DE CO DE
A critical examination of three Graphic Designers.
Armin Hofmann Milton Glaser Peter Saville
Armin Hofmann..............3-9
Milton Glaser..................10-17
Peter Saville...................18-25
CONCERNS
Armin Hofmann is a legendary Swiss graphic designer and educator. His emphasis was always on a detailed investigation on projects that build onto something meaningful. Communication was the main goal of his designs. Hofmann thought that one of the most efficient forms of communication was the ‘poster’ and he spent much of his career designing posters, in particularly for the Basel Stadt Theatre. His works demonstrate clarity in thought and simplicity at its core. His education in typography and lithography has a strong influence on his work. Typography has played a huge part in his designs. He subtly but effectively communicated the desired expression through the powerful tool of ‘Type’. His emphasis on cleanliness, readability and objectivity is also evident from his designs.
Hofmann’s emphasis was always on a detailed investigation on projects that build onto something meaningful.
Tell, 1963
The Dot, 1965
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APPROACH
Communication being the ultimate goal, Hofmann developed the Swiss style, which was objective and minimalist. He practiced new techniques of photo-typesetting, photo-montage and experimental composition and heavily flavoured sans-serif typography. The use of minimum colours is seen across his designs as most of his works are in black and white. The elements used are quite fundamental and highly functional in their approach, like point, line and shape. Using simplest of forms he has achieved complex sentiments. His works showcase abstraction in its simplest form clearly evident from some of his posters like the Furniture of our time, Posters from the Collection of Commercial Museum Basel, and other Stadt Theatre Basel posters.
Furniture of our time
There is a high level of sophistication seen in his designs owing to the simple and minimalist elements used and timeless aesthetics. There is also a certain elegance seen with reference to the elegant curves used in forms. Asymmetrical
Hofmann developed the swiss style, which was objective and minimalist.
layouts are used with grid typography giving structure to the designs.
Stadt Theatre Basel poster
Poster from the Collection of Commercial Museum
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IMPACT
Armin Hofmann is one of the most exceptionally influential teachers the field of Graphic design has seen. Even as a Swiss practitioner, his designs have a universal appeal. His insights and practices transcend any sense of nationality or school of art. Armin Hofmann is recognized for his immeasurable influence on generations of designers. Everyone remembers him as a teacher of few words. “His charisma and energy were balanced with patience,” says Jerry Kuyper, who studied in Hofmann’s advanced class. “He believed in the individual’s ability to discover and create, which enabled him to often just stand back and watch.” Hiebert describes his “incessant roving, questioning, thinking-ahead eyes.” While Hofmann’s posters are widely celebrated, there are aspects of his work that deserve, even now, to be better known. He was an artist as well as a designer, with a strong sense of structure and space; he created wall reliefs, glass paintings, floor tiles and mosaics, acoustic walls, and other sculptural pieces. He received the 2011 AIGA Medal. On a personal level, Hofmann’s work amazes me with the brilliant and minimalist use of colour. The colours come in the right place and give the design the energy to purposefully communicate. The use of grid typography with abstraction in form is a rare combination and awe-inspiring. The aesthetics and simplicity in designs come right through in each piece of work. It resonates my belief in simplicity as the best form of communication.
Stadt Theatre Basel poster
‘‘His charisma and energy were balanced with patience’’ 7
Bau Stoff
CONSISTENCY & DEVIATION
Hofmann’s designs are highly contextual and the use of black and white is prominent. The colour red is used in type and form to give the necessary push to the design to communicate effectively. We will find a heavy use of san-serif typography in all designs set in high contrast with the visual forms. Major deviations are seen in the variety of forms used including photographic forms, elementary lines, shapes and type as a form. But the underlying thought and approach are same throughout. His designs always use the most important of visual elements and eliminates all the others.
Hofmann’s designs are highly contextual and the use of black and white is prominent.
Giselle, 1959
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To many, Milton Glaser is the embodiment of American graphic design during the latter half of
CONCERNS
this century. He was educated at New York City’s High School of Music and Arts and graduated in 1951. Internationally his presence and impact on the profession is formidable. Immensely creative and articulate, he is a modern renaissance man — one of a rare breed of intellectual designerillustrators, who brings a depth of understanding and conceptual thinking, combined with a diverse richness of visual language. Milton Glaser once quoted, “ To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.” By this, we can comprehend the fact that to communicate clearly is the ultimate goal for any graphic designer and to make do with the best possible available techniques and mediums. He is best known for the I ♥ NY logo, the Bob Dylan poster, the DC bullet logo used by DC Comics from 1977 to 2005, and the Brooklyn Brewery logo. He designed for the masses. His aim seemed to be at achieving something commercially viable at the same time design challenged. He designed posters, record sleeves, book illustrations, magazine covers and small advertisements in a witty, inventive style characterized by miscellaneous juxtapositions and revivalist frivolity.
“To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.”
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APPROACH
Rejecting the precisionist school of graphic design then prevailing, Glaser introduced a diverse, narrative style full of historical references that amalgamated illustration with vintage typography. His flattened, heavily outlined images were borrowed at random from the Italian Old Masters, 19th - century illustrations, comics, advertising etc. Later his forms had become more flatter and brightly coloured, inspired by Pop and Op art (e.g. Mahalia Jackson poster) His work is simple, direct and clear, while leaping over conceptual boundaries, so that his work connects directly to the viewer. His designs delved into both the abstract and realistic vein. The simplicity in the use of colours makes it easy to comprehend and therefore builds a positive outcome. His colour palette comprised mainly of primary and secondary colours in muted tones or values. Use of texture is predominant in his early works of illustration. The forms used in his work show a great affinity to the anatomy of the form. The graphic representation of image stems from the realistic illustration of the same. The typefaces used have a geometrical structure along with lines. He also used a lot of slab serifs to create necessary emphasis. The style of layouts change with each project and its requirement but each one has a fundamental sophistication.
Bob Dylan Poster,1966 & DC Bullet logo
Glaser introduced a diverse, narrative style full of historical references that amalgamated illustration with vintage typography. 13
Mahalia Jackson Poster
IMPACT
Milton Glaser (b.1929) is among the most celebrated graphic designers in the United States. He has had the distinction of one-man shows at the Museum of Modern Art and the Georges Pompidou Center. In 2004 he was selected for the lifetime achievement award of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. As a Fulbright scholar, Glaser studied with the painter, Giorgio Morandi in Bologna, and is an articulate spokesman for the ethical practice of design. He opened Milton Glaser, Inc. in 1974, and continues to produce an astounding amount of work in many fields of design to this day. Glaser’s work on logos like I ♥ NY logo has inspired many. It’s difficult to imagine a time without the logo. It’s so elementary in its appeal that it
lingers in our mind for long. The communication set out from his work is very clear and forthcoming, perfectly describing its character. The colours used are bright but subtle in their approach creating the perfect amalgamation of vintage type and illustration. His designs transcend any boundaries of country and culture because of its elemental appeal. His fine art background has a strong influence on his forms and images. Having used the primary and secondary palette, the design appeals to a mass of people of varied demographics.
He has had the distinction of one-man-shows at the Museum of Modern Art and the Georges Pompidou Center.
Posters for RCA’s Computer Division entitled Memory Unbound
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Bloomingdale’s Poster
CONSISTENCY & DEVIATION
In the numerous posters designed by Milton Glaser, we can see that he combined his love for illustration and design in the most aesthetic manner. While illustration took the center stage, typography had almost a vintage touch to it. The forms created never seemed to have rigid stark outlines instead they looked as if sketched by hand. As a part of illustration, he used lines and textures to fill in masses and give gradation. Where on one hand he has used a flat colour palette, while on the other he has used a lot of subtle gradients.
The logos designed by him did not seem to follow his illustrative style, instead they were much more flatter and very basic. The heavy outlined style seen in his posters in completely absent in his logo designs. The I ♼ NY logo uses a slab serif font which also has a touch of vintage like his other typographical work. With changing times, we can see a shift in his designs from hard-core illustrative posters to more simplified, modern, flat outlined forms. The colour palette also grew to being more fresh and bright. The designs see a transformation from a vintage illustrative style to a simple sophisticated modern style. Patterns and textures are prominent in some of his designs whereas they are completely absent in some. Overall, one can recognise his designs by the colours and his stylized forms like in the famous Bob Dylan poster.
Brooklyn Brewery Logo
The designs see a transformation from a vintage illustrative style to a simple sophisticated modern style.
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Peter Saville is arguably the most famous English record cover designer of them all. Everything he is involved in exhibits a rare degree of rigour, consistency and an ongoing desire to experiment. He has quoted, “This is a post-design era. It’s deliberately going against all those things that were canonised in the 1980s and are now exhausted�. From these words we can understand that he is a spirited thinker and his work perfectly go in hand with his philosophy. His work has a wide spectrum of colours used, which demonstrate drama, and speak volumes. Music has had quite an influence on him and his designs making him a founder partner of the independent record label Factory Records for which he developed an identity and image that were to prove influential well beyond the music business. Further he went on to designing albums covers and Identity for a lot of music labels and bands. Most of the album sleeves designed by Peter Saville try and set out some kind of statement. The designs show a level of freedom in expression. They have
CONCERNS
“This is a post-design era. It’s deliberately going against all those things that were canonised in the 1980s and are now exhausted.”
Poster for The Haçienda, 1978
a peculiar boldness in them as if trying to say something. There is an attempt to break away from the rules as well as keeping the integrity of the design intact.
Color & Form, 2002
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APPROACH
As a dynamic personality his approach to design was also dynamic in nature. His work involves the use of a lot of colours like yellow, cyan, red, pink, black etc. These colours breathe the strong emotions of self-expression. In many places he has used complementary colours creating high contrasts, therefore creating higher impact. We can also see the use of simple geometric shapes like circles. Others have crazy dynamic forms having high levels of abstraction. There is an abundance of energy seen in all his work. The use of overlapping forms is also seen in a variety of works. As he worked for music labels, he mixed the vibrancy of music with the vibrancy of colours to reproduce high impact and dynamic designs. The imagery used in his designs is usually derived from his surroundings like road signs and symbols. His work on Joy division and OMD also show use of linear patterns also derived from his surroundings. His work involves more imagery than type. Type is mostly reduced down to the essentials. His work shows a lot of experimentation. For example, the use of photographic forms and paintings.
Unknown Pleasures for Joy Divisions
There is a glimpse of punk graphics as well as orderly aesthetics seen in the elegant album cover designs. There is also an underlying simplicity and minimalism seen in his works, which help him achieve the desired impact.
His work involves the use of a lot of colours like yellow, cyan, red, pink, black etc. These colours breathe the strong emotions of self-expression. Total from Joy Division to New order
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IMPACT
Ever since his first work for the Fledg’ling Factory Records in the late 1970s, Peter Saville has been a pivotal figure in graphic design and style culture. His early sleeves received immediate acclaim and he won three silver awards in the 1981 D&AD Awards. At the age of 57, he was awarded the prestigious London Design medal 2013, recognition of his status as the UK’s most famous graphic designer. Having a distinct style of self-expression, he has never stayed at one place. He has been known for working with a host of people round the globe, creating impact as he goes. Peter Saville’s work has quite the effect on the eye, it gets you to sit up and notice. The effective use of colours brings out the boldness in the designs. His designs are so modern that even after two or three decades, the designs still have contemporary appeal. Although some of the designs come across as vague and abstract, there is an underlying reasoning behind the visuals, which also communicate the spirit of the design. His works also show the presence of patterns in its form and layout. The designs have a certain punk quality to it which appeal to the young audience. The use of unconventional photography and paintings in design is quite unusual and interesting as well. Overall, his designs are set apart from the usual clutter of album cover designs.
OMD, English Electric, 2013 Orchestral Manoeuvres in the dark, 1980
At the age of 57, he was awarded the prestigious London design medal 2013, recognition of his status as the UK’s most famous graphic designer.
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Power Corruption & Lies album for new order, 1983 (original painting by Henri Fantin-Latour) Coming up Album for Suede
Except the Joy division’s first cover – Unknown Pleasures in black and white, almost all designs show the use of a myriad of colours. His initial style depicts the use of a lot of locally seen
CONSISTENCY & DEVIATION
road signs and symbols. Later in his career, we can see his experimentation with a variety of photographic forms and even a classical painting. Imagery forming the majority of his canvas, text was reduced to only the album titles. An exception can be made to this with reference to the TOTAL album cover for New Order where the word ‘total’ takes the center stage. Patterns of any kind can always be seen in his layouts, which are bold and create impact. Prominent use of overlapping forms or repetition as a principle of design is commonly seen in the latter part of his career. The colour palette used is always bright, sometimes venturing into the fluorescent zone. Peter Saville has similar concerns in all his designs but its interpretation is experimental in many ways. This includes experiments in use of forms and colours. There is a transition seen between using the simplest of forms to more complex abstract forms. But all designs have a certain level of dynamism, which set the design as a Peter Saville trademark.
Peter Saville has similar concerns in all his designs but its interpretation is experimental in many ways.
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Khushboo Agarwal
Subject: Researching the Practise Objective: To study and research three graphic designers Mentor: Kumkum Nadig Design by Khushboo Agarwal PGDP - Visual Communication
By Khushboo Agarwal