Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Updated Thesis

His work with RayGun Magazine, his collaboration with Lewis Blackwell to create The End Of Print, and his self-taught style of typography, has helped reinforce David Carson's title of "Art Director of the Era", by London based Creative Review





A very wise person once said "Be who you want to be". In life, people search to find that one job or aspect of their life that defines them and make them happy in life. Some are lucky and find it early in life while others take years to sift through their minds, trying to figure out who they are and what makes them happy. David Carson is one of those people. David Carson is one of the most renown graphic designer/typographers in the world. Yet, he did not start out that way. If one graduated college with a degree in sociology, one would expect to work in said field. But not Carson. He always had a passion for the arts, graphic design, and typography. From there, he went on to create some of the most interesting and respected pieces of work. His work with RayGun Magazine, his collaboration with Lewis Blackwell to create The End Of Print, and his uneducated style of typography, has helped reinforce David Carson's title of "Art Director of the Era", by London based Creative Review


making an impression and making it my own

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

David Carson- LOOSE Thesis

Because of David Carson's revolutionary typography, his acute sense of design, and his overall view of graphic design, he can easily be one of the most influential graphic designers of the 20th century.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

After Class 4/14

In today's wonderful class, we entered the world of Corporate Identity Systems. This era of design began to boom during the 1950s and is still a crucial aspect of businesses today. It all began with Peter Behrens at AEG (considered to be the first full identity system) and Olivette Corporation creating logos/identity systems for the public to associate both of their companies to. By doing this recognition of the company shot up to large numbers. One of the most recognizable logos in today's world that has lasted since the beginning is CBS (The Colombia Broadcasting Station). CBS's logo, which is still in existence today is a large eye. Simple, yet "eye catching". It was because of these people and companies that logos became a very important, if not most important, part of a business' identity to the public.



Question: Why is CBS's eye still used today? What about the eye has made it so likeable and useable today? Some logos have changed over years, but the CBS eye hasn't changed that much. Why not?

Before Class 4/14

For today's class, we wrapped our brains around the idea of the Corporate identity system. "Good design is good business" was the war cry for most businesses during the 1950s (Meggs Pg. 399). The idea that every business needs some sort of logo/way to identify themselves to the mass population. Thus Peter Behrens, with AEG (who I already talked about both on here and in my graphic notes =D) and the Olivetti Corporation. Adriano Olivetti (1901-1970), owner of the company, hired Giovanni Pintori (1912-1998) to his publicity department at the ripe old age of 24 (Meggs Pg. 399). For the rest of his career at OC, he created a logo/identity system that would help begin (along with Behrens atAEG) the boom in logo and identity development that would forever change the face of businesses in the eye of the public

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

After Class 4/13

In today's class, we went over the New York School and the style of the mid to late 20th century. The style began with Paul Rand's style of design that was a reduced form of "symbolic essence" (Meggs Pg. 374). He was an editorial designer that felt that design should upgrade taste in the everyday world. Another influential graphic designer was Alvin Lustig. Lustig was a graphic designer who also dabbled in architecture and interior design. He thought that form and content should be one when it came to his graphic design. When it came to the actual New York School, the ideas behind it came from the 1st ever graphic design program to be established at a large school. The Yale School Of Art, still one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, became a leader in the education of graphic design. By hiring multiple well known graphic designers, Yale became the leader in the education of not only graphic design but also the arts. Later on, the New York School of design grew from the Yale School of Art's design and created a style of graphic design that is still used today.



Question: How and why is Yale such a leader in graphic design in the U.S. today? There are so many accredited schools out there that have been leaders in the design world. But why is Yale?

Monday, April 12, 2010

Before Class 4/12

For today's class, we read about the New York School and the evolution of graphic and typographical design in America, during the 20th century. It all started and gained steam from the works of Paul Rand. Paul Rand understood that freely invented shapes could have a self contained life, both sumbolic and expressive, as a visual-communication tool (Meggs Pg. 374). What that means is that Rand's work could get the message across to the viewer either symbolically( literal) or expressively (free-form). From there Paul Rand's designs helped revolutionize mid to late 20th century design. From there, Alvin Lustig contributed his unique style of graphic design by combining east and west coast influences into his work

Friday, April 9, 2010

Before Class 4/9

For today's class, we went head on into the International Typographical Style. The International Typographical Style that originated in Switzerland during the late 1940's through the 1950s. It began with Theo Ballmer

Thursday, April 8, 2010

After Class 4/7

In today's class, we learned about American Kitsch. Personally, I kinda like American Kitsch (German for "in bad taste") and the era behind it. To me, it's always going to be viewed as "50's Style" and/or "retro style". It reminds me of the 50's when poodle skirts, Looney Toons, Big Boy, and drive-ins. Almost of back home with Detroit, old classic cars, and most importantly, the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. It is an annual celebration of the golden age of cars, style, music, and everything else that can be linked to the 50's. If you grew up in the Metro-Detroit Area at all, the Dream Cruise is a big deal. And American Kitsch reminds me of it every time I see any form of it. From typography to images, it will forever be ingrained into my head as a part of my life even though it was over 60 years ago.

Question: Why, if it was such "bad taste", is American Kitsch so beloved and remembered? Will it always be remembered after the people of that generation are gone??