NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE
Project:
Form Follows Function - an exploration of Modernism and Post Modernism
Date: May 2015, Issue 1
Content: Modernism, Post - Modernism, City In Flux, Earth Artifact, Type Transcript
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
2
ISSUE 1 :
CONTENTS 4 6 8 14 20
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
MODERNISM POST - MODERNISM CITY IN FLUX EARTH ARTIFACT TYPE TRANSCRIPTS
3
ISSUE 1 :
CONTENTS PAGE
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
4
ISSUE 1 :
MODERNISM
OVERVIEW Moder nism is an artistic and philosophical movement that began to break through at the end of the 19th century into the beginning to the 20th century. Modernism covered many creative disciplines from design and art to influencing architecture, music and literature. The power of machines forced artists to strategically re-think their practice, the results were revolutionary and still influences designers to this very day. Modernism was a time when innovation was brought to the design world to keep up with this development in technology and machinery. Towards the end of the modernist
era in the 20’s/30’s Swiss graphic design was built upon The New Typography. Graphic design was seen as a style of engineering in itself . As the movement became more and more popular designers began to take interest about how their work can influence society and the role that it plays in everyday life. A consideration to how design communicates with the streets was beginning to be paid to designers and advertising was being questioned. The importance between text and image was being heavily determined - a rule which is carried out to the design world of today.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
PERSONAL THOUGHTS I personally see modernism as the movement which changed the art world in to a more organised, simple and strategic place and brought design to the forefront of every day life. It showed design in its most basic form and considered every starting point from which a good design should be. Movements such as the new typography and Swiss style brought typography in to the modern world and created an influence on the design world like no other.
5
ISSUE 1 : MODERNISM
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
6
ISSUE 1 : CITY IN FLUX
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
7
ISSUE 1 : POST - MODERNISM
POST-MODERNISM
OVERVIEW Post-modernism is a late-20th-century movement in the arts, that was a departure from modernism. It is often associated with deconstruction and post-structuralism because its usage gained significant popularity at the same time as twentieth-century post-structural thought. Post modernism is considered the complete opposite of Modernism as it was a time when exploration was hey as there were no rules and systems like that within the modernist times. Artists and designers had the freedom of speech through their work to tell any story or feeling in which they wished to explore without criticism or rules. Post modernism was a new way of thinking and seeing in relation to Modernism and designers wanted to challenge explorations and what was seen as a good design.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS I personally see Post - Modernism as a refreshing contribution to the importance and relevance of Modernism. I think that the two standing alongside each other works well and that is why design is as creative as it is today but with the appreciation of rules and structure. There is no way to say that Modernism isn’t important or relevant as it contributed to what is known as good design today. And for that I enjoy researching and looking at this movement for inspiration for my own work. It ensured freedom and colour played a place in the design world.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
8
ISSUE 1 : CITY IN FLUX
CITY IN FLUX
MY APPROACH For the City in Flux brief, we were initially given a synopsis in which helped us gain an understand of what exactly a ‘City in Flux’ is - or could be seen as. To me I instantly gained an understanding of how I saw this project and what my aim was with it. The idea that a city is in a continuous state of change or ‘flux’ caused by building and rebuilding, change in prospects and recreation of different areas was an obvious starting point to me as it is what I instantly captured when trying to find a focal point of what i saw as a City in Flux. As a ‘City in flux’
can take many forms, in its simplest and most literal form a City in flux is seen as the layout of the town and the associated directional signage as this is what stands out the most. But I wanted to take a different direction to how i approached a City in Flux and deal with it not in a literal way. After researching many different artists who’s work and artistic approach related to a city, and then creating an array of development work, I then gained inspiration to how I wanted to approach my final piece.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
9
ISSUE 1 : CITY IN FLUX
THE BRIEF For the City in Flux brief we were required to research into the visual language of the City, how imagery, artifacts, sounds and ephemera of all kinds bombard the senses with visual messages and experiences. We were expected to demonstrate an ability to select suitable subject matter for translation into visual experiments. With the research side to this brief we were to evidence a deep understanding of the project and be prepared to debate and explain this research. Whilst at first i seemed to struggle with gaining an understanding of what was expected as an outcome from the brief, and what kind of research was being expected, I feel my final piece shows a reached understanding of what i truly felt as a ‘City in Flux’.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
10
ISSUE 1 : CITY IN FLUX - INFLUENCES
11
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
ISSUE 1 : CITY IN FLUX - INFLUENCES
INFLUENCES
INITIAL RESEARCH When I began to research various Artists and designers I knew I was looking for work that shows a relation or link to a City in some way. At first i struggled to understand why i was looking at all these different forms of art such as poems, film, photography etc. as i knew that i wouldn’t be making any of those as a final piece personally. However through doing detailed research i began to gain inspiration from what the many artists use as inspiration for their work rather than their work in general. I feel that a lot of artist i looked at struck definite
inspiration for their work from the environment around them personally and what they see as a obvious form every day. Things such as the streets they walk on their way to work every day and the places they grew up in through their childhood. This led me to research more focally on Manchester and the places I am familiar with and enjoy being. Artists that stood out to me throughout my research were Abigail Reynolds, Gordon Matta - Clark and Georges Rousse.
GORDON MATTA CLARK Gordon Matta Clark was an artist who originally studied architecture however his practise introduced new and radical modes of physically exploring and subverting urban architecture, and reverted the process of our linear way of thinking. His idea and study of what he called ‘Anarchitecture’ called for an anarchistic approach to architecture - marked physically by a process of deconstructing rather than the creation of structure. DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM GMC At first i was instantly drawn to how Gordon Matta Clark takes away from buildings and draws his creations from creating new view points and ways of viewing - a point i wanted to make within my own work. I then found a book of his named after himself which showcases his work and many of his ‘building cuts’. I then became more interested in how his work was displayed in book form and how he continues his idea of obscuring our linear way of thinking by changing angles, colour, form and shape of his work when printed to create a different way of looking at images of his work.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
FINAL RESULT
12
ISSUE 1 : CITY IN FLUX - FINAL RESULT
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
INITIAL IDEAS My initial approach towards the brief led me to focussing on images and how I can alter images to change the viewpoint from which you was looking at it. However I didn’t really have any aim in relation to what i wanted the reason of the images to be. I then began to play with changing colour and adding shapes to focus on certain parts of an image - however this didn’t look as effective as I wanted it to be.
FINAL IDEA For my final idea of the City in flux brief, I have created a short digital magazine of 22 pages showing images of Manchester which have been distorted and manipulated in order to change the initial way you look at them. By changing the angles, colour, and breaking the images up I wanted to show a different outlook on an original image. The idea of the book is to show perspective and to use the camera as a point of view a so called separate eye. Looking through the camera has shown the point of view from a different perspective and the book showcases how this can work.
13
ISSUE 1 : CITY IN FLUX - FINAL RESULT
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
14
ISSUE 1 : EARTH ARTIFACT
MY APPROACH After being advised on the brief I really did feel like I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do with this brief. With other work several ideas have popped in to my head straight away after being told what we was to do. However with this, I really didn’t know which direction to head in or how to approach it in the right way without being to silly, or too political or not relating it enough to the original records initial intention. I began my research slowly by b r a i n s t o r m i n g w h i c h d i ff e re n t routes I felt Earth Artifact could be taken. From there i came up with 3
proposals. Info-graphics, Our Earth and Documentation of information. I then began to research different artists relating to these topics. After at first struggling to find a route to go down, my artist research led me to find an idea which I felt I could translate well with the Earth Artifact brief - Documentation of information. The way in which all the information about earth and its inhabits was stored on to the voyager golden records interested me and I was interested in how i could take this a step further in a more creative way.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
15
ISSUE 1 : EARTH ARTIFACT
EARTH ARTIFACT
THE BRIEF When first given the brief for the topic “Earth Artifact’ I was a bit thrown off as I didn’t know what to really make of it as it was so unlike anything id ever done before. It was an approach to design that id never really thought of exploring - or interested in doing.
We were required to submit creative proposals through to finished design for a new version of the ‘Golden Record’ entitled, ‘Earth Artifact’. We was told to make it a more contemporary version, which should be reflected in the content and the format of our choice.
The background behind the brief was explained to us and where exactly the idea came from - The Voyager Golden Records. This caught my attention as i had interestingly never hear about the records before but I found it fascinating knowing that this had actually happened.
It was an opportunity for us to be inventive and demonstrate our ingenuity in solving this creative challenge. And a challenge it sure was to me!
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
INFLUENCES
16
ISSUE 1 : EARTH ARTIFACT - INFLUENCES
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
INITIAL RESEARCH Initially research wise I was unsure what to look at as I was afraid it would be something that just didn’t relate to the topic at all. However after deciding on what I wanted my final idea to be based on, from there I started to research different magazines, zines and artists that work in magazine design and how I could relate the different
styles I came across in to my own magazine design. I looked at a lot of different types of magazines - many that differed greatly from one another but i fell that by doing this greatly in the research stage of the brief helped me to reach an outcome that I am happy with.
PINTEREST One method of research that I feel influenced my work the most was searching for work, artists and magazines through pinterest. Although looking at well known magazines and artists helped me with my research I feel that by looking on pinterest I gained a lot of my ideas and inspiration from work that was fresh and not really seen much from people who aren’t necessarily creating their work seriously and are therefore being more creative with less pressure. BOAT MAGAZINE Boat magazine creates each of their issues solely on a different city in the world and talks about anything there is to offer that is interesting and why they have chosen that city in particular. As my magazines were about earth I enjoyed looking at Boat Magazine and how they translate a similar topic as mine through to a magazine style of documentation.
17
ISSUE 1 : EARTH ARTIFACT - INFLUENCES
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
18
ISSUE 1 : EARTH ARTIFACT - FINAL RESULT
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
19
ISSUE 1 : EARTH ARTIFACT - FINAL RESULT
FINAL RESULT
FINAL RESULT After much deliberation and indecisiveness about which way I wanted to head with the ‘Earth Artifact brief I feel I eventually reached a point where I am happy with the final product and the route in which I went. My final result was a collection of magazines which documented information about the earth and its continents. Each issue was based on a different continent and explained it briefly to anyone who would be unsure exactly about what earth and its continents are. Design wise I feel I accomplished everything I wanted to in relation to designing a magazine style that looked visually appealing but also made its information clear and easy to follow. Looking through each issue I’d know that if I wasn’t sure what exactly the continents are, reading them gives
a very brief explanation to anyone trying to understand it and it gives a visual image of what to imagine. Although I am happy with the final result there are a few little things that now looking back I would change or think would make it look more professional. Such as justifying my text more and paying more attention to rivers, widows and orphans, as at the time of making my magazines I was unsure about what exactly these were and didn’t pay much attention to them. So I feel that now after learning a lot more about them I feel I would have liked to maybe put that in to practise here. Also I feel that in hind site I should have paid a lot more attention to the sizing of the objects on my pages as I feel in places some text is to big in relation to the use of white space.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
20
ISSUE 1 : TYPE TRANSCRIPTS
TYPE TRANSCRIPTS
THE BRIEF Initially when given the brief on creating our own type transcripts I was so excited as i had never done anything like this before. Fonts and typography is something that plays such a dominant role in design and an aspect of design which interested me a lot yet I had never really played around with making my own before. So when we were given this brief I was looking forward to seeing which way I could go with it. Using the references provided we was to transcribe shapes from the different designs within the references to then develop letter forms and or typographic characters. Lower case or upper case, using the letters anesg. I instantly knew I didn’t want to go to crazy with the task as I felt a more simple and characteristic style appeal more to me than something with no straight letter form. I drew inspiration mainly from the references from Erik Spiekerman’s work, Cyrus Highsmith and many of the other different images we were given to use as a reference. We were to create three different styles of fonts firstly using the letters anesg. From there we then created 3 full alphabets of all 3 styles. And after that we then created a final alphabet from our favourite of the 3.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
21
ISSUE 1 : TYPE TRANSCRIPTS
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
ISSUE 1 : TYPE TRANSCRIPTS - FINAL RESULT
22
MY APPROACH We were to create three different styles of fonts firstly using the letters anesg. From there we then created 3 full alphabets of all 3 styles. And after that we then created a final alphabet from our favourite of the 3. I decided on the design of my final result as I knew straight away when were given the brief that I wanted to go ahead with something simple and not to crazy. This font was the one that stood out the most to me as I feel it has the most impact out of the three that I chose in regards to how it sat on a page and in bold and a basic outline. I also enjoyed making the font and playing with space and shape in a way which i had never done before. Looking back at the font now I would possibly change how bold the text is and make it maybe a little slimmer so that it is more readable. Or maybe make and regular font and use this as the bold option.
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE : FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
23
ISSUE 1 : TYPE TRANSCRIPTS - FINAL RESULT
FINAL RESULT
NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE