New Visual Language Research

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Research Ruth Willis

Issue 1

May 2014

Form Follows Function

An Exploration of Modernism and Postmodernism

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Contents NewVisualLanguageBrief MindMap ReadingInsights MastheadDevelopment TheGridSystem CoverProgressions FinalCoverDesigns ThePeople’s Choice FinalDecision ContentsPageDesign RecyclingThumbnails FontDecisions TimeLine ModernismVsPostmodernism

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NewVisual Language

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Brief Create design proposals for a new graphic design publication entitled “New Visual Language” with the first issue focusing on how form follows function and explorations of modernism and postmodernism.

and original visual research from the academic year. It should include the main projects including the following briefs: Street Graphic, Cabinet of Curiosity, Earth Artefact and Type Transcription, with the option of including any Focus on the origins and work on the Manifesto brief. philosophies behind the movements of modernity and post modernity. Included in this the production of Note how sociological, political a masthead, cover design, contents and industrial factors may have page and inner pages must be influenced the movements. included. The copy, masthead: Note how modernity and New Visual Language, and the postmodernity have developed and subheading of “Form Follows their subgenres of development. Function: An exploration of Modernism and Post Modernism”, Submitted as a broadsheet, the piece the issue and date must be visible should include all of the personal on the cover page. The cover

page must be A3 with a portrait orientation; the inner pages must follow this format in the sense that they must too be A3 and portrait.

It is required that there must be: a body of original visual research based on the development of post modernity and modernity, evidence of development in the design of layouts, thumbnails, grid use, type, image selection, the masthead, the cover page, contents page and inner pages, with a focus on experimentation.

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The initial rule in the highway code of this mind map was that if I were to write any articles, there should be a limit in how many I write. Articles could include exterior work, including work experience, various influences, such as books, and as a definite: research on modernism and post modernism.

Secondly, the design and layout of the magazine itself should combine key aesthetics of both modernism and post modernism.

Layout designs should vary but not too much as the magazine is still one document. It should not look too fragmented or disjointed.

Finally, the magazine itself should be set out in a portfolio fashion, but also as an entertainment piece. This document is for general reading as well as to showcase work. The project pages should only include the bare essentials, for example the final pieces and their evaluations. Additional work could be showcased as long as it is in the same essence as the main body. When choosing what should go in, I need to be hyper critical, to keep the magazine on track and in doing so: complete the brief to the best of my ability.

This style of mind-mapping was taught to me whilst I was at primary school. As a visual learner I found this easier to comprehend. There are four directions in which to write. Everything written in the same direction is all linked somehow. In this case for example the four main points are overall design, layouts, articles and projects. When the mind map is complete, specific words or phrases come to mind in conclusion to the ideas written. In one sense you could say that this style of mind-mapping is more of a roadmap that aids in final idea generation. It is a progressive mind-map.

MindMap

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Reading Insights design after all.

With this in mind, I developed many options for final design ideas. I experimented with a few concepts on Adobe InDesign but found that some variations were more successful than others. I did not find the ‘designer grid’ system appropriate for my needs at this time, however I will continue to experiment in future works in order to keep my work as close to the hypothetical briefs as possible, This book elucidates especially if there is that sketching a younger audience. out rough ideas and having many This book influenced variations of the my cover designs as same entity is it states that in good never detrimental. practise a front page C o n c e p t u a l with a portrait on cognition is the can often manipulate into gateway to good audiences “The Art Director’s Handbook of Professional Magazine Design” by Thames and Hudson certainly assisted me in developing my work. They not only give ideas on layout options but they also explain some of the history and the logic behind design concepts. It also showcases how the grid system works as a foundation of modern magazine design, as laid down by Alexey Brodovitch.

purchasing and reading. A false sense of someone watching you will entice an audience into wanting to continue reading. A person will always try to make eye contact when talking or trying to catch attention, so the same applies to potential cover designs from a psychological stand point.

According to Thames and Hudson a masthead must be versatile. It may vary with the themes of the magazine. A masthead must be unique, bold and timeless. Vogue, for example, has not really changed its masthead in all the years it has been established. Even across its variations,

like Teen Vogue and international Vogue The variations in the publications, it still book helped with generation. remains constant. idea They are split into As for the sub genres of styles constructions of magazine, making the inside pages, me realise that I it is stated that needed a focus. sometimes thinking Magazines such as outside the box can this type are more based. be good, but can portfolio also have its flaws. Due to this, the A client will tend sections of this to know what they book on portfolio want conceptually, magazine design incredibly but this can often were be too restrictive helpful, but only when a designer is for initial ideas. A asked to perceive magazine is still an these ideologies. The editorial publication benefit of designing so should not be many potential necessarily outcomes as well restricted to one as the variations look. As long as the magazine of what the client whole together wanted initially can appears sometimes persuade then there is no harm a client to change in experimenting his mind. This design between however isn’t the the pages. case in all situations.

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Masthead Development Developing a masthead is vital in any form of stylised publication.

It is what defines one magazine and tabloid from another at first glance.

In one sense it is the same as developing a logo.

studies at university we learned in further detail how to use guides in the likes of Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator.

After several trials and errors I developed some final propositions before working On initial sketches on a concluding I came up with masthead. the ideas as seen on the left. Yellow I decided to and green were keep it plain and guides and cut outs and red was the main feature.

Using these can be helpful and in continuing

monochromatic so that if need be the solid colour could be changed to fit the specific theme of the front cover’s colours etc. Monochrome is also easier adjusted and can be read and d i s t i ng u i s h e d.

Space is used

wisely whilst still keeping a modern and edgy theme. It is both postmodern and modern.

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The Grid System The gridded guides in magazine design are certainly a modernist’s saviour. In this layout there is a fixed amount of outcomes in how you can construct a piece; the system restricts creativity and experimentation.

Post modernists often attempt to break this system as well as other rules, but one thing remains consistent between the two: the necessity for legibility.

In magazine design, the brief will probably state that all articles would need to be readable or it would

defeat the point in the writing of said article. A grid can be forged that doesn’t have to fit standard requirements, but the text would still be legible.

For example, you sometimes see in magazines that the justification of t e x t w i l l bealtered according to a shape it is filling, or e v e n wrap around a

shape. The writing p r e f e r e n c e . would still be clear, Being both, and just not as textbook. yet neither, a modernist nor The grid system is p o s t m o d e r n i s t , always a good place I have decided to start when mock to keep the layout designs are grid system being constructed. due to aesthetic preferences and Once one gets not out of spite used to the grid for the system. system, one can attempt to break its rules, as long as it is to the designer’s

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Cover Progressions

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After some quick sketches, twenty five final thumbnail designs were made. In analysing these 25, I opted to develop a few further.

In a quick analysis I ruled out 3, 8 and 9 due to the masthead either not being clear or for it being too large, not allowing room for change in future issues of the publication. I cancelled out, these designs also failed to allow much room for change in the future.

Designs 6, 12, 13, 16 17, 18, 19 and 21 were cancelled out as I felt they were either too plain or resembled atextbook.

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FinalCover Designs After analysing my thumbnails I experimented with the last few designs left. I opted for five variations of background image.

on cover designs, I noted that using a portrait as a cover would gain more readers. The fact that Jennifer Lawrence is now somewhat of an icon in modern day filmography, I felt it was appropriate to use her as a base for some developmental backgrounds, for the sake of a potential increase in readership. The use of the various textures and effects added a fragmented like style to reflect on postmodernism, contrasting the modernist styled logo.

The first, seen in the top left, was a trial on a random image. I wanted to test some effects on Adobe Photoshop and needed a plainer background to do this with. From there I decided that although the stamplike appearance of the masthead was interesting it was not the best choice.

It did however let me develop more textures that aided Thinking the image to look outside of the box, more postmodern. I opted to use some of my Street From there I opted to Graphic primary use a photograph of research. I felt that Jennifer Lawrence. my photography Following research from around

Huddersfield and a little further afield, would reflect on the contents of the final magazine.

Postmodern and modern arts transition in the environment the artwork is based. For example: modernity focused on the industrial changes in the New York skyline.

In postmodern art, it was based on the likes of the very fragmented skyline of Las Vegas.

Finally, I looked into some of my own artwork. A hand painted portrait of Katherine Jenkins was very traditional in look, but linked back to my initial research. It was both postmodern in style, but modern in medium.

Being unable to choose between the designs objectively, I opted to use the powers of social media to aid in my decision. The idea that the public decided what the best design was is ultimately to reflect on the purpose of a magazines cover.

The cover is the first thing a person will see, so why not let the public decide which is the most aesthetically pleasing design?

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ThePeople’s Choice After using my personal Facebook account, my graphic design fan page on Facebook, my personal Twitter account, both of my WordPress accounts and physical questionnaires, the results were as follows:

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Final Decision After great deliberation as to what I should do instead of recasting the vote between just the tied leaders, with 49 votes each, I opted to decide for myself.

I had not thought about the back page until I refreshed my memory as to what prior years had done via Issuu. I noted that some of the best designs had fluid transitions between the cover and back page. It seemed to tie the whole magazine together. With this in mind, I opted to use this design with its inverse as the back cover.

The logo itself is somewhat modernistic, but the layout of the cover makes it postmodern; the design incorporates both modernism and postmodernism, fitting well with the brief. It can be changed with different themes if the publication were to be recreated for the production of further issues.

The simple idea could potentially make this style of cover seem to resemble a publication in the style of the Avenue’s box design, but it works as a whole. The contrast has evidence of fluidity from initial to final page and I feel this works.

Of course the other requirements would be added at a later date, for example the date and issue number.

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Contents PageDesign

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In looking into various approaches to the design of a contents page, I realised how limited it was. What I considered was good design, I noted that in simplicity it just needed to be is clear and legible.

Not many people actually take the time to go through the contents page, but rather just flick through the pages of a publication.

For this reason, I did not spend long designing the contents page, but did keep it to the same theme as the rest of the magazine: modernism with a postmodern twist.

The decision to use this photograph I took, was difficult.

I decided to keep it black and white as it is clear enough to document the contents.

After much editting that was required, I came up with blurring

the image slightly, and extending the major contrasts to make the image fit.

In one sense the image used reflects on what a contents page is for: walking a path to a designated page. This image was taken from

the Earth Artefact project, so links all of my magazine together in general.

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Recycling Thumbnails 2525

project at the beginning of this academic year.

The original project was a studio project where we were instructed to remaster a current news story. The news story I chose was about the film “The Minority Report” influencing current policing practice. I took the story to the perspective of screen writers who had developed many films, including that of the “Minority Report”. The characters were reacting Some of the original layout to the news that people designs came from a studio were making fantasy a

Recycling old designs is economic and utilises developmental skills.

There are many options that were laid out and only one or a few were appropriate for the needs of a prior specific brief. The rest could be re-analysed for future a brief, including this one.

I redevelop them where needed or used them as references. Alternatively, layout designs for both the cover and contents pages could also be recycled.

reality. The figures in the thumbnails are the character(s) involved.

Alternative designs such as 15 in the single spread thumbnails, included just the torso of the character to make the piece more relatable. Other designs, such as 5 and 8 in the double page spread and 3 and 12 in the single page spread were different takes on images I could use that still related to the article. This reminded me that any images used needed to fit in with the specific brief of the page(s).

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Font

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Decisions

Font choice in a magazine can be straightforward if one were to choose to go down a traditional route. Modernists invented “Helvetica”. This is a generic font, similar to “Ariel” that we still use today for many purposes.

The key to a successful informative magazine is that it must be readable. Using “Wingdings” would not be appropriate unless postmodern point were being made. Only for art reasons would a font ever be illegible in a magazine, and that should be how it remains.

The difficulty is choosing something that is clear and yet not boring as such. The overuse of “Times New Roman” in books can often put people off of reading due to its very traditional format.

However, people who read books instead of reading cyber books will probably find tradition a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

The audience is very important when choosing an appropriate font. Children’s first books are often written in “Comic Sans” since it is easy to read and the shapes of the letters are somewhat clear. For an older generation, fonts such as this one seem more appropriate since it is much more sophisticated.

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Timeline

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Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) was one of the many artists around in the post impression era.

Artworks like this defined the outlines of modernism and may have been the initial spark of the ideas. Images of still life, religion and day to day life were amongst the few types of art pieces produced. Although these paintings are authenticated by the artist(s) they are to be kept at fixed standards, agreed upon by the masses.

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Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was a controversial artist that brought symbolism to a whole new level. Although looking at some of his paintings we can see modernistic themes such as h o m o s e x u a l i t y, he still remains a modernist artist.

His painting styles remain modernistic and defined by the set rules of the era. Symbolism is modernistic not only because of the fixed themes, but also because of the various hidden themes. Post modern design is about the more literal.

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Maurice Denis (1870-1943) is a key artist in the synthetism movement.

This movement shows a greater progression in modernism as it simplifies the complex in greater amounts.

This has been done both visually and philosophically. The idea of monotheism, and polytheism, is a complex ideology, and to have this simplified into paintings would have been the start of something else. Centralised control and religion was a main focus in this era. Modernism was not only an art movement, but a philosophical and sociological m o v e m e n t .

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Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was perhaps the most famous expressionist artist.

The purposes of the art work are clear and are the most emotive forms of art. The images, although simplistic in shape and drawn elements, rely of the complexities of colour to give the pieces their defining expressions and emotions. The modernist artworks toy with making a complexity simplistic and to still gain the same emotive impact.

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Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was an artist from the fauvism age.

Fauvism was the modernist version of pop art on a first glance. The colours used were very simplistic, as was the initial image.

There is also a clear dichotomy between the subjects in each image. The images are straight to the point: the subject.

The purpose in each image is defined when painted.

Modernism is about simplicity and pushing the boundaries on how simplistic one can allow an art piece to go whilst still maintaining a narrative or purpose.

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Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is still regarded as a great artist.

Picasso helped develop the ideas of cubism through his images. Complex shapes were turned into more simplistic shapes and ideas. Cubism offers multiple perspectives on a subject.

The painting, although painted as 2 dimensional, has much depth by adding in the perspectives. The narrative although seemingly complex, has been simplified for all types of critic. In one sense you could say that the artists of this movement were trying to embrace as much knowledge as possible.

Potentially, this could aid a narrative.

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Charles Demuth (1883-1935) created the famous Figure Five painting.

Precisionism is the combination between cubism and futurism. The two combine to form a new simplistic, well-constructed piece.

Art is influenced by the day and age it is formed in. During the time these images were created the western world was industrialising.

Well-constructed images and paintings of the surrounding changes all took their influence from the development of the world. The paintings of modernism were mostly of New York and Boston, but mainly just showed the industrialisation of the cities and towns near the artist. These images depicted growth in a simplistic form.

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Marcel Ducamp (1887-1968) was a key player in the Dada movement.

Dada was artful anarchy.

Artists in this movement strove to break the rules in ways that were so simplistic.

These crafts may have seemed somewhat surreal at the time but unlike postmodern anarchy in regards to the art world, the rules were broken to make a serious point and not to just be ironic or playful. There was a massive following in this unlike in postmodern arts.

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B a u h u a s ( E s t 1 9 1 9 ) is a school of Art and Design of practical natures. It combines crafts with art and design to create commercial and practical pieces that would help society rather than be influenced by it. If modernity is about the practicalities and statements, then Bauhaus is the influencer and training ground for the practise to remain in modern culture.

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Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) was one of many artists who supported racial equality through the arts. By challenging the alleged white paternalism in Europe and America, they succeeded in asserting their freedom and gained dignity as a black, or supporter of black, artists and celebrated their creativity.

Although their identities and trials and tribulations were narrated in these artworks, the point of equality was made in most pieces as there weren’t many pieces that depicted a white person as evil, as such. Although artists strive to break rules, they do it within limits.

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AndrĂŠ Breton (1896-1966) was one of the founders of the surrealist m o v e m e n t .

Surrealism brought together the ideas of cubism, dada and outside sociological changes in the world.

The ideas behind the paintings were to send encoded messages, or to make a piece a little less obvious whilst still getting across a main point. This was the peak and end of the growth of modernism as such, but you could say that postmodernism is merely developed m o d e r n it y.

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Franz Kline (1910-1962) was a main artist during the abstract expressionism era.

The pieces depicted in this era were dictated by an emotion, and not by given rules. Art in this movement were disconnected with the audience, and reflectedonlytheopinions of the artists in a sort of release. This was the beginning of a postmodern era.

Simplicity and the need to conform were no longer an option.

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Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was the pioneer of pop art as well as Roy Lichtenstien. Pop art used irony and was not to be taken overly seriously.

With the use of vibrant colours, an emotion to the pieces were bold and a statement. The aims of the pieces were to disrupt thedominances of higher cultures through the emerging pop culture.

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Chuck Close (1940-Present) is one of many photorealistic artists. Photorealism poked fun at technology and the artists aimed at making their pieces as high standards as something that was in fact photographic.

Hyper-reality had a greater impact that a mere photo as the time was taken to recreate perfection.

Although this was a niche market, it is something most art lovers strive to be like.

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Denis Oppenheim (1936-2011) was a sculptor.

During the Earth/ Land art period, art was made to decay with the times. It was not necessarily meant for mass audience engagement, but rather for more of a niche audience. It looked into a realists mind-set and started to verge away from the ideas of nonatheism.

These works were meant to be weathered and not protected by a deity as such. The idea of the eroded pieces deconstructed the ideas that something could last forever, such as eternal life in religion.

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Agnes Martin (1912-2004) was a minimalist artist. Her works were simple and lacked depth or meaning.

The products and art in this movement were for niche markets as they were designed for the aesthetics alone and not their meaning or for a specific purpose as such.

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Frank Stella (1936-Present) was one of many in this transitional movement. Hard edge paintings were both minimalistic but verged on taking from the concepts of cubism. These pieces still did not have much of a narrative and were made for pure aesthetics.

Installations like this were bold and dynamic.

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Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was one of the pioneers for this movement. He was a bit ahead of his time and his work saw much criticism.

This art form was like minimalism but had an element of cubism and pop art in it. The bold colours and simplicity meant that these piece were only for show and not for other possible commercial uses.

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Sam Francis (1923-1994) was a painter and printmaker.

He specialised in lyrical abstraction. Lyrical abstraction was a form of expressive minimalism.

It had no rules but was minimalistic in how they were created. Images are fragmented to allow interpretation.

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Clyfford Still (1904-1980) was a main artist during this movement. Colour field painting explored the simplicity in block colour. It focused on overall consistency as opposed to the brush strokes as such.

This was certainly a niche market and works like this were a development on minimalism.

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Damian Hirst (1965-Present) is perhaps one of the more iconic post minimal artist ever.

Many recognise him for his works based around taxidermy and other arts based on mortality. Post minimalistic works are based on the simple, however; these works allow people to see everyday objects in a new light. This can be done either in subliminal ways or very grotesque and pornographic ways.

These works are often simplistic in nature but complex in meaning and purpose. Purposes for works like this tend to be just to reopen eyes on modernist themes.

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Julian Schnabel (1951-Present) is a neo expressive a r t i s t .

Neo expressionism was a rebellion against minimalistic and conceptual artwork.

Neo Expressionism developed on expressionism and more realistic artwork to make a new cross. This was merely growing from prior ideas. The concept of rebelling even against grand theory is paradoxical as rebelling against grand theory is a grand theory.

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Modernism & Modernism is defined in many ways. Dating between 1880 and 1945, modernism was the birth of post modernity.

The significant line drawn between the two is very faint and not very notable. The idea of there being a sudden change in which to define the two is preposterous. The truth of the matter is that they are just one continuous growth, influenced by sociological factors.

Modernism mostly relies on rules and constrictions whilst still maintaining a subtle hint of individuality. Works

would be made for the purpose of art and not for mass distribution. Art works would be unique in their own right as they would be the only ones produced. Postmodern art is mass produced and very commercial.

This in itself could be a defining factor between the two but it could also be because we have a more contempory culture now. It is easier to mass advertise and so on. In the times of alleged modernism, this was not really an option. Portrait artists for example would have had just

word of mouth as their only self-advertisement.

Modernism artworks would be based on fixed topics, for example religion, mythology or other meaningful interests. Old fashioned ways such as that in an ideological family setting would be a main focal point to the pieces of the time. As times have changed, making getting divorced easier and being an atheist less taboo, the ideas of monotheism, polytheism and gender inequality have become less important.

Alternatively, ideas,

Post Modernism today, but in one sense the arguments are not between these two defined categories, but more so by opinions of art practise. More traditional arts will always have a different taste to that of more modern artists.

Technological factors have changed a lot in the past few centuries, but that doesn’t mean we must continue moving with the times. No matter how much the times change, there will always be a niche market for Arguments between specific artworks in their post modernists and designated mediums. modernists remain like those defining modernity, have grown up to be less naive and more understanding and forgiving. Post modernity suggests that art work does not necessarily need a meaning as someone will want it. Postmodern art works dating from 1945 to the present day have been called flat and meaningless. The critiques opinions do not take into account that all works have a purpose, the purpose being to sell.

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In conclusion, we should not define the two. We should only embrace the fact that our normative statements are not positive statements.

Opinions can be contested but they will forever just be opinions and nothing more. This however verges on the potential critical theories of post postmodernism.

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