New Graphic Design Research & Development

New Graphic Design

By Rob Turner

Modernism.

Modernist designers rejected the old style of designing based upon natural form and materials. They believed in ‘the machine asesthetic’, which celebrated new technology , mechanised industry and modern materials that symbolised the new 21st century.

Modernists typically rejected decorative motifs in design and the embelliment of surfaces with art, preferring to emphasise the materials used and pure geometrical forms.

Less is More.

Form Follows Function.

Design For A Machine Age.

The minimalist idea suggesting all non essential forms. Any design of style in which the simples and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect.

Simple, geometrically pure forms were adopted with clean lines and the elimination of unneccessary clutter or decoration. Functionality is the prime driver.

Designers respected the use of modern materials such a tubular steel and mechanised mass production processes. They were not based upon natural forms.

Bauhaus.

The German economy was in a state of collapse following Germany’s defeat in the First World War. A new school of art and design was opened inWeimar to help rebuild the country. The central idea behind the teaching at the Bauhaus was a range of productive workshops where students were actively encouraged to be multi-disciplined and trained to be able to work in industry.

The Bauhaus style became one of the most influential currents in Modernist architecture and modern design. The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography.

Minimalism.

Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts. Minimalism is any design or style in which the simplest and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect.

The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work. De Stijl expanded the ideas that could be expressed by using basic elements such as lines and planes organized in very particular manners.

De Stijl During the tumultuous decade following World War I, De Stijl artists set out to create a universal style in painting, architecture and design, using rectangles and squares in flt planes of bold primary colours, with black, grey and white, all carefully orhcestrated with straight lines.

Mondrian.

“Mondrian realizes the importance of line.

The line has almost become a work of art in itself; one can not play with it when the representation of objects perceived was all-important. The white canvas is almost solemn. Each superfluous line, each wrongly placed line, any color placed without veneration or care, can spoil everything – that is, the spiritual.”

A Dutch pioneer of the De Stijl Movement, who developed from early landscape pictures to geomretric work. He was influenced by Cubism, and evolved a more simplified abstract style which he called Neo-plasticism.

I like the use of different line thicknesses in Mondrian’s work. It can empahsise shapes and highlight certain areas of work.

I like the layouts of these front covers, as they reflect the style of the movement well, using geometric shapes and primary colours. Some of the text is diagonal and incorporated within the shapes on the front cover. The letters themselves are well adapted within the shapes themselves, as if it is part of the design.

Constructivism.

Constructivism was the last and most influential modern art movement to flourish in Russia in the 20th century. It borrowed ideas from Cubism, Suprematism and Futurism, but at its heart was an entirely new approach to making objects, one which sought to abolish the traditional artistic concern with composition, and replace it with ‘construction.’ Objects were to be created not in order to express beauty, or the artist’s outlook, or to represent the world, but to carry out a fundamental analysis of the materials and forms of art, one which might lead to the design of functional objects. The seed of Constructivism was a desire to express the experience of modern life - its dynamism, its new and disorientating qualities of space and time. But also crucial was the desire to develop a new form of art more appropriate to the democratic and modernizing goals of the Russian Revolution. Constructivists were to be constructors of a new society - cultural workers on a par with scientists in their search for solutions to modern problems.

Swiss Design.

Often referred to as the International Typographic Style or the International Style, the style of design that originated in Switzerland in the 1940s and 50s was the basis of much of the development of graphic design during the mid 20th century. Led by designers Josef M端ller-Brockmann at the Zurich School of Arts and Krafts and Armin Hofmann at the Basel School of Design, the style favored simplicity, legibility and objectivity.

Of the many contributions to develop from the two schools were the use of, sans-serif typography, grids and asymmetrical layouts. Also stressed was the combination of typography and photography as a means of visual communication. The primary influential works were developed as posters, which were seen to be the most effective means of communication. http://www.designishistory.com/home/swiss/

The Grid.

A typographic grid is a two-dimensional structure made up of a series of intersecting vertical and horizontal axes used to structure content. The grid serves as an armature on which a designer can organize text and images in a rational, easy to absorb manner.

The core of these ideas were first presented in the book “Grid Systems in Graphic Design” by Josef Müller-Brockmann which helped to spread the knowledge about the grids thorough the world. .

Typography.

One of the main characteristics of the swiss style typography is the use of sans-serif typefaces such as Akzidenz Grotesk and Neue Haas Grotesk (Helvetica). Graphic designers were aiming at clarity, simplicity and universality.

Font-size contrast is very common in the Swiss Style works. Different font-sizes defines hierarchy of the presented data and generate strong visual impact. http://webexpedition18.com/articles/swiss-legacy/

Armin Hofmann.

Armin Hofmann was one of the pioneers of the International Typographic Style, a new graphic design style that emerged in Switzerland in the 1950s to become the predominant graphic style in the world by the 1970s. His work is enormously varied, including posters, stage design, logos, typographic work, and three-dimensional designs. Armin Hofmann is recognized for his immeasurable influence on generations of designers, teaching the power and elegance of simplicity and clarity through a timeless aesthetic, always informed by context. He is well known for his posters, which emphasized economical use of colour and fonts, in reaction to what Hofmann regarded as the “trivialization of colour.�

The readability and cleanliness of the style as well as its asymmetric layouts, use of a grids and sans-serif typefaces have helped define how we design today. Designers today are still taking the best elements from this era of design to create a whole new contemporary, visual aesthetic.

I like the way Hofmann uses the negative spaces and the space around the geometric shapes. In some of his designs he creates shapes within the counterforms, by erasing shapes and letters. Many of his composition of shapes are asymmetrical.

Josef Muller Brockmann.

As with most graphic designers that can be classified as part of the Swiss International Style, Joseph M端ller-Brockmann was influenced by the ideas of several different design and art movements including Constructivism, De Stijl, Suprematism and the Bauhaus. He is perhaps the most well-known Swiss designer and his name is probably the most easily recognized when talking about the period. He was born and raised in Switzerland and by the age of 43 he became a teacher at the Zurich school of arts and crafts.

Emil Ruder.

Emil Ruder was a typographer and graphic designer who, born in Switzerland in 1914, helped Armin Hofmann form the Basel School of Design and establish the style of design known as Swiss Design. He taught that, above all, typography’s purpose was to communicate ideas through writing. He placed a heavy importance on sans-serif typefaces and his work is both clear and concise, especially his typography. he favored asymmetrical compositions, placing a high importance on the counters of characters and the negative space of compositions.

Hans Neuburg.

Swiss modernist graphic designer Hans Neuburg was one of the pioneers of the International Typographic Style along with Brockmann and Hofmann. He started his own design studio in Z端rich in 1936, specializing in advertising and exhibition design. His clients included Mustermesse Basle and the International Red Cross. http://webexpedition18.com/articles/swiss-legacy/

Wim Crouwel.

Crouwel is a modernist and impressed by a typeface like Helvetica, which was more neutral than any other typeface. “A face shouldn’t have a meaning in itself, the meaning should be in the content of the text.”* In his work Crouwel chose sans-serif faces that allowed numerous combinations. He looked at the work of the artist, got an impression and tried to translate it typographically. An example of this way of working is found in the exhibition about Leger. Leger’s work could be recognized by its heavy lines around the images. This influenced him to create the word Leger with thick black lines so it would dominate the poster. Crouwel always searched for the abstract, something that would strike the eye.

As a functionalist Crouwel focussed on the readability of his work. But when he had to make a choice between readability and aesthetics, he chose aesthetics. “When you’re a functionalist you want to make things comprehensible, readable, make your ideas visible. I feel myself being a modernist, a functionalist, but aesthetics always stand in the way.” He says. http://www.iconofgraphics.com/Wim-Crouwel/

Ruedi Reugg.

Reugg’s typography of the posters are very interesting especially the konzerte der Tohalle-Gesellschaft Zurich poster. The combination of the size and weight of the type make my eye couldn’t stop to staring at the poster. The hierarchy of the typefaces make the big contrast and exciting to see. Definitely, he is an excellent of typographer. http://www.thinkingform.com/2012/08/06/thinking-ruedi-ruegg-08-04-1936/

Post-Modernism.

The term post-modernism was first coined by architect Charles Jencks. He used it to criticise the functionalism of the modernism movement and to describe the eclectic new design styles being developed by a whole range of contemporary architects and designers. The debate regarding whether the term post-modernism, meaning ‘after modernism’, is appropriate still rages to this day as it does not seem to encompass the range of contemporary thinking and design styles. Indeed, to many the modern movement has not ended as a lot of its ideals are still in use today.

The movement of Post- Modernism began with architecture, as a reaction against the perceived blandness and ostility present in modernist architecture as preached by the Bauhaus. Its philosophy of an ideal perfection, harmony of form and function and dismissal of decoration was at odds with contemporary designers who wanted individualism and personality back into design.

Ray Gun. Ray Gun was an American alternative rock-and-roll magazine, first published in 1992 in Santa Monica, California. Led by founding art director David Carson, Ray Gun explored experimental magazine typographic design. The result was a chaotic, abstract style, not always readable, but distinctive in appearance. That tradition for compelling visuals continued even after Carson left the magazine after three years; he was followed by a series of art directors, including Robert Hales, Chris Ashworth, Scott Denton-Cardew, and Jerome Curchod.

Peter Saville.

Peter Saville is arguably the most famous record cover designer of them all. Although many of the covers below are the results of collaboration, everything he’s involved in evinces a rare degree of rigour, consistency and an ongoing desire to experiment. The New Order sleeves are particularly fascinating as a continuing narrative about the potential of design. He’s on record that record design is of no interest any more – we would beg to differ, but that may have been more of a personal statement. http://www.hardformat.org/designers/peter-saville-designer/

Jamie Reid.

Jamie Reid is an English artist and anarchist with connections to the Situationists. His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close to defining the image of punk rock, particularly in the UK. His best known works include the Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols and the singles “Anarchy in the UK”, “God Save The Queen”, which isbased on a Cecil Beaton photograph of Queen Elizabeth II, with an added safety pin through her nose and swastikas in her eyes, described by Sean O’Hagan of The Observer as “the single most iconic image of the punk era”.

David Carson.

David Carson is an American graphic designer, art director and surfer. He is best known for his innovative magazine design, and use of experimental typography. He was the art director for the magazine Ray Gun, in which he employed much of the typographic and layout style for which he is known. Carson was perhaps the most influential graphic designer of the 1990s.

In particular, his widely imitated aesthetic defined the so-called "grunge typography" era.

David Carson was recently named one of the top five most influential designers by Graphic Design USA magazine. His work can be considered post-modern, and he largely influenced the dirty-grunge movement in design trends of the 90s.

David Carson’s design aesthetic is best seen through his works. His typographical treatments are first-rate, and he integrates photography to produce a minimal, low-fi look. http://www.arsgrafik.com/david-carson/

Book Research.

I did some primary research into post modernism and look at one of David Carson’s books ‘trek’. It shows a collection of his work since The End of Print published in the mid-90s and documents his travels to address young people in lectures and workshops around the world. I selected some of his designs which I found interesting. I like how some of the typography is in different positions and fonts, and some of the words are split up within the design, but is yet still readable.

Paula Scher.

Paula Scher (born October 6, 1948, Virginia) is an American graphic designer, illustrator, painter and art educator in design, and the first female principal at Pentagram, which she joined in 1991.

Scher creates images that speak to an audience with emotional impact and appeal. The images she has created have become visually identical with the culture of New York City. She has developed brand and identity systems, promotional materials, packaging, environmental graphics, and publication designs for a range of clients.

Scher developed a typographic solution based on Art deco and Russian constructivism, which incorporated outmoded typefaces into her work. The Russian constructivism had provided Scher inspiration for her typography; she didn’t copy the early constructivist style but used its vocabulary of form on her works

Barbara Kruger.

The juxtaposition of word and image in Barbara Kruger’s highly recognizable work is derived from twelve years as a designer and photo editor for Conde Nast publications. Short, pithy caption-like copy is scattered over fragmented and enlarged photographs appropriated from various media. Usually declarative or accusatory in tone, these phrases posit an opposition between the pronouns “you” and “we,” which satirically refer to “men” and “women.” These humorous works suspend the viewer between the fascination of the image and the indictment of the text while reminding us that language and its use within culture to construct and maintina proverbs, jobs, jokes, myths, and history reinforce the interests and perspective of those who control it.

(--Cf. John Berger’s Ways of Seeing Chap 3.; Craig Owen, “The Discourse of Others,” The Anti-Aesthetic. Ed. Hal Foster. pp. 65-90.

Thumbnails.

I started to experiment with different layouts using simple geometric shapes, based on my research on modernism. Inspired

by Swiss designers, I used the negative spaces between shapes. I tried to repeat shapes, such as the cross shape, and then created interesting spaces, where text could go.

My ideas involved using the negative spaces and the use of black and white, relating to Armin Hofmann. I also expeimented with repetition of geometric shapes going from small to large, which gives a sense of movement. Other ideas are influenced by Josef Muller Brockmann’s work, because I am interested in the way he uses circular shapes and composes them.

These were initial ideas for the masthead of the magazine. Instead of using the name, ‘New Graphic Design’ as the Masthead, I decided to use the initials, ‘NGD’, as it is shorter, simpler and easier to recognise. Following on my research, I wanted to create a simple, minimalist approach, and incorporate the background colour to the masthead itself. Mastheads are generally quite versatile and can be presented in different colours and styles, yet still recongisable. I deleted shapes and areas that don’t necessarily need to be used yet ‘NGD’ is still readable.

For my magazine research, I looked at the modern magazine ‘The Skinny’, for some ideas and inspiration when designing the layout and content for my magazine.

When reading and looking inside the magazine, the layout is very clear, and simple. What I also found interesting is how some of the pages are spacious, with lots of space still visible. It helps to see images more clearly and text easier to read. I think it also reflects the idea of ‘Less is More’, where anything that isn’t needed is not included, so the overall piece is simple but effective.

I liked the way the images were presented in the art section. They weren’t necessarily all in line or symmetrical. Again there were spaces in between each images, which helps to see each image individually.

When I start to create my inner pages, I will take into consideration the space and limitation of text for ech page.

i-D Magazine.

I looked at the front covers of the i-D magazine, and I am intrigued by the masthead they use. The masthead itself changes in each issues, depending on what’s on the front cover. It is sometimes positioned vertically or horizontally, an sometimes diagonally in an obsure way. It can also have a border around the masthead, or is incorporated within the image.

PIN-UP Magazine.

Pin-Up Magazine is a biannual English-language publication founded by architect and writer Felix Burrichter. The magazine’s tagline ”Magazine for Architectural Entertainment” is kind of a perfect summation. I think the layout and presentation of the magazine is unusual and interesting. Text is scattered across, with different text sizes and sometimes different fonts. They also overlap the images.

Masthead Designs.

G N D

I transferred my masthead ideas onto a digital format, and the designs were easy to create. Again, I used the negative spaces to help make the letters. I also tried postioning letters in different ways, such as the letters G and D, realising it created a symmetrical shape.

I then tried inverting the letter N and combining it with the other letters, it made an interesting masthead but it may be difficult to make and isn’t symmetrical.

N

N

I selected of my masthead designs and developed it further by experimenting with different backgrounds, made out of simple geometric shapes, such as the circle. I think this masthead is quite versatile, because it is clear and can be seen in black and white as well as other colours. It is also important that it can be seen in different sizes. The letters are made with four lines, creating interesting shapes. I think it relates to the style of modernism, becuase of its simplicity and repetition of lines and geometric shapes as the background.

Masthead Experimentation.

I selected existing Design front cover magazines, and experiemented using my masthead design, to test its versatility. When I was looking at different front cover, i realised that my masthead can be placed in different decided nd can be incorporated within the cover itself. The masthead can be in different colours and shapes to fit with the fornt cover.

Form Follows Function

Form Follows Function.

Form Follows Function.

Form Follows Function.

I experimented different ways of positioning the masthead. Instead of placing it in the traditional top left-hand corner, I tried placing it in the centre, within the design. In this particular design, it looks like an eye.

Final Design.

Form Follows Function.

An exploration of Modernism & Post-Modernism.

Issue 01

Spring 2013

I went with a modernism approach and decided to make my front cover black and white. The style itself is influenced by the work of Josef Muller Brockmann and Armin Hofmann- two designers which I enjoyed looking at for this project. To create the modernism style further I used Helvetica for the title and text. I think it blends in well with the design, as if it is part of the design.

The masthead too is in black and white, with a circle surrounding the letters, which makes it more noticable and easier.

This project has been quite enjoyable and I learned a lot about modernism. It is something which I want to explore further, and it has been satisfying making my own simplistic designs using geometric shapes and limitation of colour.