Function, John Bowers outlines the typical process of problem solving as related to communications design.

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The scientific method follows a similar approach, and this method is frequently taught in schools. The scientific method follows this basic structure:

1_ Define the problem 2_ Gather background information 3_ Form a hypothesis

(or educated guess about the outcome)

4_ Make observations 5_ Test the hypothesis 6_ Draw conclusions

One can quickly see the similarities between a problem solving approach to design and the scientific method. Bowers identifies two different problem solving approaches in design as research and strategy. He states that these methodologies are particularly effective in situations of applied design. That is, in situations where a specific product or outcome is clearly definable, methodologies that more closely mirror the scientific method can effectively assist the designer in creating systems that produce a desired effect such as increasing sales. In these situations designers can use specific tools such as ethnographic research or market research to create effective strategies to solve such problems (33-44).

However, not all communications design is geared towards such a cleanly definable goal. Bowers notes that other qualitative, as opposed to quantitative methods are desirable in the creative process. Intuition is one such methodology that relies more on the designer’s own personal insight. Bowers notes that both methodologies can be successful, however, intuition is a large part of the creative process and at times can yield more compelling results (17, Bowers). Many scientists seem to share this viewpoint in regard to the pursuit of science as a creative discipline . In fact, many scientists feel that the scientific method is almost antithetical to actual discovery. Alexakos Konstantinos, in his article “Teaching the Practice of Science, Unteaching the Scientific Method,” advocates for the use of an approach that involves open inquiry. He argues that the scientific method is an overly formulaic approach that is limiting and does not take into account the creative and at times idiosyncratic aspects of humanness that are involved in science. He notes that students who are constantly drilled with this approach, lean on it as a cookie-cutter method and do not employ

true creativity. Similarly, the NTSA (Standards for Science Teacher Preparation) also advocates for a method of teaching that is not merely about accumulating knowledge but instead should stimulate the discovery of novel approaches that fundamentally change that knowledge (74-5). William McComas’s article “Ten Myths of Science” furthers reiterates this point. McComas points out that, “close inspection will reveal that scientists approach and solve problems with imagination, creativity, prior knowledge, and perseverance. These, he suggests, “are the same methods used by all problem-solvers.” Both scientists argue that science is a discipline that requires the creativity and idiosyncratic response of its practitioners and that true innovation cannot be developed without allowing for unexpected outcomes (McComas).

approach and solve problems with imagination, creativity, prior knowledge, and perseverance. These, he suggests, â&#x20AC;&#x153;are the same methods used by all problem-solvers.â&#x20AC;? Both scientists argue that science is a discipline that requires the creativity and idiosyncratic response of its practitioners and that true innovation cannot be developed without allowing for unexpected outcomes (McComas). Although neither author states it outwardly, the overall argument seems to support pure research as a more viable way of approaching problem solving. Despite the fact that differing methodologies may exist within this category, pure research is defined as an approach to inquiry in which the overall aim is not necessarily to solve a specific problem that is posed, but rather to explore possibilities within the context of curiosity.

That is, pure research involves open-ended inquiry about the natural world, simply for the sake of u n d e r s t a n d ing the world. Pure research, in contrast to applied research, therefore does not necessarily result from a predetermined purpose. Scientists frequently employ pure research as a viable method for inquiry. That is, scientists explore the known universe in order to answer questions about the way it works. Pure research, by its very definition is more exploratory and openended. However, infrequently informs application later. Pure research defines laws by which applied

results canlaterbegleaned. For instance, purescience discove r i e s o f t e n furnish laws that are later used in application of applied science ( F e i b l e m a n , 306). In science, laws are defined as observable facts about the known universe, and theories are hunches at explaining these laws (McComas). Without observing the known universe, there would be no laws to test and hence, no science to apply, as in applied science. For this reason, pure research is a necessary step toward

achieving practical results. Without pure research, or what is sometimes referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;pure science,â&#x20AC;? applied science could not exist. In the scientific world, there are many historic examples of the success of pure research. For example, Louis Pasteur discovered the basic principle that dead or attenuated organisms can induce the production of antibodies in the blood. Later, virologist and medical researcher, Jonas Salk, applied the inherent logic of this theory when he discovered the vaccine for polio. He literally built upon the groundwork of knowledge that Pasteur had already established, moving beyond

Pasteurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original conclusion to develop an unexpected outcome that had hugely positive results. Had he not been aware of the previous work of Pasteur, he would never have had the means for such a breakthrough in applied science.

Another example of a pure science discovery that was later applied to practical results is the discovery of the photoelectric cell by George E. Hale, whose discovery was based on his

Although, pure research often leads to practical application, James Although, pure research often leads to practical application, James K. Feibleman argues that research should not be hampered in light of predicated applications. He argues that the “seriousness of purpose” involved in pure scientific research is comparable to religion or art and that while scientists focusing on application and technology may be very skilled, they equally tend to have “lesser imagination” (309). He goes on to eloquently sum up his thoughts on these matters in a way that is reflective of the assumptions asserted in this document: “In the effort to extend knowledge it is not strategically wise to hamper investigation with antecedent assurances of utility” (307). Lawrence Berkeley Lab is a currently active institution that employs pure research as a large part of their research curriculum. Berkeley Lab is a sprawling 200-acre facility located in the hills of California near the UC Berkeley campus. Funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, Berkeley Lab hosts thousands of scientists and researchers who have made many discoveries over the years. The Lab was founded by Ernest Orlando Lawrence, a physicist who invented the cyclotron. The cyclotron is a particle accelerator that helped to significantly advance our understanding of highenergy physics. Lawrence won the Nobel Prize for this discovery and founded Berkeley Lab in 1931. The facility was based on his belief that research is best approached from collaboration between teams of people with different backgrounds and expertise. Thirteen Berkeley scientists have won the Nobel Prize, and thirteen have won the National Medal of Science.

was developed in order to investigate supernovae and the principles of physics surrounding their creation and existence (LBNL).

Berkeley hosts or contributes to a number of other experiments globally including the Large Hadron Collider, a device located in Geneva, Switzerland, where protons and ions are collided in order to study the debris created from the collisions and substances such as quark-gluon plasma (LBNL). At the time I began writing this document, the Collider was in operation but had not produced any dramatic results. Since then, the Collider has been responsible for confirmation of the existence of something very similar to the Higgs boson particle, or the “God Particle.” This discovery is considered a milestone in scientific research, with broadreaching implications about our universe and how it works. Although confirmation of the specifics of the particle and whether or not it carries the exact attributes predicted by scientific theorist, Peter Higgs, is not entirely clear, the discovery has been a cause for a great deal of celebration and is the ultimate testament to the power of pure research.

Th th

Berkeley Lab has made many discoveries of applied science but continues to maintain hundreds of projects globally that employ pure research and seek to help us better understand our world. The Supernova Cosmology Project, one example of an international collaboration led by Berkeley scientists,

hediscovery: New York Times said this of he Confirmation of the Higgs boson or something very much like it would constitute a rendezvous with destiny for a generation of physicists who have believed in the Boson for half a century without ever seeing it. The finding affirms a grand view of a universe described by simple and elegant and symmetrical laws â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but one in which everything interesting, like ourselves, results from flaws or breaks in that symmetry.

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40 40

Method co-founders were interviewed by Good magazine, where they expressed a somewhat different viewpoint about encouraging cooperation between designers and business. Typically, people use inductive or deductive reasoning to solve problems. That is, in induction, conclusions are reached based on a set of observations. In deduction, conclusions are reached based on generalized facts that have been predetermined. However, in abductive reasoning, novel solutions are invented without a known or predetermined source. “While an engineer may study problems and devise solutions from a known set of tools, designers must imagine solutions that don’t come from a preexisting set of techniques” (Ryan, Eric, and Adam Lowry). This relates to Tim Brown’s theories about convergent and divergent thinking within the design process. In his book, Change by Design, he also suggests that successful design projects follow a process that is open-ended and less rigid than some scientific or problem solving approaches. He envisions the steps of this process as being akin to a series of overlapping spaces of activity, the order of which can be rearranged based on the needs of the project.

withmeters a r a p t his ic had str xperimented. T t y e h t abou they e es of cussion e spac ion, in which is s d e h t is h divert ntifies tes to ent and estn, idea la g io e r t r e a v He ide ir n p o of c In w as ins the use ing in design. n. activity io t are a t n e k y, we lem thin ll p a t c n im e e ifi r d g c a n e s a np any idea as ern culture, s e reaso iv m t , c n u d io t e e , in use d inspira ion, id thinking n During g ideat - trained to t o in n t r e o u r g r D p e . v upo d wn and uring ing or con uently draw produce o d d e q and d d row we fre a, analyze it are nar generated. An t a s h a t e eval id re f dat e. How ic types a tation, the fin ted in a series o o h c rgent en o one en at dive implem n and implem all, he converge t h t s t s ing e g er se of think he sug rld. Ov e are cho o s n r, a w a e h l p s a a and ss the ctic erated, n the pra e design proce should thinking is e g e r th t eas a ed, the defines y process tha cover- in which id generat here e r a s r a is to e ide ich t ected d explora the mor base from wh s that â&#x20AC;&#x153;unexp r ). o 7 f -1 e 6 est h allow larger t e sugg ess of e way (1 H h t . g e n s o lo the iesâ&#x20AC;? a a proc to cho o notes eri- is king is vergent and ls in a h t n w n exp con desig r, Bro g to etween raints in t what Howeve b t s g n o in c v f thinkin ive o o r a o m h s f t e s d t gges need t mo novat n and su igners from divergen ly produce in io t a he t n e s s m de arrow t at, continuou n h t s ly e is e h s s r is t imate conve distingu some scientis , they ideas and in an ult alya g d t in n b t a o n s e o t t an rim artis uses possibilities lso adds that to expe e n H io ). it 8 d ar y a (1 in ad second rles solution. He straints e a n r h o a c C is e s c km e embra ign tea of sis and synth the design thin s e le d p m y r a ortant ts to legenda ames as an ex o that mponen nd equally imp u o E c d l y a u f R s and cces ess a l rimenta ing proc d Katz). mely su an extre ted an expe tremean the x (Brown e en d m e le c p uggest u s d im o o r t p s t h tha strucseem y of of this approac ults. la ll s p A e r r e t e in iv at versus s ly innov s the continuou ained thinking e t o n also ft-br f tured le r, he ature o e n v l e a w ic o d H o , ly meth That is extreme erimentation. xp their e

open-ended right-brained thinking as hallmarks of the creative process. This echoes the findings of neuroscience researchers. According to the theory of representational change, one of the preconditions for creative problem solving is letting go of perceived constraints. This idea was demonstrated when scientists used an MRI scan to digitally visualize the activity of the brain. When subjects were given a visuospatial problem to solve that involved divergent thinking, MRI scans confirmed that activity occurred in both the left and right hemispheres of the brain, suggesting that both sides of the brain are involved in creativityâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; as opposed to the more widely held belief that most creativity comes from the right side of the brain, and linear problem solving from the left. However, scientists noted that when some sort of brain damage had occurred, and the two parts of the brain communicated differently, that more novel creative solutions were produced. That is, the two sides of the brain are thought to inhibit each other in certain ways. However, when those inhibitions were removed, different talents were developed. For instance, some people who develop an aphasia or other language difficulty later in life experience the instance of increased musicality or artistic talent (Erikson).

All of this research seems to point to the fact that designers, as creative thinkers, are using their organizational as well as intuitive faculties to approach problems and projects. However, when constraints are released, and the intuitive portion of the mind is allowed to freely explore, more creative solutions can be reached. This supports the idea that experimentation is vital to the development of new solutions. As creative thinkers, if we cannot disrupt the typical view or constraints of a visual communications problem, then how can we arrive at novel solutions? For that matter, how can our audiences arrive at novel solutions if we cannot disrupt their typical thought patterns as well? If we look to the audience as author and truly value their participation, then we have to offer them the opportunity to stretch their faculties and meet us somewhere beyond the horizon of typical solutions in a realm of higher thought and consciousness.

44 44

Pure Research in Art = Visual Research “Information presented at the right time and in the right place can potentially be very powerful. It can affect the general social fabric…The working premise is to think in terms of systems: the production of systems, the interference with and the exposure of existing systems…Systems can be physical, biological, or social.” —Hans Haacke

Pure research has long been a traditional method of inquiry in the world of fine art. Of course, this phenomenon is largely championed by the myth of the fine artist itself. Aside from situations in which commissions are exchanged, at the request of the client, most fine artists function within a tradition that ultimately champions the genius of the artists themselves and leaves the process of creating and discovering solely to them. This type of inquiry is generally termed “visual research” and is particularly touted in academia. Visual research generally falls under the heading of pure research, in that it can be defined as research where the practitioner him or herself initiates the questions or goals, and this stems from curiosity or inner drive instead of from a client or request for a solution to an external problem.

in the final product but represents the goal or intended subject matter of the work. Artists such as Richard Serra, Eva Hesse and many more are attributed with working in this manner, and Jackson Pollock is considered to have played a key role in planting the seeds of this movement (Process Art). Additionally, Pollock is a great example of an artist who developed a unique and innovative style through pure visual research. His “action paintings” represent a stylistic and processual departure from anything that was being done at the time, such that he inspired many documentaries and writings. Pollock was apt at explaining his

Some of the best examples of pure research in art and how it has manifest itself ultimately as innovation can be found in the process art of the 1960s. Process art encompasses a genre of work in which the process of making the work is central to the subject matter of the work. That is, the process of making the work is not only evident

Jackson Pollock’s methodology can be traced to influences such as Surrealism and Jungian psychology. Specifically, Surrealist Automatism bears a close relationship to his process. Pollock’s early experiences studying art at the Art Students League in New York City under Thomas Hart Benton led him to work as an easel painter for the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project, which offered him a steady enough income to allow him to experiment. In 1936, he joined an experimental workshop where he learned about industrial paints and enamels such as Duco. He later applied these experiments to the poured and spattered paintings that he is known for. In 1938, Pollock underwent psychiatric treatment and worked with Jungian analysts who used his drawings as part of their therapeutic process. From here, he began exploring unconscious symbolism in his work and developed

a personal iconography surrounding his mental processes. Although Pollock’s process at times seems chaotic, he actually employed a measured and intentional methodology to the implementation of his paintings. He tended to “write them out” from left to right on long pieces of canvas and at times was known to go back and correct certain areas so that they would “work” visually (O’Connor). He is even credited with with utilizing a grid system that he learned through his experiences as a mural painter.

Additionally, his method of painting (particularly his characteristic method of painting on the floor with unusual tools such as sticks), bears a relationship to the methods of the North American Indian sand painter. Overall, through experimentation and the combination of varying systems of application from different disciplines, he developed an extremely unique style and methodology that are still studied and emulated 60 years after his death (Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor).

Another group of artists who employed openended experimentation that led to important innovations was a loosely defined group of conceptual artists whose activities spanned largely from the time period of the mid-Sixties and into the mid-Seventies. Lucy Lippard was one of the most prolific art critics and theorists of the time period who documented these activities, and her seminal publication Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object from 1966 to 1972 is probably one of the most thorough collections of documentation about this work. Lippard lived in New York City at the time and was deeply involved in documenting, curating, and collaborating with artists such as Sol LeWitt and Robert Ryman, who are closely associated with minimalism. In her words, this interaction led to her affiliation with many other artists who were actively experimenting and subverting art world norms through their exploration of immaterial or “little c” conceptual art, as it was dubbed by LeWitt. The work of this period “focused on the de-mythologization and de-commodification of art” and questioned authorship through ownership from the perspective of art as a commodity (xiv). This movement in art is closely related to communications design through its immediate goals of communication, its largely textual basis, and its focus on proliferation and inexpensive

And while distribution and accessible formats suggested democratic communication, the content did not (Lippard, xvi). That is, the content of the work remains largely obtuse, selfreferential and difficult to access, and in this sense bears a relationship to the work of Jan van Toorn. In an attempt to more solidly fuse the connections between this work and the practice of communications design, I have chosen this sampling of artists, because their work clearly reflects an intersection

of methodologies that illustrate the inherent strengths of an exploratory method of inquiry and how this can be transformed into innovation. Although these artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; activities are definitively located within the realm of the profession of fine art, the knowledge gained and questions posed are clearly related to communications design.

Visual Research in Communications Design: “Experimentation is an anticipation of innovation” —Ian Noble and Russell Bestley

Alberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s innovative methodology included the following steps:

1) Begin at the beginning.

2) Discard traditional ideas.

3) Focus on the materials.

3) D isregard any previously employed device for handling the materials.

She notes that one of the reasons that such innovative work came out of the Bauhaus weaving course is due to the fact that the students came in without any former training.

“

albers states:

Unburdened by any considerations of practical application, [an] uninhibited play with materials resulted in amazing objects striking in their newness of conception in regard to the use of color and compositional elements– objects of often quite barbaric beauty […] such a free way of approaching a material seems worth keeping in mind […] Courage is an important factor in any creative effort. It can be most active when knowledge in too early a stage does not narrow the vision.

”

It was Albers’ belief that creative possibilities must be explored freely before considering the utility of an object. She states that in later stages, utility can become a necessary constraint to experimentation. Annie was married to the influential teacher, writer, and color theorist, Joseph Albers, who also taught at the Bauhaus. After the closing of the Bauhaus, the two went on to teach at Black Mountain College, another influential and experimental art and design school. Their innovations continue to be influential today (“An Introduction”).

Readability legibility a central

to no connection to its original values. In more recent years, graphic design has begun to embrace the notion of “multiplicity of meaning,” and layering and complexity have emerged as stylistic components. Readability versus legibility has become a central issue, and designers have begun to embrace ‘disorganized’ visual organization.

versus has become issue

Appropriateness for particular approaches is linked to the audience’s sensibilities. However, there remains a newly found embrace of ambiguity (32).

newly found embrace of ambiguity In addition to stylistic play, new theoretical frameworks have begun to emerge as well. Designers have begun to analyze their practice, embracing the notion of their activities as being intellectual. Designers are attempting, more and more, to look beyond their formal sensibilities and generate new meaning for their activities. They are reflecting on the practice of designing itself and therefore constructing validity to their activities outside of the role as merely a vessel for information from an unrelated field. As communications design grows as a discipline, this reflection and re-examination of the practice has naturally led to experimentation.

Katie Salen states,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

esearch and exploration are key elements in the growth of a discipline. Graphic design continues to adjust, and to accommodate new approaches, which define the activity of what has been called visual communication. The breadth of the field is now no longer only

”

The Experimentation of John Cage

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He vowed to find a reason for making music, other than communication. It was then that he began to study Zen Buddhism and was exposed to the Indian singer and musician, Gira Sarabhai, who believed that the function of music is not to communicate but rather to calm the spirit and open it to divine forces. At this time he was also exposed to the writings of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, who believed that art should imitate nature. Before he left the Cornish School, Cage invented the prepared piano. It was his way of merging percussion with the piano. He was confronted with a situation where he

was asked to compose music for a performance with an African theme, however there was no room for the instruments, so he had to devise a way to achieve the sound of multiple percussion instruments with one instrument. He created the prepared piano as a solution. He created it by placing objects between the strings. In this way,

the piano functioned as a sort of “percussion orchestra” but with a lower volume. At this time his interest in music experimentation was strong, and he spent two years trying to establish an experimental music program, sponsored either by a college or some other funding source. However, his idea never received enough support to be actualized. He ended up joining the faculty for Moholy-Nagy’s School of Design in Chicago and went on to work with Merce Cunningham. Like Anni Albers, he also taught for a time at Black Mountain College, which was devoted to experimentation. It was there that he met Buckminster Fuller and other controversial innovators. At Black Mountain College, Cage organized an event that is by some considered the first “happening.” The event included an exhibition of paintings, poetry readings, dance performances, and lectures, the timing of which was all based upon chance operations. In the late 40s he found out through experimentation that “silence is not acoustic” and instead attributed it to an altered decision or changing one’s mind. His work then became an exploration of “non-intention.” It was then that he developed a complex system of composition, which included the use of the chance operations of the I Ching, in his words, “making my responsibility that of asking questions instead of making choices.”

One of the projects that exemplifies the

has four different possibilities. The line can be

experimental spirit of his work is his â&#x20AC;&#x153;Music

solid, broken, solid changing, or broken chang-

of Changesâ&#x20AC;? piece. This piece was created

ing. The lines are formed through a process

using the I Ching (John Cage Autobiographi-

of selection that is based on randomization,

cal Statement).

or chance, as Cage prefers to call it. One can

Cage used the I Ching in many experiments including experiments in visual art and visual research. The details about the specific methodology he used are a bit foggy in areas, and Cage himself admitted at times to forgetting the process. However, the basic principle that he employed involved removing his own intention in his work. That is, when making decisions about creative projects, one tends to bring their own subjective experiences and tastes to the equation. This was his attempt at circumventing those types of subjective selections. He used it to attempt to free himself from making decisions and instead made his sole responsibility that of asking the questions of the I Ching (Marshall).

use either coins or yarrow stalks, which are dried stalks of the yarrow plant and resemble long, smooth sticks. One begins by concentrating, asking a question, and then proceeds to divide the sticks into sections. In determining the character of the first line of the hexagram, the questioner places one stick to the side, as a symbolic witness to the act. Then the stalks are divided into two sets. The first set is laid to the side, and the second set is counted out. The grouping is counted in sets of four, and laid on the table until four or fewer stalks remain. These stalks are placed between the ring finger and the middle finger of your left hand. Then the questioner picks up the grouping of stalks that was first laid to the side, divides this group into roughly half (without counting, this is part of the

The I Ching itself is a visual system of 64 hexa-

randomization) repeats the above process.

grams. Each hexagram has 6 lines. Each line

After all of the sticks have been counted through, the questioner ends up with either 9 or 5 stalks. The number is always the same due to probability and the number of stalks that were started with. If there are 9 stalks, the value of 2 is assigned, and if there are 5 stalks, the value 3 is assigned. The questioner writes down this number and begins again, until he or she has done this three times. Those numbers are then added up. At this point the only possible numbers that can be produced are 6, 7, 8, or 9. Each of these numbers determines whether the line is broken, solid, broken changing, or solid changing. This process is completed six times to produce a hexagram. The hexagram is a visual symbol that corresponds to a text. The text is intended to answer the question originally posed by the questioner. The length and laboriousness of this process is intended to ensure that the questioner is truly focused on his or her question and is intended as a sort of meditation. John Cage’s fascination with this oracle is probably related to his study of Zen Buddhism and to the idea that music could be a means for calming and mediation as opposed to a communicative endeavor. However, it is not entirely clear whether Cage used the “yarrow stalk” method for divination or the “coin method” which is slightly less laborious. Regardless, he embraced the idea of chance and of changes, which is a central theme of the I Ching.

Cage was at times vague about how he used the I Ching in his methodology. However, in her book, John Cage – Visual Art: To Sober and Quiet the Mind, Kathan Brown discusses the process that Cage used in creating one of his first print projects. Brown owned a printmaking press called Crown Point Press, and Cage began making etchings there towards the end of his life– for the last 14 years. He would number the tools and ask the I Ching which ones to use. Then he would ask how many marks to make, and how many should be particular lengths. He would ask the questions ahead of time and bring a printout of the answers to the studio, so that he could quickly make decisions and work on the spot without throwing coins or using the yarrow sticks each time. Apparently he also at times generated a reference sheet with a listing of the hexagrams and simply selected the next one on the list to make a choice. His methodology usually focused on the number 64, since that is the number of hexagrams that comprise the I Ching. At times he would decide that the first half of the numbers, say 1-34 would determine one item or alteration, and 35-64 would determine another. (Brown, Kathan and Marshall).

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Embracing Chance: Creative Potential of Randomization

Cageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s process was methodical and obsessive, which makes interesting by its very nature. However, the most interesting part about his process may be the intentionally produced element of chance. Chance or randomization, can present creative practitioners with different possibilities that they may have otherwise discarded or failed to consider. Unexpected adjacencies may be observed when idiosyncratic outcomes are embraced, and truly new and innovative ideas may be discovered. Chance = the x factor that produces unexpected outcomes. An apt metaphor for this phenomenon can be found in the mathematical concept of chaos theory. Chaos theory suggests that deterministic systems can produce unexpected outcomes. Cageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experiments set up deterministic systemsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;systems for which there is a decided outcome (i.e. a song, print or painting) and uses a variable factor to alter the outcome.

Historically there is a precedent for this phenomenon in visual art. Randomization was a key theme in the development of work by the Surrealists. The Surrealists frequently played games of chance and participatory games to create works of unusual potential.

Surrealism was an intellectual movement, which spread internationally around the turn of the 20th century. It was inspired by psychoanalysis and the ideologies of Marxism. The movement began primarily as a literary movement, and its core theories were formulated by a group of Parisian poets. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire coined the term Surrealism, and although he left the definition of the term somewhat vague, he seemingly defined it as a form of expression that not was not only hyper real, or exceeding realness, but also involved a “strong element of surprise.” This intention was decidedly to be achieved through “unexpected juxtapositions” (Ades and Gale).

Although the Surreal✍ ists were aware of the simi✍ larity of their practice to that of mediums, they believed that their writ✍ ings came from an internal unconscious source, as opposed to a supernatural source. The second source of inspi✍ ration that precluded the formulation of these experiments was derived from Freudian psychoana✍ lytic techniques. Breton developed an interest in these techniques specif✍ ically through his experi✍ ence as a wartime psychi✍ atry specialist. He had tried psychoanalytic tech✍ niques on soldiers who sustained shell shock, and found that their seem✍ ingly “irrational mono✍ logues” were extremely imag✍ inative. Surrealists also believed in the “poet✍ ry of chance encounters.” Surrealism in the visual arts developed many differ✍ ent manifestations over the years, and many artists that were supposedly creat✍ ing in this prescribed “automatic” fashion

were criticized, because although their subject matter was automatic, in the sense that it drew from dreams and the Surrealist automatism was among the most impor✍ tant techniques that were developed, although many systematic games of chance were used. The Exqui✍ site Corpse game was one such game, which drew upon the elements of chance to produce the final outcome. Aaron Koblin is a multi✍ media designer who utiliz✍ es chance in his work and specifically has utilized the method of the “Exqui✍ site Corpse” in his most recent undertaking.

Aaron Koblin is a multimedia designer who utilizes chance in his work and specifically has utilized the method of the “Exquisite Corpse” in his most recent undertaking. He is known for innovative uses of data visualization and crowd sourcing. He uses online mechanical turks to randomize data collection and also tends to call upon unknown participants for input, as another form of randomization. In this sense, Koblin plays on ideas of Cage and Surrealists, putting randomization to use to produce unexpected outcomes. In one particular project, called Bicycle Built for Two Thousand, Koblin used Google’s online Mechanical Turk to collect audio clips of people imitating notes from song, Daisy Bell. Participants were not aware of what outcome of project would be. When they entered site, a tone was participant was asked to mimic tone to best of his played, and result was an eerie amalgamation of over 2800 voices or her ability. song. singing In two more recent projects, Koblin utilized the Exquisite Corpse method specifically. One project called Johnny Cash Project, invites visitors to site to create one frame of an ongoing video portrait, accompanied by last song that he recorded before his death. result is a continuously changing stream of imagery that overall creates an idiosyncratic and beautiful portrait (thejohnnycashproject.com).

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Overall, Koblin’s work is a great example of how randomization and chance operations can enhance creative projects, and in that sense his work is decidedly experimental. The unknown factors produced by his crowdsourcing techniques bring a fresh approach to the chance operations that John Cage implemented and also draw on the experiments of the Surrealists in an unexpected way. His work is a great example of how randomization can produce unexpected results that garner innovation.

Other creatives have also expored the creative potential of randomization. Priscilla Stadler is an excellent example of those who incorporate randomization into their work. Priscilla utilizes the I Ching and other randomization processes frequently in her work. Her projects tend to be collaborative, drawing on the participation of her viewers. In one specific project called ORQ (The Oracle of Random Quotes) she devised a system by which participants are encouraged to write anwers to unasked questions on raffle balls. The answers can be invented or drawn from a small library of books, using a divination process called bibliomancy or stitchomancy, which is divination by reading books or lines. The balls are placed in a “randomizer,” a large mesh, mettle contraption similar to the kind used in bingo and other raffles. Other participants are the invited to ask the oracle a question a draw a raffle ball with a random answer (Priscilla P. Stadler: ORQ [The Oracle of Random Quotes]). Stadler has also created a number of pieces utilizing the I Ching specifically. In one particular piece, she asked 7 different artists to contribute pieces that were based on I Ching drawings. The artists were asked to perform I Ching readings daily and to create pieces based on their readings. Stadler also co-heads a collaborative I Ching collective in which artists and writers working in different mediums all converge to create works

based on the oracle. Stadler says of her process, “I couldn’t be an artist without randomness, because I find it so inspiring or informative as an energy for working with” (Stadler Interview). She also discusses the inherent potential and energy of working with participants and cites this as another random element in her work. She is known for staging her art oracles on the streets and inviting participants to collaborate with her. She states of this process, “that to me is a really exciting, dynamic part of the work, because I am going to have these collaborators– I don’t know who they are...our interaction makes it happen. I love that feeling of being open to what randomly happens” (Stadler Interview).

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The Project: The Design Oracle

The Design Oracle is a web application that is based on the the I Ching. It is a randomizer that uses the iconography of the I Ching, which consists of 64 groupings of lines called hexagrams. The hexagrams are composed of 6 lines each, broken and unbroken. The hexagrams correspond with a series of texts that are intended to offer the user a symbolic meditation and a nugget of wisdom based on a question that they pose. The Design Oracle draws from a cache of 64 possible selections; An excerpt of the traditional text, a hexagram, a texture, a color, and a photograph. The Oracle itself is capable of producing a staggering number of solutions that is in the millions. It presents the user with a new aesthetic combination based on chance, each time a question is posed, and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;submitâ&#x20AC;? button is clicked. In addition to the experimental aesthetic combinations the oracle produces, it can also be experienced as a true oracle. That is, if the user chooses, he or she is invited to meditate on the text portrayed and to draw conclusions about the imagery and what it may or may not mean in regards to their question.

At times the solutions produced by the Oracle will be confounding. They will be illegible, discordant, unattractive or conversely exceptionally beautiful and poignant. Overall, the designs produced are intended to be experimental, offering a new solution to ponder, whether harmonious and meaningful or aesthetically discordant and seemingly nonsensical. In this way, The Design Oracle is true to the nature of the traditional I Ching oracle itself. Its answers are at times mysteriously accurate and at other times, seemingly insignificant. I chose to use the original text of the I Ching oracle both to provide me with a basic prewritten text that could be easily altered or interpreted and also to provide a conceptual grounding for the project. The Oracle invites user participation, not only through its immediate directive of requesting input from the viewer in the form of a question, but also in the sense that its aesthetic manifestation requires interpretation by the viewer. In this sense, the Oracle is a form of emancipatory media, requiring the intellect of the viewer to dissect and bring his or her own interpretations to complete the message of the work, thus potentially awakening his or her critical faculties. The Design Oracle offers over one million possible aesthetic combinations and conceptual conundrums. In this sense it is a true tribute to the process of randomization and serves as a potent example of its inherent potential.

Screenshots of The Design Oracle

Conclusion

As designers if we are to achieve innovative results, it is clear that pursuing our activities in an open-ended way that allows for random unexpected insights and novel solutions must be pursued. Visual research should be approached in such a way that allows practitioners not only to explore the answers to their own, self-initiated questions but also that allows for the appearance of results that might otherwise not have been considered. Randomization is one way to achieve this, and should be incorporated into visual research.

The Process: Hexagram Experiments by Page *note: If no image was otherwise specified for a page, it was replaced with a random image. Also, liberties were taken with utilizing instructions across spreads or omitting alterations as appropriate. pages 2-3 no changes.

hex # for p.4 = 61 random image = 61 instructions: scanner art

hex # for p.5 = 38.3,6 random image = 38 instructions: scribble on photo

hex # for p.6 = 34 instructions: handwrite with blue pen

hex # for p.7 = 25.1,2,4,5 instructions: crop photos into diamond shape

hex # for p.8 = 4 instructions: high saturation

hex # for p.9= 31 instructions: 2nd hex # determines leading *no textâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; no change.

hex # for p.10 = 31 UC random image = 31 instructions: 2nd hex number determines page leading, no second hex, no change

hex # for p.14 = 63 instructions: text as shapes

hex # for p.15 = 55.1 instructions: draw on top of page

hex # for p. 16 = 62 instructions: redact text

hex # for p.11 = 50.2 instructions: abstract composition with text

hex # for p. 17 = 3 random image 3 instructions: scratch out

hex # for p.12 = 56 random image 56 instructions: text in a shape

hex # for p.18 = 62 instructions: scratch out

hex # for p.13 = 9.2,6 random image 9 instructions: type size same as changing lines

hex # for p.19 = 9 random image = 9 instructions: type size same as changing lines, if no changing lines, typeface chosen according to corresponding number on list. #9 = Aldus roman

hex for p.20 = 14.4 instructions = hex determines grid/structure of page.

hex of p.21 = 26 image = Designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Delight instructions = burn page and scan back in

hex # for p. 23= 51 random image = 51 instructions: smudge text

hex # for p.24 = 15 random image = 15 instructions: rip freelyand scan back in

hex # for p.25 = 53.2,5 random image = 53 instructions: Mirror image of text

hex# for p.34 = 21 image = cells instructions: handwrite text

hex # for p.26 = 18 random image = 18 instructions Knock-out type on colored background.

hex # for p.35 = 61.2,6 random image = 61 instructions: redact text

hex # for p.27 = 45.4 random image = 45 instructions: no change.

hex # for p.28 = 8 random image = 8 instructions: typeface, Webdings hex # for p.29 = 8 random image = 8 instructions: typeface, Webdings hex # for p.30-1 = 8 instructions: typeface, Webdings

hex # for p.32 = 7 no changes

hex # for p.33 = 25.5 instructions: leading equal to first changing line

hex # for p. 36 = 3 instructions: scratch out v hex # for p.37 = 62.2,3 instructions: redact text

hex # for p.38 = 40 no image instructions: crumple page

hex # for p.39 = 7.2,4 random image = 7 instructions: leading equal to first changing line

hex # for p.40 = 16 random image = 16 instructions: cut page in strips and repaste

hex # for p.41 = 2 random image = 2 instructions: pour paint

hex # for p.42 = 63 instructions: text on an angle

hex # for p.49 = 8.5 random image = 8 instructions: typeface webdings

hex # for p.50 = 2 instructions: pour paint

hex # for p.43 = 37.4, 6 instructions: rip photo

hex # for p.51= 10.2,5 instructions: scanner art

hex # for p.44-5 = 37.4, 63 random images 37, 63

hex # for p.52 = 21 instructions: handwrite text

hex # for p. 46 = 49 instructions: highlight text

hex # for p.53= 39.2,5 instructions: fold page

hex # for p.47 = 60.1 instructions: scanner art

hex # for p.48 = 29 random image = 29 instructions: write with pencil and erase

hex # for p.54 = 46 random image = 46 instructions: write with pencil and erase

hex # for p.55 = 44 image = 44 instructions: knock-out text

hex # for p.56= UC random image, 54 instructions: UC = donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change p.57 no changes.

hex # for p.58 = 35 instructions: handwrite with red pen

hex # for p.59 = 10 instructions: scanner art hex # for p.60 = UC instructions: no changes

hex # for p.61 = 6 random image = 6 instructions: rip photo

hex # for p.62 = 51.3,4 random image = 51 instructions: scanner art p.63 no changes

hex # for p.64 = 23 random image =23 instructions: use helvetica bold

hex # for p.65 = 20.5,6 random image =20 instructions: redact text

hex # for p.66 = 2 instructions: pour paint

hex # for p.67 = 24 instructions: phone a friend

hex # for p.74 = 13 random image = 37 instructions: rip photo

hex # for p.75 = 37 image = exquisite corpse instructions: margins dicted by hex

hex # for p.76 = 62 random image = 62 instructions: scanner art

hex for p.82 = 52.3,6 random image = 52 instructions = reversed text

hex for p.83 =2 instructions = pour paint

hex for p.84-5 = 60 instructions = scanner art p. 86-7 no changes.

hex # for p.68 = 51.4 instructions: place text on angle

hex # for p.77 = 63 instructions: text as shapes

hex # for p.69 = 24 instructions: smudge text

hex # for p.78 = 13.1,3,4 random image = 13 instructions: the word “the” becomes an image of a duck

hex # for p.70 = 24 random image = 24 instructions: leading equals hex #

hex # for p.71 = 9.2 instructions: random typeface

hex # for p.72-3 = 13 random image = 13 the word “the” becomes the image of a duck

hex # for p.79 = 20 instructions: redact all text

hex for p.80-1=1 instructions = scanner art

Index of Legible Texts by Hexagram

p. 6 hexagram 34

What is practice over theory? It is the idea that graphic design is merely an activity that has the direct intent of producing a polished, commodified outcome. It is the idea that graphic design exists strictly to serve the needs of the client and to function as a voice for corporations and commerce. It is essentially part of a world view that emerged in the early part of the 20th century and is closely associated with Modernism. This type of thinking emerged at a time in which idealism was high, and many creative thinkers across the globe sought to contribute to the shaping of a new world view that was revolutionary, expansive and universal in its political aspirations. A quick survey of historical events of the time period reveals a world, which was in constant flux.

p. 11 hexagram 50

This model is an extension of the apprentice model that was commonly used at the turn of the century and probably reflects a holdover from the days before design was established as a profession, and printers piecemealed books and publications in an indiscriminate fashion to quickly produce materials and mass disseminate them. It also seems to be a view that many seasoned designers from the turn of the century still hold. And when one considers the Mad Men era of big business and big advertising in the United States and expansive post-war elation and egotism, it seems proper that designers who were indoctrinated into the profession during this era would have such an attitude. After all, werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the citizens, after WWII, asked to do their part by actively participating in the U.S. economy? (put in some post-war posters) If design was considered an adolescent profession at the time that McCoy wrote her article in 1998, it can be considered a profession that was in its infancy at the turn of the century. It rightly follows that graphic designers of the time were focused on the physical, the here and now. Not unlike a real-life infant firstdiscovering her toes, designers focused on the physical products that they were producing, their practical and lasting effects and potentialities for bolstering the newly reformed economy.

The remnants of this kind of thinking are still ubiquitous and can be found simply by looking around. The artifacts of communications design continue to riddle our visual landscape with a litany of ephemera that seems a hollow replication of aesthetics divorced from any depth of meaning, historical context, or cultural significance. A simple trip to the subway serves as verification of this fact. (add photos of subway ads) Subway posters alone account for an entire category of produced materials that offer images and type that is divorced from any meaning save an immediate association with a product that screams a message at the viewer. These messages tend to range from being incoherent to indiscriminate, and likewise offereven less to their audience in terms of visual appeal.

p. 13 hexagram 9

But what are the actual consequences of this phenomenon? By many accounts, the consequences are a minimization of public discourse, and especially inthe United States, many see this as synonymous with allowing the majority of our mass communications materials to be generated by and for,a or as a voice for, the omnipotent corporation (Lavin).

p. 14 hexagram 63

Cultural critics such as Kalle Lasn have emerged in dissent of what are deemed to be, the major social inequities that have resulted from the abuse of the power of the corporation. As founder of Adbuster’s magazine, Lasn has been fighting the homogenization of public discourse through disruptive communication for years. He suggests that the United States, and in fact the rest of the globe, has been subjected to such an array of manipulative media that “a continuous product message has woven itself into the very fabric of our existence.”

p. 15 hexagram 55

message has woven itself into the very fabric of our existence.” He goes as far as to compare our relationship to media as being similar to the substance “soma,” which was used to control the masses in the Aldous Huxley book, Brave New World. He compares our fixation on media as an addiction to cool. He describes our media addiction as a “global pandemic” and a “monoculture.” He discusses consumer capitalism as inherently unethical, and suggests random acts of civil disobedience to jar the system. Lasn ascribes to the viewpoints of the Situationists, led by Guy Debord, who believed in instigating civil disobedience to fight what they termed the “society of the spectacle” (re-quote p. xvi). As an answer to this phenomenon, Lasn promotes the use of “subvertisement” to jar the viewer into action and awareness. Subvertisements involve mimicking the design elements of a corporate ad, however, imposing a message that is in effect at odds with the values of the corporation and instead draws attention to the negative aspects associated with consumerism. He also advocates the use of “cyberjamming,” which involves the use of online petitioning and “tv jamming,” which is basically subvertising on television (131-3). Lasn suggests that this type of activity can effectively break the “media consumer trance and momentarily challenges […] whole world outlook[s]” (Lasn). Lasn expounds on these concepts in his more recent book, Design Anarchy, a book whose intended audience is graphic designers themselves. The book raises many questions about the role of the graphic designer and their influence on culture, and overall is experimental in its layout and conception. Throughout the book, handwritten narratives commingle with typeset pronunciations and splashes of color, crudely scrawled illustrations and neatly placed logos. The layout presents juxtapositions of both ideas and of imagery in such a way that certainly seems to jar the viewer and incite participation. It does so not only through its overall message, which is a call to action for designers to break their own media trance, but also through its combination of surprising and incendiary visual elements that represent a certain ambiguity that calls for the reader to form their own judgments (Design Anarchy).

p. 16 hexagram 62

Dutch designer, Jan van Toorn also criticizes one-sided public discourse in both his ideas and in the physical manifestation of his work. He deems the type of messaging that is typical for large corporations, a “closed message.” He argues this type of work merely reflects the attitudes and beliefs of the proprietors of that information and for that reason designers typically create materials that offer a clean and clinical interpretation of a corporation’s message. He argues for disruption of expected outcomes and like Lasn, “breaking the charm of the spectacle” to increase the time it takes for a viewer to parse information. In this way, he suggests that a viewer may be more aptly engaged in the process of interpretation, and his or her critical facilities will be stimulated and thus his or her intelligence awakened. (requote-Stam)

p. 17 hexagram 3

p. 18 hexagram 62

Van Toorn ultimately ascribes to the ideologies of Roland Barthes and placing authorship with the viewer. He believes that by offering the viewer something more challenging that you thereby slow down the process of interpretation and cause the viewer to think and engage their critical faculties in a way that ultimately leads to participation.

p. 25 hexagram 53

(partial transcription) 1) Learn Conditions - familiarize yourself with all aspects of the situation. Think of the audience that the project will be directed towards and the physical environment in which the work will exist. 2) Identify and Define the Problem - examine the information gathered and create a strategy to consider sources and options. Use visual diagraming depicting ideas, concepts and relationships in pictorial form. 3) Generate Ideas and Select Solutions - prototyping stage. Come up with ideas and solutions and decide which ones are most appropriate to refine. 4) Implement Solution and Evaluate Result - apply an outcome and gauge the results. Gauging results could take the form of informal discussion, market research or observation of how people interact with a form. The scientific method follows a similar approach, and this method is frequently taught

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p. 28-31 hexagram 8

Although neither author states it outwardly, the overall argument seems to support pure research as a more viable way of approaching problem solving. Despite the fact that differing methodologies may exist within this category, pure research is defined as an approach to inquiry in which the overall aim is not necessarily to solve a specific problem that is posed, but rather to explore possibilities within the context of curiosity. That is, pure research involves open-ended inquiry about the natural world, simply for the sake of understanding the world. Pure research, in contrast to applied research, therefore does not necessarily result from a predetermined purpose. Scientists frequently employ pure research as a viable method for inquiry. That is, scientists explore the known universe in order to answer questions about the way it works. Pure research, by its very definition is more exploratory and openended. However, itfrequently informs application later.Pure research defines laws by which applied results canlaterbegleaned. For instance, purescience discoveriesoften furnish laws that are later used in application of applied science (Feibleman, 306). In science, laws are defined as observable facts about the known universe, and theories are hunches at explaining these laws (McComas). Without observing the known universe, there would be no laws to test and hence, no science to apply, as in applied science. For this reason, pure research is a necessary step toward achieving practical results. Without pure research, or what is sometimes referred to as “pure science,” applied science could not exist. In the scientific world, there are many historic examples of the success of pure research. For example, Louis Pasteur discovered the basic principle that dead or attenuated organisms can induce the production of antibodies in the blood. Later, virologist and medical researcher, Jonas Salk, applied the inherent logic of this theory when he discovered the vaccine for polio. He literally built upon the groundwork of knowledge that Pasteur had already established, moving beyond Pasteur’s original conclusion to develop an unexpected outcome that had hugely positive results. Had he not been aware of the previous work of Pasteur, he would never have had the means for such a breakthrough in applied science. Another example of a pure science discovery that was later applied to practical results is the discovery of the photoelectric cell by George E. Hale, whose discovery was based on his observation of the sun’s corona in 1894. No immediate use for this knowledge was found, however, it was later applied to the creation of motion pictures (37-8).

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p. 35 hexagram 61

But why is pure research so effective? Essentially, it is because the practice offers practitioners the ability to explore, unhindered by the pressures of producing an immediately useful product or solution. It allows for the use of abductive reasoning, as opposed to inductive reasoning or algorithmic thinking.

p. 36-40 hexagram 3, 62, 40, 7, 16 In the book, Drive, author Daniel H. Pink talks about the fact that people need personal autonomy to tap into their drive or motivation to do something. He cites a study with monkeys, in which the animals actually seek to solve puzzles without a banana reward, for the pure pleasure of it. Pink coins the term “intrinsic motivation,” to describe this phenomenon. He defines intrinsic motivation as motivation that comes from within. He says that “if-then” rewards actually require people to forfeit some of their personal autonomy, and that is why this particular type of reward system does not work. Pink also cites another study that follows a group of artists for a period of time. Some of the artists created work for which they received commercial recognition and hence monetary compensation. Other artists received little or no compensation. Over a period of years, the artists were studied. A group of curators was asked to blindly judge the works. The artists who initially received no compensation produced more creative work than those who received compensation. However, this does not necessarily indicate that the production of less creative work was caused by the receipt of money. The fact is that some of the artists, who received little compensation at the beginnings of their careers, later became successful and did receive compensation. The study concluded that the fact that the artists were intrinsically motivated was the cause of their creative work. That is, the artists that were dedicated to making work, due to internal motivations, rather than extrinsic rewards, were

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more likely to weather the difficult periods of receiving lower incomes. Therefore, they remained dedicated to their work, despite the lack of external rewards and were hence more creative overall in their execution of work. Another study cited in the book, involved young children in a classroom setting. Researchers noticed that some of the children in the classroom chose to draw when given free time in class and seemed to enjoy drawing. The researchers broke the children into three groups. They told the first group of children that if they drew, they would receive a reward. The reward was a “good player” certificate. The second group was asked if they wanted to draw. The children who chose to draw were later awarded with a certificate, although they had not been told about the possibility of receiving one. The third group was simply asked if they wanted to draw and did not receive an award, nor were they told of any possibility of a reward. The researchers returned a few weeks later to see if there had been any change in the children’s behavior. They found that the two groups who received no reward or who had received an unexpected reward were still drawing just as frequently as before. However, the children who had expected and received a reward had almost completely lost interest in drawing. Somehow the experiment had turned play into work for the children, and they chose to avoid the activity as soon as it was deemed undesirable. For the children, the offering of payment seemed to indicate that there was something undesirable about doing the task. Overall, Pink’s research seems to indicate that creativity thrives when it is self-directed. Practitioners are more inspired when they feel personally compelled to pursue the answers to their internal questions, hence internal motivation, as he states, is the best foundation for true innovation in creative practices. This relates to the philosophies that are at the core of pure research. Pure research suggests that a scientist may pose questions about he natural world out of sheer curiosity, which naturally arises from a place of internal motivation. Regardless of the payment structure (or lack of payment structure) in scientific laboratories, the initiation of projects based on pure research tend to arise from an internal source that naturally predisposes the practitioner to bear some kind of internal motivation and hence, autonomy regarding their pursuit. When no specific intended outcome is immediately foreseeable, the practitioner may align his or her goals more acutely with answering the questions at hand, rather than relying on monetary or commercial systems of approval as a goal, and this atmosphere can lend itself to increased innovation and creativity (Pink).

103

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work. This dichotomy tends to pit the artist against the businessman in a never-ending tug of war of whose activity/motivation is more valid? Of course someone like Kalle Lasn has his opinion, but some companies are more interested in changing this relationship to better facilitate innovation. One such company is Method.

p. 47 hexagram 60

technique, and there was a great deal of interest in filming his process. In one particular video, Pollock is shown painting outdoors on a large canvas on the ground. He moves around the canvas in a very physical way, pouring paint or at times even using a stick. He states that, “technique is just a means at arriving at a statement” and feels that his paintings are imbued with his emotions. He states that he sees a painting as “having a life of its own” and seeks to allow it to take its own course accordingly. Furthermore, he describes the fact that he wishes to “express [his] feelings rather than illustrate them” (Jackson Pollock on His Process).

p. 49 hexagram 8

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p. 51 hexagram 10

means of production. Lippard states “for me, conceptual art offered a bridge between the verbal and the visual,” and she toyed with syntactic experiments in her writing, such as replacing textual paragraphs with pictorial information that was intended to communicate verbal narratives visually (x). During this time she sought to create hybrid forms of critical communication that reflected her influences from this movement. At one point, when she was asked to write a text about Marcel Duchamp for the MOMA, she instead she produced a series of ready-mades chosen randomly with a system she devised involving the dictionary (Lippard).

p. 54 hexagram 46, unchanging

Lee Lozano is another artist who was among the most influential conceptual artists at the time, and she considered the fact that her work was unsellable to be more democratic. She was known for documenting common daily activities as art, and for pushing the envelope in the art world in such a way that, like many of her contemporaries, “bordered on hostility.” One piece in particular consisted of her throwing up a number of Art Forums and letting them fall to the ground. The piece was aptly named with the snarky title, “Throw-Up Piece” (Smith). Lippard states, “For artists looking to restructure perception and the process/product relationship of art, information and systems replaced traditional formal concerns of composition, color, technique, and physical presence. Systems were laid over life the way a rectangular format is laid over the scene in paintings, for focus. Lists, diagrams, measurements, neutral descriptions, and much counting were the most common vehicles for the preoccupation with repetition, the introduction of daily life and work routines.” Despite this work’s focus on communication, she observes that at this time communication was largely associated with distribution.

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p. 62 hexagram 51

In more recent years, graphic design, as a discipline has embraced a more experimental approach. Ian Noble, Director of the MA and MFA programs at Kingston University in London, has been a central figure in writing and discussing this phenomenon and in ushering in new thinking about design practice. He is the author of multiple books about this topic, including numerous books about visual research and one book entitled, Experimental Layout. He is strongly influenced by the work and ideas of Jan van Toorn. He is primarily concerned with the process of graphic designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact on society, visual research, and â&#x20AC;&#x153;a reflexive process exploring the relationship between making and reflecting on the theory of practice that is directly concerned with a user-centered approach to designing.â&#x20AC;? (The Design School: Ian Noble) His book, Experimental Layout, begins by discussing early experimental design in Europe, in which white space, asymmetry and sans serif type became stylistic tropes that were widely used. This early work also focused on the use of grid and the geometry or proportion of the piece. The experimental nature of graphic design at this time had its conceptual roots in idealized notions about society and the creation of a new social order. It was based in avant-garde thinking and the utopian ideal of universality in visual communication. However, these ideals became more and more diluted as they were more widely adopted, and were eventually not much more than a visual style that was increasingly associated with corporations and industry with little

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p. 65 hexagram 20

contained by the vocational demands of technical rationality and competence. In fact the discipline has to an extent become its own benefactor, and the more eclectic and idiosyncratic methods of designers and design groups […] have become significant factors in the further development of the subject in general.”

p. 76-7 hexagram 62, 63

The central ideas of the Surrealists were largely based on the ideas of the poet André Breton. He penned the Surrealist Manifesto and described Surrealism as, “Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner -- the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern” (Surrealist Manifesto). The Surrealists believed that the most potent juxtapositions that arise arefrom unconscious, rather than conscious, deliberation. Breton and his colleagues used ‘automatic writing’ to tap into this unconscious flow. The first experiments with this method took place around 1919. They were influenced by the automatic writing of spiritualist mediums, who would fall into a state of hypnosis and continue to write or communicate in a manner that was perceived to be drawn from a mystic or supernatural source. Although the Surrealists were aware of the similarity of their practice to that of mediums, they believed that their writings came from an internal unconscious source, as opposed to a supernatural source. The second source of inspiration that precluded the formulation of these experiments was derived from Freudian psychoanalytic techniques. Breton developed an interest in these techniques specifically through his experience as a wartime psychiatry specialist. He had tried psychoanalytic techniques on soldiers who sustained shell shock, and found that their seemingly “irrational monologues” were extremely imaginative. Surrealists also believed in the “poetry of chance encounters.” Surrealism in the visual arts developed many different manifestations over the years, and many artists that were supposedly creating in this prescribed “automatic” fashion were criticized, because although their subject matter was automatic, in the sense that it drew from dreams and the subconscious,Surrealist purists argued that their

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execution or process was deliberate and therefore not a true representation of the core theories of Surrealism (Ades and Gale). Surrealist automatism was among the most important techniques that were developed, although many systematic games of chance were used. The Exquisite Corpse game was one such game, which drew upon the elements of chance to produce the final outcome.

p. 79 hexagram 20

In another recent project, entitled The Exquisite Forest, he also uses the Exquisite Corpse game to realize an exceptionally imaginative outcome. This project involves crowdsourcing a series of animations based on similar themes, which are then archived into an interactive “tree” formation. The result is a multi-faceted, idiosyncratic narrative that continues to grow and change as users submit online (Exquisite Forest). Overall, Koblin’s work is a great example of how randomization and chance operations can enhance creative projects, and in that sense his work is decidedly experimental. The unknown factors produced by his crowdsourcing techniques bring a fresh approach to the chance operations that John Cage implemented and also draw on the experiments of the Surrealists in an unexpected way. His work is a great example of how randomization can produce unexpected results that garner innovation.

p. 82 hexagram 52

Hank Cornelissen is a designer and educator who taught graphic design at St. Joost Academy in the Netherlands for thirty years. Henk has also used randomization and chance in his work. In fact his project, “Toeval” is actually Dutch for Chance. For the projectl, which was featured at the Graphic Design Festival in Breda, Holland, Cornelissen produced hundreds of posters utilizing a methodology that embraced chance as its primary mode of operation. Cornelissen assigned one letter of the word “Toeval” to each set of eyes on a six-sided die. He would role the dice and each time transcribe the corresponding letter on a sheet of paper, creating 18 words per row and 48 rows per page. He created 9 sheets per year and continued this process for a number of years. The result was a collection of beatufiul, abstract posters that truly reflect the creative potential of randomization (Chance, Toeval).

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Bibliography “About the School: Ian Noble Course Director MA Communication Design.” The Design School |. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <thedesignschool.co.uk/>. Albers, Annie.“Weaving at the Bauhaus,” Bauhaus 1919-1928, exhibition catalogue. Museum of Modern Art. 1938. Alexakos, Konstantinos. “Teaching the practice of science, unteaching the “scientific method”.” Science Scope 33, no. 9 (July 15, 2010): 74-79. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost accessed February 1, 2012). “Aaron Koblin.” Aaron Koblin. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2012. <aaronkoblin.com>. “An Introduction,” The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation. Web 13 Oct. 2011.<albersfoundation.org/Albers.php?inc=Introduction.> Baldwin, Jonathan and Lucienne Roberts, Visual Communication: From Theory to Practice. AVA Publishing 2006. Blauvelt, Andrew. “Remaking Theory, Rethinking Practice.” The Education of a Designer, Heller, Steven, ed., Allworth Press, New York, 1998, pp. 102-108. Bowers, John. Introduction to Two-dimensional Design: Understanding Form and Function. New York: John Wiley, 1998. Print. Bréton, Andre. Un Cadavre: [surrealist Manifesto]. Paris: [s.n.], 1930. N. pag. Web. <tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340 SurManifesto/ManifestoOfSurrealism.htm>. Brown, Kathan. John Cage: Visual Art : To Sober and Quiet the Mind. San Francisco, CA: Crown Point, 2000. Print. Brown, Tim, and Barry Kātz. Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation. New York: Harper Business, 2009. Print. Bruinsma, Max. “Jan Van Torn: Je Ne Cherche Pas, Je Trouve. Weblog post. Max Bruinsma: Design Writing and Editorial Design. N.p., Mar. 2007. Web. Sept. 2012. <maxbruinsma.nl/index1.html?vantoorn_EN.htm>. Cage, John. “John Cage: An Autobiographical Statement.” John Cage. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <johncage.org/autobiographical_statement.html>.

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“The Johnny Cash Project.” THE JOHNNY CASH PROJECT. N.p., n.d. Web. 01Oct. 2012. <thejohnnycashproject.com>. Wild, Lorraine. “That Was Then: Corrections and Amplifications,” The Education of a Designer, Heller, Steven, ed., Allworth Press, New York, 1998, pp. 3-12. Wei, Wu. “Asking Questions.” The I Ching Workbook. Los Angeles, CA.: Power, 1997. 16-19. Print.

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Image Credits *all images and illustrations not captioned or credited were photographed and/or created by Jennifer W. Shepard p 6-7 clockwise from left: Untitled collage, Kurt Schwitters, 1920’s Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Collection. Record: HAD00761 Page from Merz 11, 1924, Kurt Schwitters description: image from Schwitters’ journal, Merz Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Collection. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: HAD00764 Gebruder Fretz, Herbert Matter, 1934 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Collection. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: HAD04152 Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, Giacomo Balla, 1912 p 8-9 clockwise from left: Workshop Wing, Bauhaus, Walter Gropius, 1925-6 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Collection. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: 154395 Poster for the Rural Electrificaiton Administration, 1937, Lester Beall Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Collection. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: HAD00936 IBM logo, Paul Rand, 1962 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Collection. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: 147929 Pages from McCall’s, Otto Storch, 1959 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Collection. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: HAD01072 p 10 Dr. Zizmor Subway poster p 13 First Things First manifesto, Ken Garland, 1964 p 14 left: Cover of Adbusters Magazine #37 right: Tabula Rosa, 2004. Borjana Ventzislavova, Miroslav Nicic & Mladen Penev. Source: <adbusters.org/content/brand-baby-1> p 18 Roland Barthes giving a lecture. p 21 Spread from Design’s Delight, Jan Van Toorn

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p 31 Louis Pasteur in his laboratory. p 33 Higgs Boson Particle Simulated Data Model, Lucas Taylor Source: “CERN Experiments observe particle consistent with long-sought Higgs boson” publication date – jul 4, 2012 (http://yubanet.com/scitech/CERN-experiments-observe-particle-consistent-with-longsought-Higgs-boson.php#.UKA5soWtr5J) p 36 Monkey with paintbrush. Monkeys with laptop. p 42 RAR Chair, Charles and Ray Eames, 1948-50 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Library. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: 121438 p 45 MOMA Poll, Hans Haacke, 1970 Description: Interactive installation by the artist at the MOMA Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Library. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: 153685 p 46 Jackson Pollock painting. p 50-1 Untitled lithograph, Sol LeWitt, 1973 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Library. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: dva2963 Writer, curator and critic Lucy Lippard Source: <portlandart.net/archives/2011/10/lucy_lippard_re.html> P 52-3 Self Service, Ed Ruscha, 1962-89 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Library. Accessed via ARTStor. ID# 178169 Shapolsky et al. Manhatten Real Estate Holdings, A Real Time Social System Hans Haacke, 1971 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Library. Accessed via ARTStor. Record: 121271 p 58 Annie Albers

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p 66 John Cage p 71 Yarrow stalks– traditionally used in the I Ching p 75 Exquisite Corpse, Yves Tanguy and André Breton, 1926 Source: Pratt Institute Digital Image Library. Accessed via ARTStor. ID# 158353 p 79 top right: Still from The Johnny Cash Project bottom: Data Visualizations from Bicycle Built for 2000 Source: bicyclebuiltfortwothousand.com p 80 left: Thank You I Ching, Priscilla Stadler, Sticks on stone, 19” x 12” x 8”, 2009. Source: solanima.net p 83 right: Images from Henk Cornelissen’s Toeval Source: sgustokdesign.com/toko-toeval

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