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Interconnected Published in Asia in 2017 by Page One Publishing Pte Ltd 20 Kaki Bukit View, Kaki Bukit Techpark II, Singapore 415956 Tel: (65) 6742-2088 Fax: (65) 6744-2088 enquiries@pageonegroup.com www.pageonegroup.com Sponsored by Temasek Polytechnic Edited and produced by Temasek Polytechnic School of Design – Communication Design TD03 Chief Editor: Ho Ying Hui 1403851G@student.tp.edu.sg www.tp.edu.sg ISBN 978-981-4394-90-1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. For information, contact Page One Publishing Pte Ltd. Printed and bound in Singapore
Contents
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david carson the first step famous works “don’t be a design zombie� achievements acknowledgement references
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David
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David Carson was born on September 8, 1954 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He attended San Diego State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Carson’s first contact with graphic design was in 1980 at the University of Arizona during a two-week graphics course, taught by Jackson Boelts. From 1982 to 1987, Carson worked as a teacher in Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, California. During that time, he was also a professional surfer, and in 1989 he was ranked as the 9th best surfer in the world. In 1983, Carson started to experiment with graphic design and found himself immersed in the artisic and bohemian culture of Southern California. That year, he went to Switzerland to attend a three-week workshop in graphic design as part of his degree. The teacher of the workshop, Hans-Rudolf Lutz, became his first design mentor.
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“Graphic design will save the world right after rock and roll does.”
Carson is also an American graphic designer, art director and surfer. He is best known for his innovative magazine design, and use of experimental typography. He was the art director for the magazine Ray Gun, in which he employed much of the typographic and layout style for which he is known. In particular, his widely imitated aesthetic defined the so-called “grunge typography” era. In 2000, Carson closed his New York City studio and followed his children to Charleston, South Carolina, where their mother had relocated them.
First step
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Carson became the art director of Transworld Skateboarding magazine in 1984, and remained there developed his signature style, using dirty type and non-mainstream photographic techniques. He was also the art director of a spinoff magazine, Transworld Snowboarding, which began publishing in 1987. He named and designed the first issue of the adventure lifestyle magazine Blue, in 1997. David designed the first issue and the first three covers, after which his assistant Christa Skinner art directed and designed the magazine until its demise. Carson’s cover design for the first issue was selected as one of the “top 40 magazine covers of all time� by the American Society of Magazine Editors
A picture of one issue of the beach culture magazine.
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Steve and Debbee Pezman, publishers of Surfer magazine(and later Surfers Journal) tapped Carson to design Beach Culture, a quarterly publication that evolved out of a to-the-trade annual supplement. Though only six quaterly issues were produced, the tabloidsize venue—edited by author Neil Fineman—allowed Carson to make his first significant impact on the world of graphic design and typography—with ideas that were called innovative even by those that were not fond of his work, in which legibility often relied on readers’ strict attention. For one feature on a blind surfer, Carson opened with a two-page spread covered in black.
“Don’t mistake legibility for communication.”
Works
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The End of Print is the definitive statement of the work of the great iconoclast designer, David Carson. His frenetic lettering and layouts inspired countless designers to push boundaries and break classical rules, qualities that are still prized today. So much so that a new second edition of Carson’s book— which, in 1995, was received by many as a brash polemic—has just been released.
Carson was hired by publisher Marvin Scott Jarrett t alternative music and lifestyle magazine that debute notoriously used Dingbat, a font containing only sym considered a rather dull interview with Bryan Ferry. H published in a legible font at the back of the same is with a repeat of the asterisk motif. The incendiary pa inflamed the eyes and minds of countless young de the freedoms unlocked by his bold new style.
to design Ray Gun, an ed in 1992. In one issue, he mbols, as the font for what he However, the whole text was ssue of Ray Gun, complete ages of Ray Gun magazine esigners who sought to tap into
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“My dad once told me that whatever the experience – ‘if you’d either laughed or learned something, it was probably worthwhile’. Saul bass once told me ‘just keep doing what you do, don’t care or follow the critics.’ – which I thought was great advice and still try to follow to this day.”
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Carson’s layouts feature distortions or mixes of ‘vernacular’ typefaces and fractured imagery, rendering them almost illegible. Indeed, his maxim of the ‘end of print’ questioned the role of type in the emergent age of digital design, following on from California New Wave and coinciding with experiments at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Carson claims that his work is “subjective, personal and very self-indulgent”. Design writer Steven Heller has said, “He significantly influenced a generation to embrace typography as an expressive medium.”. Design educator and historian Ellen Lupton also said, “David Carson continues to be one of the world’s most distinctive typographic voices – much imitated, but never matched”. Carson’s boundary-breaking typography in the 1990s, in Ray Gun magazine and other pop-cult books, ushered in a new vision of type and page design – quite simply, breaking the traditional mold of type on a page and demanding fresh eyes from the reader. Squishing, smashing, slanting and enchanting the words on a layout, Carson made the point, over and over, that letters on a page are art. You can see the repercussions of his work to this day, on a million Flash intro pages.
chievement
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The Graphic Design USA Magazine named David Carson among the 5 most influential designers of all time. He is the winner of the Best Overall Design by the Society of Publication Designers. He was awarded Designer of the Year (multiple times) by the International Center of Photography. The AIGA awarded him a medal in 2014. According to the London Creative Review magazine, Carson is the “most famous graphic designer� in the world (in 2004). Besides, he has more than 170 awards to his name.
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Carson also has won many other awards such as Best Overall Design and Cover of the Year, Society of Publication Designers in New York, and the award of Best Use of Photography in Graphic Design. Since 2010, he has lectured, held workshops and exhibitions across Europe, South America and the United States. Carson continues to lecture extensively throughout the world. Carson truly is the most famous graphic designer in the world, and the most recognizable face in the industry.
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Achnowledgement We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to the artists and designers for their generous contributions of images, ideas and concepts. We are very grateful to many other people whose names do not appear on the credits but who provided assistance and support. Thanks also go to people who have worked hard on the book and put ungrudging efforts into it. Without you all, the creation and on going development of this book would not have been possible and thank you for sharing your innovation and creativity with all our readers.
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References http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/ http://www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-davidcarson-09-22-2013/ http://www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-davidcarson-09-22-2013/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Carson_%28graphic_designer%29 www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/david_carson. www.aiga.org/medalist-david-carson/ www.designishistory.com/1980/david-carson http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/art-2/david-carson/ http://askville.amazon.com/David-Carson-famous/AnswerViewer. do?requestId=50420499 http://www.aiga.org/medalist-david-carson/
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