6 Degrees of seperation by Willoughby

6 Degrees of seperation

Emigre Wim Crouwel Peter Saville Ben Kelly Design Soda Universal Everything Moving Brands

6 Degrees of seperation. A short essay by Willoughby Warner.

Introduction. This short essay aims to look at the connections between designers and the work they make. It will explore the motivations, working methods and agency of the designer. Paying particular attention to the rise of technology throughout the history of the creative industry. This essay will explore the works of: Emigre, Wim Crouwel, Peter Saville, Ben Kelly Design, Soda ltd. Universal Everything and Moving Brands.

Emigre. The magazine that ignores boundaries. (the concept)

“The focus of Emigre is on the unique perspective of contemporary poets, writers, journalists, graphic designer, photographers, architects, and artists who live or have lived outside their native countries. Their influence on culture is diverse and significant: they import it and export it; they offer new interpretations, comparisons, ideas, and a certain universal wisdom acquired through juggling conflicting values and lifestyles. Their perspective is born of the émigré spirit that all of us share but exercise to various degrees. The true émigrés seek adventuresome, romantic and human experiences; their lives convey the feelings shared by the artist in us all, the feeling of boundaries ignored and the pursuit of dreams. In a continuing portrait series, Emigre pays tribute to some of the greatest expatriates of all time: Lord Byron, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, David Hockney, Christopher Isherwood, James Joyce, Piet Mondriaan, Vladimir Nabokov, Ezra Pound, Arthur Rimbaud, George Sand, Gertrude Stein, and others.”

Cover, Emigre 1. 1984. Designed by Rudy VanderLans. Excerpt from a letter sent to potential advertisers.

1984.

Emigre. In 1984, as the second issue of Emigre was being produced, the Macintosh was released. Shortly after, a new Macintosh devoted magazine called MacWorld offered a chance for a select group of illustrators to be taught how to use the Macintosh. However, even though the editors were eager to illustrate their editorials with the Macintosh art, they found it hard to find editorial illustrators who actually liked computers. The Art director, Bruce Charonet knew Rudy VanderLans through his work for the San Francisco Chronicle so decided to invited VanderLans and Zuzana Licko for a trial run. Straight away they were impressed by the Macintoshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capabilities and how easy it was to use. Two weeks later, they bought their first 128K Macintosh. Whilst VanderLans used it to create simple MacPaint illustrations, Licko discovered its type-design possibilities. She came across a public-domain software called FontEditor, which allowed her to design low-resolution typefaces for use on Macintosh screen and dot-matrix Imagewriter. The Macintosh allowed you to store the data that defines the typeface and then access it through the keyboard. Now, for the first time, it was possible for any individual to design and draw a typeface and the actually use it without restrictions. With the Macintosh, Licko was able to continue the digital typeface designs she had started at college. The first typefaces she created were Emperor, Emigre, and Oakland which were sporadically used in Emigre offering VanderLans an alternative to the typewriter type that they were previously stuck with due to the lack of a budget for photo-typesetting. Licko based the designs of her type on simple concepts derived from the low-resolution characteristics of the Macintosh. Most of her fonts used modular elements with which she could create all characters.

128K Macintosh. 1984. Designed by Apple.

Oakland. 1985. Designed by Zuzana Licko.

Emperor. 1985. Designed by Zuzuana Licko.

Wim Crouwel. Nearly two decades earlier, the very beginnings of digital typefaces were being created with the CRT (cathode ray tube) in mind. Type designer Wim Crouwel put forward the experimental New Alphabet (1967), consisting of radically simplified letterforms, with unusual ideas about case sensitivity and orthography. This proposal was to be seen only as an initial step towards digital type. ‘We need to move on to a completely different form of letter,’ he explained. ‘The typeface that is to emerge will be determined by contemporary man, who knows the computer and also how to live with it.’ Basing his letterforms on the concept of computer memory as an assembly of cells, corresponding to the composition of organisms and structure of society, Crouwel conceived new communication symbols, purposely placing them in stark contrast to digitised, screen-adapted typefaces, which he strongly disapproved of. Aware that the readability of his alphabet might be questioned, he was nevertheless certain that in time, people could familiarise themselves enough to be able to read his letterforms comfortably. As Crouwel predicted, New Alphabet received a lot of criticism. Dutch designer Piet Schreuders complained that Crouwel’s New Alphabet was impossible to read, that it required subtitles to be understood, and that it was carried out in the ‘so-called Martian style’. However, as character recognition technology improved the ethical discussions surrounding electronic typefaces eventually died down. Nowadays, these experimental digital typefaces are no longer considered shocking or revolutionary; since their original function has lost its relevance, they remain fragments of an age of electronic innovation. Contemporary graphic designers and typographers have developed sentimental attachment to these typefaces, as symbols of mid-century ideas of progress and modernity. Subsequently, the work of designers such as Peter Saville, who resurrected Crouwel’s New Alphabet for the cover of the Joy Division album Substance, clearly showing that digital type had significant formal and stylistic importance.

New Alphabet. 1967. Designed by Wim Crouwel.

Cover, Substance by Joy Orbison. 1988. Designed by Peter Saville.

Alternative cover, Substance by Joy Orbison. 1991. Designed by Peter Saville.

Peter Saville. Whilst at Factory Records Saville designed records sleeves for a number of bands, more notably Joy Division and New Order. However, Factory was more than just a record company. Whilst at Factory Saville displayed a unique design concept and range of conceptual ideas not only revolutionising the way music was packaged, but also establishing the essence of a new and vibrant cultural identity for Manchester in the late 70s. The Manchester thing, eventually became the Madchester cult. Saville seemed to work with many disparate ideas simultaneously and it is not generally possible to identify any one style with any one particular period of Factory’s operations. From 1982 Factory seemed to become much more exciting and light hearted in terms of design and marketing. The industrial theme began to appear in a range of forms with an emphasis on fun and playful colour, suggesting a sort of clash between constructivist styling and psychedelic desire. The industrial feel of Peter Saville’s design vision was non the less still very much in tact and an obvious foundation of much of the design. This was also the period when Factory’s famous industrial design ethos was absorbed into the new House music phenomena known as the Haçienda. The Haçienda interior was loosely based on a trendy New York disco and designed by Ben Kelly, upon recommendation by Saville. Kelly was also commissioned by Factory in the early to mid 80s to design the companies corporate and recreational spaces including the Dry Bar, The Area, and Factory’s new HQ on Princess Street, and later The Paradise Factory club. Kelly’s approach was obviously sensitive to the industrial design concept followed by Saville and in many ways also seems to bring to mind the feeling of constructivism.

Fac 1 Poster. 1978. Designed by Peter Saville.

The Haรงienda. 1982. Photography by Unknown.

FAC83 Haรงienda 1 year celebration. 1983. Designed by Pete Saville.

Ben Kelly Design. (profile)

“BKD is one of the UK’s most respected interior design practices. Our talented and highly committed multidisciplinary team creates innovative, hard-working spaces for high profile clients in the retail, leisure, museum, gallery and office sectors. Design Director Patrick McKinney and founder Ben Kelly lead our team of project coordinators and designers, working with a larger network of specialist consultants. Our rigorous approach is informed by our strong belief that good design can help any built space reach its full potential. Really understanding and accommodating the different needs of the people who will use them helps us breathe new life into existing spaces. With each project we strive to retain a site’s best features, while enhancing it with an exciting but sympathetic palette of materials, textures, finishes and colours. The experience gained over the past thirty years means that we can consistently deliver top-quality design solutions, combining high levels of creativity with careful project management.”

The Haçienda. 1982. Designed by Ben Kelly. Founded in the mid 1970s by Ben

Kelly.

Ben Kelly Design. Running alongside the 2012 Olympics an exhibition was put on by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). It was the first major exhibition to celebrate post-war British art and design, revealing the depth and quality of the V&A’s collections while showcasing the richness of British regional collections. ‘British Design 1948-2012: Innovation in the Modern Age’ told the story of British fashion, furniture, fine art, graphic design, photography, ceramics, architecture and industrial products over the past 60 years. Naturally a collective of solely British designers were asked to create the exhibition; Interior Design from BKD, Graphic Design from Graphic Thought Facility, Lighting Design from Studio ZNA, and Interactive Design from Soda ltd. The studios, workspaces, factories and laboratories, the birthplaces of British design, were a key inspiration for BKD’s design approach. BKD created three contrasting environments to represent the shifting attitudes in British design explored in the exhibition. Interspersed by a series of huge walls, BKD’s scheme for the exhibition’s first gallery brought to mind the new colours, materials and optimism of the post-war period. In the second gallery a number of smaller spaces backing onto a set-piece of ‘the street’ were created, each with differing identities influenced by punk, fashion and photography studios of the time. In the third gallery a clean take on a factory was staged with the impression of factory north light. Coinciding with its 30th anniversary, Ben Kelly’s own Haçienda nightclub of 1982 was partly reconstructed as an exhibit alongside other works in the V&A’s second gallery that represent the impact of street and counter culture on British design.

Entrance, British Design 1948-2012. 2012. Designed by BKD.

British Design 1948-2012. 2012. Designed by BKD.

Reconstruction of The Haรงienda, British Design 1948-2012. 2012. Designed by BKD.

Soda ltd. BKD had been working closely with Soda and the curators at the V&A to create the audio and visual component of the exhibition. As well as putting together the video content for the whole show, Soda designed the video games ‘laboratory’ area of the exhibition, using custom LED boards, projections and PIR sensors, among others, to focus on the design elements of classic British games such as Elite, Tomb Raider, Wipeout, Lemmings and Little Big Planet. The ‘laboratory’ area explores the theme of innovation and creativity and how Britain has moved from a manufacturing nation through to a service economy. Particularly the way Britain has developed an expertise in areas like new technologies. Soda itself is a prime example of a company exploring and pushing the boundaries of new technologies. Soda develops creative tools that help schools, communities and businesses, best know for winning the 2001 Interactive Arts BAFTA Award for their online construction environment, Sodaplay. Sodaplay is a suite of creative and educational tool consisting of four main programs, Sodaconstructor, Sodarace, and Newtoon. Each of these applications exemplifies Soda’s belief in creative play. There are no set goals, instead, the user makes their own as they experiment and create. Creative play is rewarding and users discover more as they explore. Their creations are enjoyed and built on by others in turn; a creative snowball effect that sustains the growing Sodaplay community. Another new technology that Soda created is called MASH (Multimedia Aggregation & Streaming Hyperscreen). MASH is customisable software that takes social media text, still and video imagery and creates ever-changing digital collages in real time. Like a virtual VJ, MASH can dynamically display content around products, services and events on screens large and small in real time. MASH can be edited by Soda to look and feel any way a client might want. In addition its simple content management system allows the clients to customise content feeds, modify colours, background and so on. Feeds can include Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and blogs. This content can be easy managed by authorised admins and utilises open and user generated or ‘closed’ predetermined content.

3D model of Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. 1996. Designed by Core Design.

Tomb Raider Exibit, British Design 1948-2012. 2012. Designed by Soda ltd.

MASH, Boeing Dreamscapes. 2010. Designed by Soda ltd.

Universal Everything. Like Soda many other design companies see the relevance and importance in exploring new and emerging technologies. Universal Everything is a global creative studio at the crossover between art and design, with commissions fromÂ 3D printing to video walls, working with everything from pencils to generative design. Matt Pyke, founder and Creative Director of Universal Everything shares the same passion for emerging technologies. When technologies such as 3D printing and motion capture became much more accessible it became something that Universal Everything started to play with and really explore. Their view is that it is really important to feel like they are at the forefront of the medium, to have the feeling of a blank slate and no legacy behind them. This allows them to create work that is not being dragged down by any historical references or peoples expectations. One particular emerging technology that Universal Everything have payed particular attention to over recent years is Processing, an open-source tool that allows them to write software to creates images, animation and interactive visual work. For the Lovebytes Digital Arts Festival, Sheffield, 2007, Universal Everythingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Matt Pyke looked into Processingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great power to variation, how it makes use of the power of the computer to produce a multitude of customised results. Pyke applied generative principles to create a touchable identity, defining simple parameters within which the design could mutate its colour, hair type, weight, sex, etc. The application generated more than 20,000 characters, which were digitally printed to make 20,000 different postcards.

Furry Beings, Lovebytes. 2007. Designed by Matt Pyke.

Global Rebrand, MTV. 2009. Designed by Matt Pyke.

Furry Beings, Lovebytes. 2007. Designed by Matt Pyke.

Moving Brands. (vision)

“The established branding and advertising silos are not longer relevant. In a fast moving world a business has to change and adapt, and so must its brand. We’re striving to set a new bench mark in creativity and its power to transform business. Our approach is unique, we connect people to brands and brands to people and we’ve proven it with some of the best companies in the world.”

Connecting people to brands, Website. 2012. Designed by Ellen Turnill.

Ben Wolstenholme, Founder/CEO Moving

Brands.

Moving Brands. Much like Universal Everything, Moving Brands believe that they are innovators. That technology is hardwired into the way they work. They make time to explore emerging opportunities and sharing what they discover with the world is part of their culture. Examples of work incorporating emerging technologies and their innovative style are their Living Identity Book which uses AR technology to bring print to life, the MB Advert created the world’s highest resolutions 3D printed chocolates, Hand Drawn was a Kinect hack to build a collaborative typeface and KEF, a liquid-light experience responding to sound. KEP gave Moving Brands a brief to simply create ‘the ultimate’. KEF assembled a cross-disciplinary team of designers and agencies to design, brand, and launch what the conceived to be the most extraordinary audio speaker ever made. Moving Brands created an audio responsive visual installation to compliment the Muon speakers using a custom built sound-responsive visual engine to dynamically map liquid behaviours. Created entirely in Processing the sound responsive engine used Fast Fourier transform analysis on the incoming audio. The space is three dimensional, with particles moving along x and y axes, and moving like fluid on the z axis. A 2D slice of the world is rendered, creating the effect of a liquid oil pool. A two week build was finalised with a two day installation at the Sala Del Cenacolo, a monastic library and part of the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo de Vinci, Milan. The result of the installation expressed organic, responsive light-forms creating an emotional aura around the speakers that sums up the dual inspirations of particle physics and Zen Buddhism, from which Muon speaker derives its name.

LED floor, KEF. 2007. Designed by Moving Brands.

3D chocolate printer. 2011. Designed by Moving Brands. LED floor, KEF. 2007. Designed by Moving Brands.

Conslusion. By exploring the connection between Emigre and Moving Brands I have discovered the importance a new and emerging technologies. Unlike the scepticism that the birth of the Macintosh faced the current creative community celebrates and embraces new technologies. It is understandable that designers were hesitant to move away from the traditional and historic ways of design, but I believe over time, as a greater number of people began to accept technology technology was able to boost the evolution of design and benefited it greatly, in all aspects. We are now at a stage that to refuse using new technologies leaves you so detached from the creative community, clients aspire to be the people with the newest technology, the most interesting ideas and most innovative products. By avoiding these new technologies you cannot make any real contribution or ground breaking impact to the ever evolving creative world.

Bibliography. Books: VanderLans, R. Licko, Z. and Gray, M.E. (1994) Emigre: Graphic Design into The Digital Relm. London: Booth-Clibborn Editions King, E. et al (2005) Designed by Peter Saville. London: frieze

Journals: Owens, S. (2006) Electronic Type. EYE NO.62 VOL. 16 WINTER 2006, pp.38-43 Prowse, L. (2007) Processing. EYE NO.65 VOL. 17 AUTUMN 2007, pp.38-45

Websites: Universal Everything (2012) Generative Design [online] Available at: http://universaleverything.com/#processes/generative-design [Accessed December 2012] The Creators Project (2012) Anthropomorphising The Abstract [online] Available at: http://thecreatorsproject.com/blog/anthropomorphizing-theabstract-meet-matt-pyke-and-universal-everything [Accessed December 2012] Eye Magazine (2012) Search [online] Available at: http://www.eyemagazine.com/search/ [Accessed December 2012] Fac 51 (2012) As It Happened [online] Available at: http://www.fac51thehacienda.com/hacienda-story [Accessed December 2012] BKD (2012) V&A British Design [online] Available at: http://benkellydesign.com/exhibitions/v-and-a-british-design/ [Accessed December 2012] Moving Brands (2012) KEF [online] Available at: http://www.movingbrands.com/innovation/kef [Accessed December 2012] Soda (2012) Sodaplay [online] Available at: http://www.soda.co.uk/categories/sodaplay [Accessed December 2012]