Archetype by tomrooneygillan

COMMUN

ICATION archetype: typography at the center of communication

archetype: typography at the center of communication

AT THE

TER OF

CEN

COMMUN

ICATION archetype: typography at the center of communication

archetype

modern typography laid the foundations of how we communicate through type today, this groundwork has supplied us with the means and tools to produce highly expressive, and original artifacts of graphic design, all derived from the versitility and neutrality of the sans serif design, in this publication you will come across some of the approches popular amongst graphic designers the sans serif typeform.

PROLOG

prologue

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CON

TENTS 9

modern typography

experimental jetset

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studio feixen

contents

shaping society

jan van toorn vs wim crowel

NG G

SHAPI

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SOCIETY

shaping socety

Our thoughts and feelings are commonly conveyed through our senses, most commonly through sound and sight. Text stimulates both of these senses, each graphic mark of a letter, can be combined to produce words, and hence may influence our thoughts and feelings, and in the greater sense, shape society in general. Given the fact that we must first see a piece of text before we can comprehend the sound and though it represents, it would not be unreasonable to imagine that the appearance of the type forms that make up a piece of text, could have a significant potential to shape the way we think. Therefore the design of type has an influence on society and through it, one may influence society as well as serve it.

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PART 1

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OLD

IDEAS

E LETTERS

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expanded. In applying a set of geometrical limitations to his work, Bayer believed he could achieve “the most exact forms”. For Early Modernists, geometry was the essence of communication both in art and design. Through the revelations in modern art it was understood by the modernist designer that , “by his arrangement of forms, realises an order which is pure creation of his spirit; By forms and shapes he affects our senses to an acute degree and provokes plastic emotions”. Bayer’s reduction of type to a scientific mathematical geometry would have been highly seductive to modernist designers of the 1920s as well as contemporary designers; the latter’s appreciation illustrated in the hugely popularity of geometric sans, Futura, which was massively influenced by Universal. The scientific approach to design provides a means to justify design to fellow designers and non-designers alike and as a result induces value in ones creative effort. In Bayer’s essay “On Typography” he writes about within the 1920s, “typographic material was discovered to have distinctive optical properties of its own, pointing toward specifically typographic expression.” This meant that Bayer was not only designing to serve a functional necessity for legibility and efficiency, but that his designs, in addition, sought after a deeper level communication, that was transmitted not from the meaning we give an alphabet; But from the meaning we each bring to shapes and space. Within modernist circles there is general contempt for direct representational ornamentation. It is Adolf Loos opinion that ornamentation is a “crime…through the fact that ornament inflicts serious injury on people’s health, on the national budget and hence the cultural revolution.” Louis Sullivan sought to create modern buildings that where “charming in their sobriety” Similarly Bayer’s geometrical design

One of Bayer’s more socially conscientious projects was the 1925 exclusively lowercase typeface he designed, “Universal”. Walter Gropius commissioned the Bayer to design the typeface to be the standard typeface to be used by the Bauhaus. The design of the typeface would have aspired to being socially emancipatory, the decision that the typeface was to be exclusivly lowercase was influenced by research at the time that we read “whole groups of letters-not single letters, but words are taken in by the eye at one glance.” This would have been seen as a relatively revolutionary move within Germany, where a capital letter is used for the first letter of each noun. Bayer believed that “both a large and a small sign are not necessary to indicate one single sound”. In addition to improving legibility, Bayer was also making the process writing more economic and efficient, as juggling two forms for each letter is far more time consuming than one. Underpinning this practical mindset there is also the subliminal idea, that through the omission of capitals Bayer is altering the manner in which society thinks, in effect the removal of the capital letter is humbling, people’s names are left without the capital that signifies them as important, and so as the idea of the individual “Papuan” fades the socialist modernist “idea of a Universal unity” and impartiality is given the means to become expressed through type. The way that Bayer approached the task of designing Universal was typically modern, he believed “typography is a service art, not a fine art,”. A good typeface was a public service, designed to serve and improve society. Bayer’s society utilized the printing press, not the pen, slate pencil or chisel. Bayer recognized that the shape of letters was determined by the tools used to produce them, but that with the invention of the printing press there arrived the potential shapes used to make letters was vastly

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removes any evidence of the human hand, yet it is not devoid of personality, it is not neutral; Total neutrality in type design was not to come till many years later, with the advent of Helvetica. The ideas of Loos are clearly shared in Bayer’s design, the typeface is stripped of any unnecessary ornament, Bayer’s Universal represented the cleaning of type, and was radically different from its contemporary popular blackletter typefaces. The utter geometry of the design speaks of an admiration of the new mechanic world. Notions such as nostalgia did not effect his design, Bayer is looking forward to the future, towards what he believes to obviously be a utopian future. Gropius believed that within the modern climate, “no longer can anything exist in isolation, we perceive every form as the embodiment of an idea.” Bayer was attempting to change society through a typeface that is reductionist, efficient, clean, scientific design that is explicitly mechanic in nature. If Bayer was to become truly successful he would have had to balance his duty to the wider society, to improve for legibility and efficiency with the Bauhaus modernist’s desire for standardization and equality through design. The geometric approach was a logical one, it was a great leap from the common blackletter. Yet In terms of total neutrality it falls short of the mark. It is true that the design leaves behind much of the human hand, but the means in which this is achieved comes at the expense of the typeface resembling the hand of a machine. Therefore Bayer is yet to escape the vicious “Papuan” tendency towards ornamentation, in this case the machine not nature is the subject, representational ornamentation it remains. Further attempts at social emancipation include Bayer’s 1959 typeface “fonetik alfabet”. This typeface is an exemplification of Bayer’s belief that typography should describe language phonetically, whom believed that “syllables

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ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

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neu ideas old letters

that frequently recur, and combining sounds (diphthongs etc. Should be given new letter signs).” Within the typeface there is a collection of ligatures and occasional strategic underlining of letters. This captures their phonetic characteristics more efficiently than previous designs. Yet the angular typeface teeters dangerously close to a random collection of individual symbols and is in my opinion uglier and glyphic than Universal. The appearance leans more towards that of ancient Greek letters than the pure geometry of the Universal. In terms of ligatures there does come a point where by the it becomes a glyph and member of the alphabet amongst the rest of the letters. This process of social acceptance takes eons to develop, it took thousands of years and many languages to arrive at what we are now familiar with. This is the problem that many modernists would have struggles against; The masses reluctance to give up the familiar which they have become so affiliated with did not comply with the modernists utopian absolutism. Therefore in an ironic fashion, through the neglecting the readers need for a typeface to be easy to read, Bayer has devised a method for better graphically representing phonetics as apposed to attempting to communicate the ideas behind the text. Following the publication of Universal “the Bauhaus began to use small letters exclusively.”3 for all but display purposes. Examples of this include the 1926 Bauhaus prospectus and Bayer’s 1928 Bauhaus Magazine cover as well as the majority of type set in the book “bauhaus 19-1928” In designs where lowercase typography was not used, Capitals were often used exclusively. What capitals lose in ease of reading they make up for in the individual letter's legibility as a result of additional

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structural integrity. This allows for innovations such as the “typophoto” which Moholy-Nagy argues “is the visually most exact rendering of communication.” An example of which is Bayer’s poster the 1926 Kandinsky exhibition, in which consistent “x” height of the Capitals allow the type to resemble geometric shapes, giving the design a very organized and solid appearance, paying homage to Kandinsky’s Constructivist tendencies. One of Bayer’s more socially conscientious projects was the 1925 exclusively lowercase typeface he designed, “Universal”. Walter Gropius commissioned the Bayer to design the typeface to be the standard typeface to be used by the Bauhaus. The design of the typeface would have aspired to being socially emancipatory, the decision that the typeface was to be exclusivly lowercase was influenced by research at the time that we read “whole groups of letters-not single letters, but words are taken in by the eye at one glance.” This would have been seen as a relatively revolutionary move within Germany, where a capital letter is used for the first letter of each noun. Bayer believed that “both a large and a small sign are not necessary to indicate one single sound”. In addition to improving legibility, Bayer was also making the process writing more economic and efficient, as juggling two forms for each letter is far more time consuming than one. Underpinning this practical mindset there is also the subliminal idea, that through the omission of capitals Bayer is altering the manner in which society thinks, in effect the removal of the capital letter is humbling, people’s names are left without the capital that signifies them as important, and so as the idea of the individual “Papuan” fades the socialist modernist “idea of a Universal unity” and impartiality is given the means to become expressed through type. The way that Bayer approached the task of designing Universal was typically modern, he believed “typography is a

service art, not a fine art,”.A good typeface was a public service, designed to serve and improve society. Bayer’s society utilized the printing press, not the pen, slate pencil or chisel. Bayer recognized that the shape of letters was determined by the tools used to produce them, but that with the invention of the printing press there arrived the potential shapes used to make letters was vastly expanded. In applying a set of geometrical limitations to his work, Bayer believed he could achieve “the most exact forms”. For Early Modernists, geometry was the essence of communication both in art and design. Through the revelations in modern art it was understood by the modernist designer that , “by his arrangement of forms, realises an order which is pure creation of his spirit; By forms and shapes he affects our senses to an acute degree and provokes plastic emotions”. Bayer’s reduction of type to a scientific mathematical geometry would have been highly seductive to modernist designers of the 1920s as well as contemporary designers; the latter’s appreciation illustrated in the hugely popularity of geometric sans, Futura, which was massively influenced by Universal. The scientific approach to design provides a means to justify design to fellow designers and non-designers alike and as a result induces value in ones creative effort. In Bayer’s essay “On Typography” he writes about within the 1920s, “typographic material was discovered to have distinctive optical properties of its own, pointing toward specifically typographic expression.” This meant that Bayer was not only designing to serve a functional necessity for legibility and efficiency, but that his designs, in addition, sought after a deeper level communication, that was transmitted not from the meaning we give an alphabet; But from the meaning we each bring to shapes and space. Within modernist circles there is general contempt for direct representational ornamentation. It is Adolf Loos opinion that

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the more we become accustomed to it and hence its legibility and solidarity is increased. Here is the achievement of the utopian idea of social emancipation through a “dull blanket of sameness”. The international movement provided equal opportunity for individual expression, in the sense that it prevented any opportunity for individual expression. From the point of view of a post world war the control, order and absolutism of the modernist philosophy is understandable and forgivable. Post world war two modernism acted to preserve and conserve society, as apposed to the revolutionary antithesis it had been previously. It was the definitive scientific position modernism took that turned what was a progressive dream into a moderated nightmare. Following the second world war, the Modernists pushed even more the ideas of consistent order, control the removal/ reduction and the clarification of design to its core essential elements. It was thought that through banal design, that ideas of nationalism and individualism could be eradicated and future wars prevented. Rick Poyer makes the observation that “there was a real sense of social responsibility amongst designers”, “a real feeling of idealism…that designs part of that need to rebuild, to reconstruct, to make things more open, make them run more smoothly, be more democratic.”17 The scientific approach to design was widely implemented; With compositions relying upon theories such as asymmetry, the rule of thirds and Archimedes spiral to provide visual interest and tension. Early modernist ideas and visual methods of the early modernists spread and evolved into what was at the time the logical next stage of progression, the International Style. It was an approach to design that was free from nationalistic traits and held qualities such as legibility and clarity in the highest regard. The visual elements that made up design where homogenized and much of design

Ornamentation in type design was finally banished the international movements poster boy, Helvetica, which is in my opinion devoid of personality, in other words it communicates nothing bar a clear emphasis on clarity and neutrality. Whether my opinion is as a result of the actual optical qualities of Helvetica or whether it is simply a result of the fact that Helvetica has been so widely used to communicate such vast variety of subjects that it has lost all personality, is irrelevant. When one experiences something as often as our eyes read type set in Helvetica, the experience becomes numbed and there becomes a point at which the consumer is left totally numb and unresponsive to the experience. Helvetica became a “crystal clear glass” for the presentation of ideas, it added nothing nor subtracted from text; This is social emancipation as a result of the destruction of the individual. It is the final evolution of Modernist type, reduced to the lowest level of meaning, completely transparent and honest; giving nothing and adding nothing to the text. Herbert Bayer wrote, “freedom …has been responsible for so many mistakes. Geometry, however, gives us the most exact forms.” The design of Helvetica acknowledges the efforts of the modernist sans serif’s strict geometry. Yet importantly it is separated from the decorative machine age through its subtle variations in the curves that make up the letter forms, an example includes the leg of the capitol “R”. In addition to this there is the horizontally cut terminals, which attempt to guide the readers eye across the page. Helvetica is “the conclusion of one line of reasoning”. This “line of reasoning”23 is the belief that clarity and ease of reading is paramount in type design. Its extreme popularity amongst designers derives from its ability to look timeless, many designers believe that there cannot be a more legible typeface, I’d argue the more we look and see Helvetica

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archetype archetype

the swiss style

municated the ideas of the machine age, Experimental Jetset’s visual style, acts as a typeface does in presenting the philosophies. In this case, ideas connected to Modernism and the International movement in addition to the clients original ideas/ requests.An example of Experimmental Jetset’s Modernist approach to design can be seen in their exhibition designs for “Space Embodied” and “Game Theory Beijing” in which a grid is explicitly placed on the floor within the exhibition space, delegating order and control over the visiting public. In the general sense much of their design adheres to other modernists tendencies such as the prevalence of the colour white and negative space their designs. Of course it must be noted that Experimental Jetset’s work contains careful attention to vernacular world, for example, in their branding of the Whitney museum they set out instructions for visual identity that are simple, yet quite exact. They describe this process as the development of a “graphic ‘toolbox’, for the Whitney’s in-house design team to work with.” The idea that “a simple geometric shape …can absorb different meanings” is shared between Bayer’s work and Experimental Jetset, both are looking to “shift the way people think”.26 The key difference between the two is their perspective in time. The latter’s description of how they “scavenge the ruins of modernism”26, in the hope to “stumble across something of value”26 is in my opinion will a purposefully naive way to describe what their work, as a sort of defense mechanism to mask their understandable seduction by the scientific reasoning and values that behold the mythological modernist utopia. Ornamentation in type design was finally banished the international movements poster boy, Helvetica, which is in my opinion devoid of personality, in other words it com-

began to look very much the same. Emphasis on clarity was a form of social emancipation and the elimination of the “Papuan” was In hindsight the original philosophies of the early modernist became distorted through dialectics, and the radical ideas became the norm. Within the international style the desire for social change and revolution subsided. Following the revolt of Post Modernism, society and design can be seen to be is slowly reverting back towards modernist tendencies. Understandably people crave order and explanation, it is obviously very seductive; Especially so in our growing secular society. Modernist theories are beginning to be re-applied both to architecture and graphic design, influencing and controlling society. Sociologist Mike Grimshaw describes this as “Soft Modernism” he argues that this new form of design is the synthesis of Modernism and Post Modernism. He believed that the modernist designers of today are no longer looking to achieve revolution or change but that they are fetishising modernism of the twentieth century , even though they know that it failed and is impractical. This approach to design can be partially seen being implemented in the design studio Experimental Jetset; Whom describe themselves as Modern in that they believe in the philosophies of Modernism and are therefore in my opinion, quite willingly trapped within the final evolution of the visual style of Modernism, the Interrnational Style. This has come about as a result in what they describe as “a neurotic desire to control even the smallest details”. The controlling nature and obsession with perfection has lead to Experimental Jetset restricting their style work to such an extent that they refuse adjust it to suit varying consumers to the same level of flexibility as is usually expected of a contemporary studio. In the same way Bayer’s Universal com-

archetype

municates nothing bar a clear emphasis on clarity and neutrality. Whether my opinion is as a result of the actual optical qualities of Helvetica or whether it is simply a result of the fact that Helvetica has been so widely used to communicate such vast variety of subjects that it has lost all personality, is irrelevant. When one experiences something as often as our eyes read type set in Helvetica, the experience becomes numbed and therbecomes a point at which the consumer is left totally numb and unresponsive to the experience. Helvetica became a “crystal clear glass” for the presentation of ideas, it added nothing nor subtracted from text; This is social emancipation as a result of the destruction of the individual. It is the final evolution of Modernist type, reduced to the lowest level of meaning, completely transparent and honest; giving nothing and adding nothing to the text. Herbert Bayer wrote, “freedom …has been responsible for so many mistakes. Geometry, however, gives us the most exact forms.” The design of Helvetica acknowledges the efforts of the modernist sans serif’s strict geometry. Yet importantly it is separated from the decorative machine age through its subtle variations in the curves that make up the letter forms, an example includes the leg of the capitol “R”. In addition to this there is the horizontally cut terminals, which attempt to guide the readers eye across the page. Helvetica is “the conclusion of one line of reasoning”. This “line of reasoning”23 is the belief that clarity and ease of reading is paramount in type design. Its extreme popularity amongst designers derives from its ability to look timeless, many designers believe that there cannot be a more legible typeface, I’d argue the more we look and see Helvetica the more we become accustomed to it and hence its legibility and solidarity is increased. Here is the achievement of the utopian idea of social emancipation through

a “dull blanket of sameness”. The international movement provided equal opportunity for individual expression, in the sense that it prevented any opportunity for individual expression. From the point of view of a post world war the control, order and absolutism of the modernist philosophy is understandable and forgivable. Post world war two modernism acted to preserve and conserve society, as apposed to the revolutionary antithesis it had been previously. It was the definitive scientific position modernism took that turned what was a progressive dream into a moderated nightmare. Following the second world war, the Modernists pushed even more the ideas of consistent order, control the removal/ reduction and the clarification of design to its core essential elements. It was thought that through banal design, that ideas of nationalism and individualism could be eradicated and future wars prevented. Rick Poyer makes the observation that “there was a real sense of social responsibility amongst designers”, “a real feeling of idealism…that designs part of that need to rebuild, to reconstruct, to make things more open, make them run more smoothly, be more democratic.”17 The scientific approach to design was widely implemented; With compositions relying upon theories such as asymmetry, the rule of thirds and Archimedes spiral to provide visual interest and tension. Early modernist ideas and visual methods of the early modernists spread and evolved into what was at the time the logical next stage of progression, the International Style. It was an approach to design that was free from nationalistic traits and held qualities such as legibility and clarity in the highest regard. The visual elements that made up design where homogenized and much of design began to look very much the same. Emphasis on clarity was a form of social emancipation and the elimination of the “Papuan” was

the debate

post world war the control, order and absolutism of the modernist philosophy is understandable and forgivable. Post world war two modernism acted to preserve and conserve society, as apposed to the revolutionary antithesis it had been previously. It was the definitive scientific position modernism took that turned what was a progressive dream into a moderated nightmare. Following the second world war, the Modernists pushed even more the ideas of consistent order, control the removal/ reduction and the clarification of design to its core essential elements. It was thought that through banal design, that ideas of nationalism and individualism could be eradicated and future wars prevented. Rick Poyer makes the observation that “there was a

which attempt to guide the readers eye across the page. Helvetica is “the conclusion of one line of reasoning”. This “line of reasoning”23 is the belief that clarity and ease of reading is paramount in type design. Its extreme popularity amongst designers derives from its ability to look timeless, many designers believe that there cannot be a more legible typeface, I’d argue the more we look and see Helvetica the more we become accustomed to it and hence its legibility and solidarity is increased. Here is the achievement of the utopian idea of social emancipation through a “dull blanket of sameness”. The international movement provided equal opportunity for individual expression, in the sense that it prevented any opportunity for individual expression. From the point of view of a

archetype

In hindsight the original philosophies of the early modernist became distorted through dialectics, and the radical ideas became the norm. Within the international style the desire for social change and revolution subsided. Following the revolt of Post Modernism, society and design can be seen to be is slowly reverting back towards modernist tendencies. Understandably people crave order and explanation, it is obviously very seductive; Especially so in our growing secular society. Modernist theories are beginning to be re-applied both to architecture and graphic design, influencing and controlling society. Sociologist Mike Grimshaw describes this as “Soft Modernism” he argues that this new form of design is the synthesis of Modernism and Post Modernism. He believed that the modernist designers of today are no longer looking to achieve revolution or change but that they are fetishising modernism of the twentieth century , even though they know that it failed and is impractical. This approach to design can be partially seen being implemented in the design studio Experimental Jetset; Whom describe themselves as Modern in that they believe in the philosophies of Modernism and are therefore in my opinion, quite willingly trapped within the final evolution of the visual style of Modernism, the Interrnational Style. This has come about as a result in what they describe as “a neurotic desire to control even the smallest details”. The controlling nature and obsession with perfection has lead to Experimental Jetset restricting their style work to such an extent that they refuse adjust it to suit varying consumers to the same level of flexibility as is usually expected of a contemporary studio. In the same way Bayer’s Universal communicated the ideas of the machine age, Experimental Jetset’s visual style, acts as a typeface does in presenting the philosophies. In this case, ideas connected to

Modernism and the International movement in addition to the clients original ideas/ requests.An example of Experimmental Jetset’s Modernist approach to design can be seen in their exhibition designs for “Space Embodied” and “Game Theory Beijing” in which a grid is explicitly placed on the floor within the exhibition space, delegating order and control over the visiting public. In the general sense much of their design adheres to other modernists tendencies such as the prevalence of the colour white and negative space their designs. Of course it must be noted that Experimental Jetset’s work contains careful attention to vernacular world, for example, in their branding of the Whitney museum they set out instructions for visual identity that are simple, yet quite exact. They describe this process as the development of a “graphic ‘toolbox’, for the Whitney’s in-house design team to work with.” The idea that “a simple geometric shape …can absorb different meanings” is shared between Bayer’s work and Experimental Jetset, both are looking to “shift the way people think”.26 The key difference between the two is their perspective in time. The latter’s description of how they “scavenge the ruins of modernism”26, in the hope to “stumble across something of value”26 is in my opinion will a purposefully naive way to describe what their work, as a sort of defense mechanism to mask their understandable seduction by the scientific reasoning and values that behold the mythological modernist utopia. Modernist approach to design can be seen in their exhibition designs for “Space Embodied” and “Game Theory Beijing” in which a grid is explicitly placed on the floor within the exhibition space, delegating order and control over the visiting public. In the general sense much of their design adheres to other modernists tendencies such as the

the swiss style

archetype

prevalence of the colour white and negative space their designs. Of course it must be noted that Experimental Jetset’s work contains careful attention to vernacular world, for example, in their branding of the Whitney museum they set out instructions for visual identity that are simple, yet quite exact. They describe this process as the development of a “graphic ‘toolbox’, for the Whitney’s in-house design team to work with.” The idea that “a simple geometric shape …can absorb different meanings” is shared between Bayer’s work and Experimental Jetset, both are looking to “shift the way people think”.26 The key difference between the two is their perspective in time. The latter’s description of how they “scavenge the ruins of modernism”26, in the hope to “stumble across something of value”26 is in my opinion will a purposefully naive way to describe what their work, as a sort of defense mechanism to mask their understandable seduction by the Ornamentation in type design was finally banished the international movements poster boy, Helvetica, which is in my opinion devoid of personality, in other words it communicates nothing bar a clear emphasis on clarity and neutrality. Whether my opinion is as a result of the actual optical qualities of Helvetica or whether it is simply a result of the fact that Helvetica has been so widely used to communicate such vast variety of subjects that it has lost all personality, is irrelevant. When one experiences something as often as our eyes read type set in Helvetica, the experience becomes numbed and there becomes a point at which the consumer is left totally numb and unresponsive to the experience. Helvetica became a “crystal clear glass” for the presentation of ideas, it added nothing nor subtracted from text; This is social emancipation as a result of the destruction of the individual. It is the final evolution of Modernist type, reduced to the lowest level of meaning, completely

transparent and honest; giving nothing and adding nothing to the text. Herbert Bayer wrote, “freedom …has been responsible for so many mistakes. Geometry, however, gives us the most exact forms.” The design of Helvetica acknowledges the efforts of the modernist sans serif’s strict geometry. Yet importantly it is separated from the decorative machine age through its subtle variations in the curves that make up the letter forms, an example includes the leg of the capitol “R”. In addition to this there is the horizontally cut terminals, which attempt to guide the readers eye across the page. Helvetica is “the conclusion of one line of reasoning”. This “line of reasoning”23 is the belief that clarity and ease of reading is paramount in type design. Its extreme popularity amongst designers derives from its ability to look timeless, many designers believe that there cannot be a more legible typeface, I’d argue the more we look and see Helvetica the more we become accustomed to it and hence its legibility and solidarity is increased. Here is the achievement of the utopian idea of social emancipation through a “dull blanket of sameness”. The international movement provided equal opportunity for individual expression, in the sense that it prevented any opportunity for individual expression. From the point of view of a post world war the control, order and absolutism of the modernist philosophy is understandable and forgivable. Post world war two modernism acted to preserve and conserve society, as apposed to the revolutionary antithesis it had been previously. It was the definitive scientific position modernism took that turned what was a progressive dream into a moderated nightmare. Following the second world war, the Modernists pushed even more the ideas of consistent order, control the removal/ reduction and the clarification of design to its core essential elements. It was thought that through banal design, that ideas of

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PART 2

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JAN-

TOORN

VAN

WIM CROWEL

the debate

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the was in 1972 the two graphic wim jan here is the of the

the debate

debate conducted between dutch designers crowel van toorn following transcript debate

archetype

the debate

jan van toorn

My first remark is a generalizing one. When as a designer you respond to a topical social or cultural pattern, this may give rise to, first, an analytical approach, in order to arrive at an objective participation in a process of communication; this is an approach, in my view, of lasting value and longevity. And, second, it may give rise to a spontaneous approach that strongly appeals to current opinion and therefore has powerful communicative effects But I believe this is a short-lived communication. In my opinion, these are the two things that move us. and I would like to clarify them. Designer A, who favors the analytical approach to arrive at a maximally objective message, will be inclined to make use of solidly tested means only and will not be easily tempted to experiment for the sake of novelty. For this reason, he is also likely to end up in a place that is sometimes characterized as rather dry. By contrast, Designer B is more likely to make use of trendy means, and he will not reject experiments in order to arrive at new results. Further, Designer A will be inclined to position himself professionally, without surrendering his sense of responsibility vis-a-vis society, and therefore he will refrain from engaging in specialties that are not his. Through his specific work, he will provide a contribution to the problem articulated. I think that Designer B, based on his large sense of responsibility towards society, will tend to become so absorbed by the problem posed that he enters into specialties that are not his. He runs the risk of wasting his expertise by resorting to an amateurish contribution to the problem at hand. Our colleagues know which side Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m on, for I believe that as a designer I must never stand between the message and its recipient. Instead, I try to present the issue as neutrally as possible.

I think that as a specialization graphic design, just like other forms of design, has begun to fall short under the pressure of industrial developments in our society and all their various consequences. The designer falls short not only because through his use of form he programs rather than informs, but also because he no longer questions his goal and responsibilty. His design influences and conditions users, rather than supporting its content. I start from more or less the same two types of designers as Wim. But what you call the analytical designer, I call the technologist-designer, because he works with methods derived from technology and science. The analytical strand, of which you are a characteristic exponent, is determined by a technological-organizational attitude. I do not believe that a designer can adopt, as you put it, the position of neutral intermediary. The acts you perform take place through you, and you are a subjective link. But you deny this subjectivity, meaning: you view your occupation as a purely neutral one. Wim says that he uses a particular graphic means as a neutral thing, but in my view it is always used subjectively. Its use, after all, has social meaning. It hasa social goal and that is why it is subjective. It is there that your influence lies, be it your personal influence or your influence as a group. It all depends on how you use your means. Those in graphic design, just like people in other specialties, are inclined not only to exaggerate their own value, but also to start seeing their dealings and their means as a goal in itself, thus losing sight of the actual goal. This is why I once again looked up what you wrote in the 1961 Christmas issue.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The first thing you say there about design is that form is determined by content. But in the remainder of this short article Ido not read a single

wim crowel

archetype

jan van toorn

word on the relation between content and form, yet there is an awful lot about formal options, techniques, and technology, so about means in general. But today, I feel, the relationship between form and content is in fact highly relevant. It is perhaps more so than in 1961, for it comes with a responsibility. And maybe we should be adventurous in facing the challenge, without perhaps sufficiently knowing the means we have at our disposal.

the debate

jan van toorn

In this predicament a particular technology may offer a solution, if you apply it well. To apply technology well, I once made a proposal for a new basic alphabet. And this implied larger freedom for the designer than before, when alphabets were forced upon us and handed down to us from the Renaissance, the baroque, and neoclassicism. To be sure, the designer has freedom, but it also comes with certain formal restrictions. Formal restrictions can be stretched according to your needs. So when I show admiration for technology, this does not automatically lead to technological work. I would like to cite a recent statement by Jan, from the newspaper: The function of a graphic designer is to convey information. This should happen in a way that makes it possible for the reader or viewer to arrive at a view of his own, rather than imposing the mind-set of the messenger.” When Jan says that design is a subjective activity, he adopts-as a designer-the role of intermediary. I’m afraid, however, to adopt such a subjective role, and rather try to take an objective stance. At first glance, Jan van Toorn, as he put it in the newspaper quote, views the designer as a coordinator who. without defining views of his own, merely provides assistance in realizing some commun ication of information. But this is not the case with Jan, because he does not operate without taking a position in between sender and receiver. Jan quite consciously participates subjectively in that process.

Let us first briefly talk about this subjectivity. In my view, there are two important issues. To convey content does not mean that the design itself does not represent particular values. Any design has a certain content, an emotional value. It has specific features. It has a clear goal. You have to convey something to somebody. Perhaps a political conviction, perhaps only a report on a meeting. Any design is addressed to someone. The double duty of the messenger, the designer, is to convey the content without interfering with it. On the otherhand, there is the designer’s inescapable input and subjectivity. You cannot deny this dialectic, and you should rather see it as an advantage. You are afraid of it, and you used the word “fear.” You do not want to inflict harm onto either the content or the identity [of the message], which is why you always design in the same way-this, at least, is what I think your work will show over a longer period. By giving the same design response in all situations, you produce work of great uniformity, in which any sense of identity is lost. In my opinion, however, identity is a most essential feature of all human contact, including the communication of any kind of message.

wim crowel

archetype

wim crowel

jan van toorn

I agree with you when you say that you can never step outside of yourself. As the designer of the message, you stand in between the sender and the receiver. And when I claim to be afraid to put myself in between them, that is because I feel it’s never productive for me to add a vision of my own on top of it. I believe you can separate the two. When a designer works for a political party or wants to promote his own political convictions, he goes at it in a very subjective way, because he then chooses a perspective. He will shape this perspective through his own personal input in order to get his point across as optimally as possible. This implies that a designer should only do work that he can fully agree with. Well, it is impossible for me to concur with that position. In particular with regard to work involving a political dimension, I say: “It’s okay to do it subjectively.” But then you run the risk of ending up with a rather narrow range of assignments. When you take a position like mine, I say: “Guys, I do not want to contribute to what the man says, because I want to be able to offer my services as a designer in a wider area.” After all, when as a designer I adopt a subjective position and I’m constantly aware of it, this is automatically visible in my designs. However, this is possible in specific cases only, and not in a very broad area, or you risk lapsing into that amateurism I mentioned previously, something I do not believe in. At the time I had an extensive conversation with Rene• about a program aimed at doing something about educational materials for developing countries. In this context, one designer felt motivated to immerse himself completely in the problem of educational materials, and subsequently he began to design based on that knowledge. My response would be: Come on, boys, stop it! You go too far as a designer. This is something you really shouldn’t do,because in this instance you’d better engage an educational specialist to supply the specific know-how. You are the designer, and you shouldn’t come anywhere near that specific know-how. Instead, based on your knowhow, you start tackling the problem from your professional attitude and approach, after

First let me address your specialties and the reference to the New Objectivity. A specialist attitude such as yours, whereby you get in touch with other disciplines but do not want to immerse yourself in their backgrounds and expect to be briefed, produces a proxy. You create a disconnect, whereas there are in fact connections. Moreover, general human experience, which can’t be reduced to a single operational denominator, spans more territory than that covered by the rational disciplines. Still it is quite possible to approach, to come nearer to such a human dimension, and this is something you ignore. The designer should approach his vocation from the angle of the artist and the origin of his metier, and from an industrial-technological angle. For me, however, it is not relevant at all to articulate the different methods and their corresponding means. It is about one’s attitude regarding social relations. This is what should be center stage, but you see it only once in a while. You impose your design on others and level everything. You were at the forefront, and now our country is inundated by waves of trademarks and house styles and everything looks the same. Yet there are challengers as well, and they come from designers who take a much more sensitive approach. To me, your approach is not relevant, and in my view you should not propagate it as the only possible solution for a number of communication problems, because it’s not true. What your approach does is basically confirm existing patterns. This is not serving communication it is conditioning human behavior.

the debate

wim crowel you’ve been given a thorough briefing. And this is the part someone else should stay away from, because this is your territory. Of course there has to be an ongoing conversation, unquestionably, but I strongly believe in specialties. I fear, then, that for instance standard typography, meaning book typography, cannot be done by someone who adopts such a subjective stance, for a book, any book, will never become a better one just through its typography. Never ever. Even the admirable achievement of the Nieuwe Zakelijkheid,’ a typography that follows the text closely and emphasizes it, is way too subjective to my taste already. I find it altogether wrong. But let me not exaggerate the word “subjective.” The subjective designer has a much more limited scope of work, and he’d better accept it. His talents will never be done full justice while there is a demand for designers in many more domains.

archetype

the debate

wim crowel

jan van toorn

I think you’re right on many points, and it would sadden me if a designer’s contribution came across as a pulp of uniform corporate identity programs. When you work on a company’s or organization’s identity, the package of demands you analyze proves to be the same in most cases. I translate “responding subjectively to it” as: “when I am cheerful, I respond in yellow, and when I am dejected I respond in blue.” Frankly, I don’t believe in it. After all, the communication of many businesses and organizations and the information on which you collaborate tend to be quite similar, and it is not necessary to disguise this fact or to put a gloss on it. Subjective design leads to results that in my view seem just as overblown or that are even uniform as well, except that they are uniform in the short run compared to the things that also come across as uniform in the long run. The latest Spruijt calendar by Van Toorn is as pretentious as a piece of so-called good design,’ or as a clean piece of design.

A client’s package of demands is rational, and you can sum it up straightforwardly in a list of points. But how identity is determined is not the same every time, nor are you a neutral intermediary. Several weeks ago I read an article by Brecht’ about the epic theater. He writes about being an actor. You’re standing there, and still you’re playing a role. You shouldn’t want to deny this ambiguity. Engage with it! It will not truly function until you manage to find the right balance. I suspect that you need to train yourself in it, but in my view you should not try to evade it. My calendar for Spruijt is an experiment and a thing to look at, not a thing to read. It does have order, yet it is order with a twist to it. You continue to feel that something’s happening. And with a calendar that is fine, while in the case of typography you might not do it. In typography you will perhaps be more cautious to break rules because there are so many of them. But in fine art, experiments have been done for centuries, and perhaps we should pick up more from that tradition and use more from it.

archetype

the debate

wim crowel

jan van toorn

I have great affection for the artist, but at the same time I do not claim to be one-I do not have as much freedom as an artist. Many designers are living with the dilemma of wanting to be a visual artist rather than a good graphic designer. Let me go back to that calendar and your issue of identity. You state that it is possible to list everything neatly in the package of demands and clarify it a ll, butthat identity cannot be made intelligible. But scientists in psychology and philosophy are looking for it; they in fact try to quantify identity, so that it becomes comprehensible. The same is true in aesthetics, which is perhaps one step further along. Notably Max Benseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; isquite far already in developing quantification methods for all elements of aesthetics, so that these things can be applied better and in a more goal-oriented fashion. Your calendar, Jan, your story about it is fine. But that calendar is not a vehicle for selling your story, or is it? That cannot be the motivation for making a calendar, can it? You would be better off publishing it in a book. In my view it is nonsense to use a calendar as a vehicle for such stories, even when they interest you and many others, myself included. I consider a calendaran object in which you can express time as an elementan object such as a clock.

Grids are highly effective for conveying a message, but that is merely a starting point. You should not promote their use as the only way of design, or the only solution for arriving at great communication for the future.

archetype

the debate

jan van toorn

You say that I promote grids as the one true t hing. I say that graphic design consists of a process of ordering for the benefit of the clarity and transparency of information. This needs to be founded on particular principles, because clarity and transparency on their own do not lead to quality information. There has to be an underlying principle as well. My basic principles may have been characterized at times as subjective, but to me they are objective. When I depart from modular structures, then this is an underlying principle to me. These structures can be simple, but they can be extremely complex. And I believe that design-not just graphic design, but also spatial design, architecture, and industrial design benefits from a cellular approach, from a highly structural approach. Typography, for instance, is a preeminent example of such a process of ordering. Every form or shape in typography that wants to be more is one form too many. As a typographer you merely arrange information clearly so as to convey it in an easily readable way. That a clear arrangement may lead to incredible monotony is not at issue here; what matters is that you order things according to a specific point of view, from a basic prrnciple. This is what determines form, and such form might well lead to a style as well. In my view, typography does not have to be determined by trad ition and history at a ll. It is time. I believe, that we throw overboard a ll those dos a nd don’ts that have kept typography in a straightjacket for so long. When as an alternative I advocate my structural approach, my cellular approach, which culminates in the use of grids for typography or spatial grids for archi· tecture, I really have a different idea in mind.

By traditional form I mean what you refer to as something determined by tradition. It does not so much pertain to style, but to our way of reading, the way of reading we have grown accustomed to. It does not just emerge out of the blue, but has a history. It is a case of historically determined human behavior. And you can· not simply act as if it doesn’t exist. Working with grids, it seems to me, is a tremendous refinement of our tools, but it is not essential and only of inter est to fellow professionals. We saw where systematic ordering ad absurdum leads us in the protests against the closing of the Hochschule in Ulm:’ banners with perfectly clean typography. But in this way of protesting you do not see any identification with those you address, and this is a crucial problem for which a designer has to find a solution.

wim crowel

archetype

the debate

wim crowel

jan van toorn

Jan, I donâ&#x20AC;?t believe in that at all. The lively concern of these people and their involvement-their angehauchtheit, as they call it in Germany-is equal to that of people who protest in more amateurish ways. Look at Pans â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;68! 1 The posters they made there are all obvious cases of amateurism; not a single one of them has any value. Not one of them is a good piece of design that really tries to convey an idea. It is a ll clumsy work that comes across a sweet, pleasant, full of feeling, but not as tough. Good designers could have conveyed the content much more strongly and this could have brought the movement more success.

Why then did those designers fail to contribute? Because they are incapable of giving adequate answers. So all that remains is amateurism. The people in our profession have no answers.

archetype

the debate

wim crowel

jan van toorn

Jan, before the break let’s briefly return to the typography in the catalogs we make for museums. I have always taken the view that these catalogs should have a kind of magazine format, because they need to tell the museum’s story, rather than that of the artist. For this reason, they should be recognizable in their design as coming from an institution that takes a specific stance vis-a-vis contemporary art. This has led to catalogs of which people said: “We can’t recognize the artist in it.” But the artist was present in the reproductions, and I have nothing to add to his story. The artist’s own story, when conveyed clearly and in a readable fashion by means of wellplaced illustrations according to a certain principle. should be so powerful that he is always stronger than me. What I add to it is at most the specific objective of the museum involved. In your catalogs for the Van Abbemuseum I recognize first and foremost the voice of Jan van Toorn, while that of the artist becomes perceptible only ifI put in some more effort. As “pieces of art”’ these are great contributions to what is currently possible in free typography, but they are outright unreadable. I simply get stuck.

At the Van Abbemuseum we wanted to do things differently. Our museum was not something that needed to be sold; at stake was a program made by people and also one that evolves. This policy, which is discernible in its exhibitions and activities, had to be center stage, not the institution. Through their activities and connections. the staff determines the museum’s identity. And this does not take place while I sit at home thinking up designs. Usually we [the director and I] have a conversation. if possible with artists joining in-a joint discussion in which I am not told how I should do something, but in which we look at the historical considerations that should be in the catalog. It is a matter of seeking an identity collectively, a concern I then try to respond to, using the tools of my profession.

archetype

the debate

wim crowel

jan van toorn

Recently I had an interesting experience in the context of the catalog for Jan Dibbets. As a conceptual artist he conveys a number of incredibly clear thoughts through his work. I am deeply impressed by it, and therefore I love working on such catalogs. And when you love the work so dearly, you feel inclined to add your own story. But that. story is in fact my story, my testimony of this affection. Well, Jan Dibbets immediately rapped me on the knuckles. He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Just listen to me, boy, you are standing in between me and the public here. Would you please refrain from doing that. Please, position that line straight again.â&#x20AC;? This confirmed, I felt, what I usually in fact try to do in my work. Dibbets tells his story. He gives me the briefing and I am the one who, as typographer, as designer, takes a service-oriented stance in trying to translate his story to the public. For this is something Jan Dibbets himself cannot do.

True, he cannot do that, but he does have thoughts about it. I also designed an exhibition for Dibbets. We sat together with a group of people, and he told us what activities he planned to organize in the museum. He has clear views about it, and it is then up to me to find a stance or attitude. Just as the museum had to try and answer questions or find a spot in the museum where Jan could operate. The same applies to me, for the activities involved are part of a collective endeavor rather than just my own. At one point these culminate not in all sorts of separate pieces but in something that results from a shared mind-set.

archetype

etabed eht the debate

wim crowel

jan van toorn

Human beings are able to recognize themselves better in typography that relies on very simple, transparent principles that define the matter clearly, without veilingor obscuring it, rather than on the basis of Janâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much more subjective story. This is why I believe that what Jan claims to do is not in fact what he does.

Dibbets has been very preoccupied with th at catalog indeed. That has never been an issue of contention between us. On the contrary. Other artists tell me as well that they think my posters are great and that they recognize their own mind-set in them. It is not a matter of whether you feel closer to your workâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recipient or not. What matters is the question: What has to be done? What kind of function does your work have? Which factors determine contact between people? Can we learn more about that? After all, human beings have been conditioned in part.

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seduced by typography

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of progression, the International Style. It was an approach to design that was free from nationalistic traits and held qualities such as legibility and clarity in the highest regard. The visual elements that made up design where homogenised and much of design began to look very much the same. Emphasis on clarity was a form of social emancipation and the elimination of the “Papuan” was achieved. In hindsight the original philosophies of the early modernist became distorted through dialectics, and the radical ideas became the norm. Within the international style the desire for social change and revolution subsided. Following the revolt of Post Modernism, society and design can be seen to be is slowly reverting back towards modernist tendencies. Understandably people crave order and explanation, it is obviously very seductive; Especially so in our growing secular society. Modernist theories are beginning to be re-applied both to architecture and graphic design, influencing and controlling society. Sociologist Mike Grimshaw describes this as “Soft Modernism” he argues that this new form of design is the synthesis of Modernism and Post Modernism. He believed that the modernist designers of today are no longer looking to achieve revolution or change but that they are fetishising modernism of the twentieth century , even though they know that it failed and is impractical. This approach to design can be partially seen being implemented in the design studio Experimental Jetset; Whom describe themselves as Modern in that they believe in the philosophies of Modernism and are therefore in my opinion, quite willingly trapped within the final evolution of the visual style of Modernism, the Interrnational Style. This has come about as a result in what they describe as “a neurotic desire to control even the smallest details”. The controlling nature and obsession with perfection has

Belief that clarity and ease of reading is paramount in type design. Its extreme popularity amongst designers derives from its ability to look timeless, many designers believe that there cannot be a more legible typeface, I’d argue the more we look and see Helvetica the more we become accustomed to it and hence its legibility and solidarity is increased. Here is the achievement of theutopian idea of social emancipation through a “dull blanket of sameness”. The international movement provided equal opportunity for individual expression, in the sense that it prevented any opportunity for individual expression. From the point of view of a post world war the control, order and absolutism of the modernist philosophy is understandable and forgivable. Post world war two modernism acted to preserve and conserve society, as apposed to the revolutionary antithesis it had been previously. It was the definitive scientific position modernism took that turned what was a progressive dream into a moderated nightmare. Following the second world war, the Modernists pushed even more the ideas of consistent order, control the removal/reduction and the clarification of design to its core essential elements. It was thought that through banal design, that ideas of nationalism and individualism could be eradicated and future wars prevented. Rick Poyer makes the observation that “there was a real sense of social responsibility amongst designers”, “a real feeling of idealism…that designs part of that need to rebuild, to reconstruct, to make things more open, make them run more smoothly, be more democratic.”17 The scientific approach to design was widely implemented; With compositions relying upon theories such as asymmetry, the rule of thirds and Archimedes spiral to provide visual interest and tension. Early modernist ideas and visual methods of the early modernists spread and evolved into what was at the time the logical next stage

THE W 92

“SHIFT

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WAY..... experimental jetset

lead to Experimental Jetset restricting their style work to such an extent that they refuse adjust it to suit varying consumers to the same level of flexibility as is usually expected of a contemporary studio. In the same way Bayer’s Universal communicated the ideas of the machine age, Experimental Jetset’s visual style, acts as a typeface does in presenting the philosophies. In this case, ideas connected to Modernism and the International movement in addition to the clients original ideas/ requests. An example of Experimental Jetset’sModernist approach to design can be seen in their exhibition designs for “Space Embodied” and “Game Theory Beijing” in which a grid is explicitly placed on the floor within the exhibition space, delegating order and control over the visiting public. In the general sense much of their design adheres to other modernists tendencies such as the prevalence of the colour white and negative space their designs. Of course it must be noted that Experimental Jetset’s work contains careful attention to vernacular world, for example, in their branding of the Whitney museum they set out instructions for visual identity that are simple, yet quite exact. They describe this process as the development of a “graphic ‘toolbox’, for the Whitney’s in-house design team to work with.” The idea that “a simple geometric shape …can absorb different meanings” is shared between Bayer’s work and Experimental Jetset, both are looking to “shift the way people think”.26 The key difference between the two is their perspective in time. The latter’s description of how they “scavenge the ruins of modernism”26, in the hope to “stumble across something of value”26 is in my opinion will a purposefully naive way to describe what their work, as a sort of defense mechanism to mask their understandable seduction by the scientific reasoning and values that behold the mythological modernist utopia.

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studio feixen

was familiar with, and the posters of today is the driving force behind the designers in action, designers such as Crowell believed that personal expression was a selfish indulgence on behalf of the designers, where as with the likes of studio feign and Jan Van Torn, expression through graph design is probably more of a social responsibility that they must adhere to, throughout their career; in a similar manner in which Bayer sought to be be socially emancipatory through his typeface designs. “Studio feixen is a swiss based design company that creates good looking stuff to make the world a better place” this is the backbone statement on which studio feign has built itself upon, and you can see this evident in their design, which is in a way a chronology of the latest trends in typographically fueled graphic design over the last 15 years. this constant experimentation through typography has projected them into the unknown future of graphic design. The difference of approach to graphic design today versus the past can be summed up by the following statement by Susan Sontag, Studio feixen are quite clearly, through their obscure designs, creating posters that function more as means for visual stimulus upon our streets rather than to communicate a date/time/product/event etc. Experimental Jetset likewise are producing works that are more a piece of art than a informative piece of print; the illusion that they project is that they are driven by a desire for legibility and clarity, yet in reality they are attempting to “constantly underline the physical qualities of graphic design.” This explains the modernist skin they apply to their works, carrying with it the modernist ideas and philosophies entailed in the aesthetic. Regardless of whether or not one leans more towards more impulsively driven design, or a more controlled reserved aesthetic is irrelevant to the progression of graphic design into the rest of the 21st century, what matters is that all frames of thought and approaches to design; are

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The way that many contemporary designers today approach the medium of print has changed drastically since the mid 21st century. The implementation of sans serif typography is still very popular yet the rigorous and strictly rule based approach to design is less prevalent. Designers such as Felix Pfäffli, Raphael Leutenegger and Daniel Peter whom make up the trio that is Studio Feixen have used the poster as their main form of visual expression since their foundation. The posters they produce are mainly illustrative, and include a large amount of cgi (computer generated images) paired with expressive fashionable typography, for which, the sans serif typography pioneered by designers of the early modernist movements is used as a starting point. What is interesting about studios like studio feixen is that their work is very much driven by they tools they use. Just like the likes of Herbert Bayer, their creativity is brought to life by the removal of limits that new technology provides; this is a young studios that has a lot of potential, and so you don’t want to limit that potential through the strict adherence of typographic rules. What you do see is a strict adoration to typography as a means for expression, like Experimental Jetset, studio feign is using typography and the manner in which they treat it to bring life to an idea, unlike Experimental Jetset they are using a vast array of fonts to create their work, and in many cases creating once off lettering designs that are more intuitive than calculated. In UI/UX design the attitude that late modernist designers took to print is perhaps more relevant, yet as Muller Brockton predicted in 1971, “it cannot be seen whether, or for how long, the poster will have a future…”, this was in light of predictions around technological advancements and the general recession of print as a primary material for communications. What differs greatly about modernist posters of the 21st contrary that Brockton

“THE P E”

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statement on which studio feign has built itself upon, and you can see this evident in their design, which is in a way a chronology of the latest trends in typographically fueled graphic design over the last 15 years. this constant experimentation through typography has projected them into the unknown future of graphic design. The difference of approach to graphic design today versus the past can be summed up by the following statement by Susan Sontag, Studio feixen are quite clearly, through their obscure designs, creating posters that function more as means for visual stimulus upon our streets rather than to communicate a date/time/product/event etc. Experimental Jetset likewise are producing works that are more a piece of art than a informative piece of print; the illusion that they project is that they are driven by a desire for legibility and clarity, yet in reality they are attempting to “constantly underline the physical qualities of graphic design.” This explains the modernist skin they apply to their works, carrying with it the modernist ideas and philosophies entailed in the aesthetic. Regardless of whether or not one leans more towards more impulsively driven design, or a more controlled reserved aesthetic is irrelevant to the progression of graphic design into the rest of the 21st century, what matters is that all frames of thought and approaches to design; are entertained and nurtured, so as to ensure a more pluralistic society. The way that many contemporary designers today approach the medium of print has changed drastically since the mid 21st century. The implementation of sans serif typography is still very popular yet the rigorous and strictly rule based approach to design is less prevalent. Designers such as Felix Pfäffli, Raphael Leutenegger and Daniel Peter whom make up the trio that is Studio Feixen have used the poster as their main form of visual expression since their foundation. The posters they produce are mainly illustrative, and include

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entertained and nurtured, so as to ensure a more pluralistic society. The way that many contemporary designers today approach the medium of What is interesting about studios like studio feixen is that their work is very much driven by they tools they use. Just like the likes of Herbert Bayer, their creativity is brought to life by the removal of limits that new technology provides; this is a young studios that has a lot of potential, and so you don’t want to limit that potential through the strict adherence of typographic rules. What you do see is a strict adoration to typography as a means for expression, like Experimental Jetset, studio feign is using typography and the manner in which they treat it to bring life to an idea, unlike Experimental Jetset they are using a vast array of fonts to create their work, and in many cases creating once off lettering designs that are more intuitive than calculated. In UI/UX design the attitude that late modernist designers took to print is perhaps more relevant, yet as Muller Brockton predicted in 1971, “it cannot be seen whether, or for how long, the poster will have a future…”, this was in light of predictions around technological advancements and the general recession of print as a primary material for communications. What differs greatly about modernist posters of the 21st contrary that Brockton was familiar with, and the posters of today is the driving force behind the designers in action, designers such as Crowell believed that personal expression was a selfish indulgence on behalf of the designers, where as with the likes of studio feign and Jan Van Torn, expression through graph design is probably more of a social responsibility that they must adhere to, throughout their career; in a similar manner in which Bayer sought to be be socially emancipatory through his typeface designs. “Studio feixen is a swiss based design company that creates good looking stuff to make the world a better place” this is the backbone

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a large amount of cgi (computer generated images) paired with expressive fashionable typography, for which, the sans serif typography pioneered by designers of the early modernist movements is used as a starting point. What is interesting about studios like studio feixen is that their work is very much driven by they tools they use. Just like the likes of Herbert Bayer, their creativity is brought to life by the removal of limits that new technology provides; this is a young studios that has a lot of potential, and so you don’t want to limit that potential through the strict adherence of typographic rules. What you do see is a strict adoration to typography as a means for expression, like Experimental Jetset, studio feign is using typography and the manner in which they treat it to bring life to an idea, unlike Experimental Jetset they are using a vast array of fonts to create their work, and in many cases creating once off lettering designs that are more intuitive than calculated. In UI/UX design the attitude that late modernist designers took to print is perhaps more relevant, yet as Muller Brockton predicted in 1971, “it cannot be seen whether, or for how long, the poster will have a future…”, this was in light of predictions around technological advancements and the general recession of print as a primary material for communications. What differs greatly about modernist posters of the 21st contrary that Brockton was familiar with, and the posters of today is the driving force behind the designers in action, designers such as Crowell believed that personal expression was a selfish indulgence on behalf of the designers, where as with the likes of studio feign and Jan Van Torn, expression through graph design is probably more of a social responsibility that they must adhere to, throughout their career; in a similar manner in which Bayer sought to be be socially emancipatory through his typeface designs. “Studio feixen is a swiss based design company that

creates good looking stuff to make the world a better place” this is the backbone statement on which studio feign has built itself upon, and you can see this evident in their design, which is in a way a chronology of the latest trends in typographically fueled graphic design over the last 15 years. The way that many contemporary designers today approach the medium of print has changed drastically since the mid 21st century. The implementation of sans serif typography is still very popular yet the rigorous and strictly rule based approach to design is less prevalent. Designers such as Felix Pfäffli, Raphael Leutenegger and Daniel Peter whom make up the trio that is Studio Feixen have used the poster as their main form of visual expression since their foundation. The posters they produce are mainly illustrative, and include a large amount of cgi (computer generated images) paired with expressive fashionable typography, for which, the sans serif typography pioneered by designers of the early modernist movements is used as a starting point. What is interesting about studios like studio feixen is that their work is very much driven by they tools they use. Just like the likes of Herbert Bayer, their creativity is brought to life by the removal of limits that new technology provides; this is a young studios that has a lot of potential, and so you don’t want to limit that potential through the strict adherence of typographic rules.

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BIBLIO GRAPHY

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books Herbert Bayer & Ise Gropius & Walter Gropius, Bauhaus 19-1928, 14 West 49th Street, New York, The Museum Of Modern Art, 1938 Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor. Looking Closer 3. 10 East Street, New York, Ny 10010. Allworth Press, 1999 Lahuerta, Juan J, and Graham Thomson. On Loos, Ornament and Crime. , 2015. Helen Armstrong. Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field. 37 East Seventh Street New York, New York 10003. Princeton Architectural Press. Herbert Bayer On Typography .March 11, 2009 William R. Curtis, Modern Architecture Since 1900, Prentice Hall Humanities/SocialScience, page 28,1996. Ulrich Conrads. programs and manifestoes on 20th-century architecture. The MIT Press; Revised ed. edition. page 19. November 15, 1975 Experimental Jetset. Statement and Counter Statement. Roma Publications . 2015 Greenhalgh, Paul. Modernism in Design. London Reaktion, 1990

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director: Gary Hustwit, Helvetica, Jonathen Hoefler, 2007

www.experimentaljetset.nl

Design Indaba. conference talk. scavenging the ruins of modernism. posted 15 Dec 14 www.designindaba.com/videos/conference-talks/experimental-jetset-scavenging-ruinsmodernism

Mike Grimshaw. Soft Modernism The World of the Post-Theoretical Designer. 2004 www.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ctheory/ article/view/14544/5391 http://www.studiofeixen.ch/

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endnotes: 1 Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor. Looking Closer 3. 10 East Street, New York, Ny 10010. Allworth Press. page 61, 1999

9 William R. Curtis, Modern Architecture Since 1900, Prentice Hall Humanities/Social Science, page 168,1996.

2 Edited: Herbert Bayer & Ise Gropius & Walter Gropius, BAUHAU1S9 19-1928, 14 West 49th Street, New York, THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, page 149, 1938

10 Helen Armstrong. Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field. 37 East Seventh Street New York, New York 10003. Princeton Architectural Press. page 44 .March 11, 2009

3 Lahuerta, Juan J, and Graham Thomson. On Loos, Ornament and Crime. , 2015. Print. 4 Edited: Herbery Bayer & Ise Gropius & Walter Gropius, BAUHAUS 1919-1928, 14 West 49th Street, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, page 22, 1938 5 Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor. Looking Closer 3. Typophoto. 10 East Street, New York, Ny 10010. Allworth Press. page 24, 1999

7 Helen Armstrong. Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field. 37 East Seventh Street New York, New York 10003. Princeton Architectural Press. page 44 .March 11, 2009 8 Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor. Looking Closer 3. 10 East Street, New York, Ny 10010. Allworth Press. page 61, 1999

12 Ulrich Conrads. programs and manifestoes on 20th-century architecture. The MIT Press; Revised ed. edition. page 19. November 15, 1975 13 Edited: Herbert Bayer & Ise Gropius & Walter Gropius, BAUHAU1S9 19-1928, 14 West 49th Street, New York, THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, page 22, 1938 14 Lahuerta, Juan J, and Graham Thomson. On Loos, Ornament and Crime. , 2015. Print. 15 Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor. Looking Closer 3. 10 East Street, New York, Ny 10010. Allworth Press. page 61, 1999 16 director: Gary Hustwit, Helvetica, Rick Poyer, 2007 17 Lahuerta, Juan J, and Graham Thomson. On Loos, Ornament and Crime. , 2015. Print.

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6 Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor. Looking Closer 3. Typophoto. 10 East Street, New York, Ny 10010. Allworth Press. page 25, 1999

11 Lahuerta, Juan J, and Graham Thomson. On Loos, Ornament and Crime. , 2015. Print.

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18 Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor. Looking Closer 3. 10 East Street, New York, Ny 10010. Allworth Press. page 56, 1999 19 Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor. Looking Closer 3. 10 East Street, New York, Ny 10010. Allworth Press. page 61, 1999 20 Mike Grimshaw. Soft Modernism The World of the Post-Theoretical Designer. 2004 www.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ctheory/ article/view/14544/5391 21 Design Indaba. conference talk. scavenging the ruins of modernism. posted 15 Dec 14 www.designindaba.com/videos/conference-talks/experimental-jetset-scavenging-ruinsmodernism 22 www.experimentaljetset.nl/archive/whitney-museum-identity 23 Design Indaba. conference talk. scavenging the ruins of modernism. posted 15 Dec 14 www.designindaba.com/videos/conference-talks/experimental-jetset-scavenging-ruinsmodernism

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