Why I Want to be a Graphic Designer

Life has always been an undecisive path. There is always an uncertainty on what decisions to make, why and what consequences come from that decision.

I find that i have never been a decisive person and that my own mind is more creative then logical.

The reason I want to be a designer, is that i want to live a life that doesn't follow logistics but follows creativeness and that is what i want to do the rest of my life. I agree with Elizabeth and Sir Kent that you should do something that you are passionate about. Why pick a career where you are going to be unhappy in but pick something that you are going to enjoy EVERY minute off. That is how i feel about graphic design. Whether painting, drawing, computers, i feel like by putting down my ideas to the world that somehow it can make the world a better place. Through my designs I can express my message through the work and people can look at it and relate to it.

Elizabeth Gilbert and Sir Ken Robinson

• Elizabeth Gilbert
• · American writer
• Her way of conquering fear is to take away from herself
• · But it won’t work if you don’t do anything about it
• · You need your brain to be in that alpha state so creativity can come to you. Your subconscious mind – when your creativity comes to you
• · Most of what she said had a use of humorous metaphors and most serious subjects lighter.
• · It is best to stretch your creativity by getting out of your comfort zone.
• Comedic with a lighthearted look on life
• concepts on the creative mind are quite accurate
• states that the assumption that creativity and suffering are somehow inherently linked is a dangerous one
• promotes separating creative genius from the human artist (to remove the pressure and responsibility from their work);
• both prevents narcissism and failure
• view that individuals are afraid to be wrong; of failure.

Sir Ken Robinson

• British author
• Comedic
• doesn’t seperate creativity from the human;tries to unite them to be more functional and beneficial
• doesn’t value education for the impacts it has on the creative mind
• wants people to prepared to be wrong; not be afraid of being wrong (mistakes is where true creativity comes from)
• humanistic approach that humans do not use their talents to the best of their ability; becoming educated on how not to be creative
• calls for an education revolution, not evolution
• He suggests theories on creativity:
• § Fear of making mistakes
• § Admiring logic too much
• § Avoiding ambiguity
• § Wanting to be practical
• § Thinking play is frivolous
• § Thinking thats not my area
• § Not wanting to be foolish
• § Deciding you are just not creative

Sir Ken Robinson

• British author
• Comedic
• doesn’t seperate creativity from the human;tries to unite them to be more functional and beneficial
• doesn’t value education for the impacts it has on the creative mind
• wants people to prepared to be wrong; not be afraid of being wrong (mistakes is where true creativity comes from)
• humanistic approach that humans do not use their talents to the best of their ability; becoming educated on how not to be creative
• calls for an education revolution, not evolution

He suggests theories on creativity:

§ Fear of making mistakes

§ Admiring logic too much

§ Avoiding ambiguity

§ Wanting to be practical

§ Thinking play is frivolous

§ Thinking thats not my area

§ Not wanting to be foolish

§ Deciding you are just not creative

How Art Made the World

• Greece is very different today then years ago
• They had many different gods
• Ancient greeks were very fixacted on bodies
• Men took shameless prides on their physiques
• Wherever greeks settled they built temples
• They wanted to see images of their gods that were unrealistic
• They needed their statues to see their gods face to face
• Temples were filled with many life like statues and greeks would often think that it was their gods in person
• Statues were small figurines which later on turned into large sculptures
• It is told in a small bit in a greek/ egyptian history book. Greek sculptures decided to change their sculptures from small figurines to large because of the Egyptian change.
• It sparked a history revolution
• They studied every detail in the human body to reproduce the human body.
• Very first sculpture of a detailed man was made by the greeks. It was the perfect imitation.
• Another sculpture of a human being was of a female figure. The curves are exaggerated
• Egyptian drawings were all done sideways. Feet, face but the eyes face forwards.
• They were dissatisfied with the sculptures and wanted more
• How could they adapt the human body into a sculpture they would be satisfied with
• Wanted to show the physical body of an athlete but look relaxed. The perfect posture and body.
• It was finally then that the greeks created something more human than human
• They are known as the rinacho bronzes?
• Unknown to the world at large
• No where you can see sculptures than can compare to the skill and execution of these sculptures.
• They were made 2000 years before the Italian renaissance
• At first at a glance they appear realistic form but when you look closer, it is not possible for a man to look like this.
• Their body forms have been exaggerated
• They
• They have no coxic bones at the end of their backs
• Impressionist bodies were exaggerated
• Today, bodies are exaggerated through photo-shop. Erase of blemishes and exaggerated features of lips, breast, etc..
• Horses are seen all over historical arts
• Cave walls show many historical events. The first ones found has been considered as one of the most beautiful art.
• The authenticity of the art was questioned because it was too good.
• Prehistoric animals were obsessed with animals
• Cave paintings needed to paint in the places were people could see them but like in France it is placed in a narrow cave. Can be inexcessible.
• Archaeologist still find it hard to understand the paintings in caves.
• They should be trying to solve the mystery of how to draw in the first place
• How do you come up with the idea of a picture in the first place?
• How did our ancestor discover that lines, dots etc could create a picture?
• In South Africa, Cave paintings have been found and feature large animals and hunting scenes
• Unlike European paintings which were painted thousands of years ago, these South African painting were painted a few hundred years ago.
• The key to discovering the paintings in the mountains have been lost forever
• In the village Chunquay, they have a special tribal dance. “Trance dance” and as the presenter was watching the dance, the guy dancing fell into a trance and lost consciousness. How can this help to solve the mystery of the paintings done by their ancestors?

Milton Glaser and Frank Gehry Class Exercise

Milton Glaser

• 
  
• "I Love New York" design is his most well known
• Loves referencing movements from the past within a modern context
• One of the artists that have renewed the manifesto of 1964 to "First Things First Manifesto 2000", that called designers to be more than commercially driven
• Aiding to change the idea that the world has about graphic designers,
• thinks conceptually with a new view on every situation
• An American designer
• Involved with creating several iconic logos and designs

Comparing the Opera House and the Disney Hall

The similarities between the opera house and Ghery's Disney Hall both contain:

• Both contain abstract shapes throughout the building. Roof top and walls
• They both have pointed and curved roofs out of the base
• The colour scheme of the building are monotone
• Structures of the building are done on purpose

The difference between the two, is the Ghery's Disney Hall uses different shapes along with the ones that are already there.

Week 7

Post modernism

What is Postmodernism? it is the contemporary culture in which rebels against the logic of modernism. To this definition and everyone has their own version of the truth where there is no rules.Postmodernism has influenced other fields including architecture, visual arts, music, sociology and also literary criticism. Designers of this movement chose to break the rule of form follows function. They were interested in challenging expectations and unconventional ways of breaking rules.

Week 5 and 6

Late modernism was inspired by European Avante Garder. Everything of that time had what it each needed to work. The simplicity of all designs, in which form follows function. This went through the American Kitsch period in the 50's.

Frank Lloyd Wright, known for achitecture, interior designer, writer and teacher.

His designs were influenced by the “The Praire Style” of architecture. It consisted of very rigid geometric shapes and was meant to create a truly North American fashion. Inspiration also came from Europe and the Arts and Crafts movement . Colour played a huge role in Frank’s designs, as it was suppose to convey the feel of nature. By doing so, he used autumn colours, warm shades of red, yellow- green, gold and brown. These colours were aimed to create a peaceful, serene and harmonious environment for the climate. His designed used organic shapes, colours and lines.

The 1950's graphic style, "The International Typographic style", originated in Switzerland and is also known as the "Swiss" style. It's known characteristics were:

• Based on pure geometry
• Refined style
• Cleanliness in style
• Objectivity
• Clear communication
• Functional typography

This was often used in asymmetric layouts, San Serif typeface distinguished the very designs of modernism.

The Swiss movement originated and grew out of Bauhaus and the New Typography movements, in which had similar characteristics as well.

Richard Paul Lohse, used this style in his overlay magazines which featured the Bauhaus architectural design elements. Helmut Schmid, also another designer did a remake of Die Neue Gesellschaft and was well known for the use of the International typographic style.

http://www.aisleone.net/categories/international-typographic-style/

Designers who came out of post modernism were strongly against the Swiss modernism and style, based on the slick and clean characteristics.

Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan

Canadian born Marshall McLuhan became the very heart of media ecology. Being a professor of literature, communications theorist , a literally critic and also an educator, scholar and a philosopher.

Becoming one of the most highly influential man in media discourse but focused on communications.

Being an expert on media culture, he thought that through the way communication is shown, affects how strongly the messages are conveyed.

McLuhan argued that technology is an extension of the human nervous system and that technological changes create new environments of sense and feeling altering gradually patterns of perception. The form of medium shapes its content.

"The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village." (from The Medium is the Message)

He died from a stroke in 1980.

Punch Magazines

Punch Magazines

punch.co.uk

Week 5

American Kitsch in the 50's

American Kitsch (meaning decreative crap) was around in the 50's and was quite popular and influential.

James Dean was one of the most influential men in that period due to his unique style. The DC-3 plane was another important influence back then. Transports such as buses and cars began to take on the same design as the DC-3.

In the 50's, a lot of the cinemas played science-fiction movies and exterior building designs like Las Vegas contained these same use of curves seen in sci-fi genres(spaceships).

The 50's designs usually contained casual script but the object designs turned from Bauhaus, sharp and rigid to curvy. Telephones had organic curves. The kidney shape artist palate was also used as coffee tables and were seen everywhere in the 50's. Stacked chairs were designed for function but its sexy, sensual appearance shaped typical, popular furnitures in the 50's. The electric guitar was made in that organic shape to look sexy and sensual. Furniture's such as the duke box contained aerodynamic shapes and lines.

It was heading towards abstraction.

Theatre ad entertainment posters liked to exaggerate and often used cartoons. Parody was a characteristic at that time and Victorian banners were used sometimes in photos.

Pop art started around this time. Andy Warhol, one of the most well known Pop artist used a lot of cartoon characters. Detective novels used exaggerated expressions and poses. Cartoons were often used on logos, while disembodied heads were seen on posters and packaging. The poster for the movie, "Casablanca", contained this. This characteristic wouldn't be included in history books but it is quite important to graphic designers as this has been quite an influence over the many years for design. The political values of these cartoons were to exercise the freedom of speech.

Science became a new thing in advertisement. e.g.. band aids

Life was more easier to understand back then. It appeared more innocent and simpler.

Week 4

John Heartfield

Berlin artist John Heartfield, also known as Helmut Herzfelde is best known for his photomontages as well as being a designer, painter and journalist.

John has influenced many other Dada artists to create their own series of photomontages around the world.

As an anti-Nazi German he created photomontages to make politicalstatements and to convey the message of the corrupted Nazis and government in

germany during the World War II.

His goal was to undermine the propaganda that was growing in Germany and the rising of

communist nationalism. This was shown through his works and used in a Satire form through the images of Adolf Hitler and Swastika.

One of his well known pieces, "Hurrah, Die Butter ist Alle", was made in 1935 and translates to hurray, the butter is gone. It consists of a family dining together and the attempt to eat with difficulty pieces of metal. In the background there is a large portrait of Adolf Hitler and Swastika wallpaper. During the period, propaganda was very influ

ential to the society, so basing his on those similar posters, John Heartfield created irony and strong imagery through his works to convey the message to the public.

Week 3

Timeline of Movement and Eras

Scientific Revolution - 17th century

Modern - 18th century

Neo Classism - 19th century

Industrial Revolution - 20th century

Modernism is based on social and cultural events mad began in

colonial American in the 18th century.Early modern refers to several movements:

• New typography

• Bauhaus

• Constructivsm

• Dada (means nonsense and ready mades)

• Futurism

And the one thing they had in common was experimentation.

Though the number of middle class, they created another revolution, "The Philosophical Revolution" and during that time "The Enlightment" began and Napolean began to build an empire. During 1815, he was removed from having p

ower and by the 19th century, art marked a new movement, Neo Classism. Neo classims meant new classism and by the 1960's it became a war cry. It again came our 400 years later. After that, in the 20th century, the era of Industrial Revolution began.

The Industrial Revolution followed the scientific Revolution. During this movement, middle class was born out of it and they were able to arise above the peasant class. This business went unchecked until James Morris.The middle class had social and political power.

Ziegest (something important in time) went to Germany and out came the Bauhaus. Bauhaus was essentially about rules for design meaning less was more. The Bauhaus was a very big school and through this Constructivism emerged. Constructivsm was Russian based and used Bauhaus for political reasons. Propaganda. Russian constructivist absorbed Cubism and Futurism to crest a new movement which unifies communists ideology with visual form.

Minimalism also came from Bauhaus as it was about reducing things to its simplest form.

Markism came in and replaced Feudalism and was the first social theory based on Capitalism.

What is the difference between contemporary and modern?

Comtemporary means now and will continue whereas modern refers to the period that follows the modern revolution.

Cubist art had a major effect on graphic design, including Exspressionist posters of Germany.

In 1962, one form of propaganda was created by Plaskatil artist who used distinctive and eye catching colours.

Futurism became a huge influence on other art movement as its violent, revolutionary techniques were adopted by Dadaist, Constructivitis, De Stijl, Duchamp and Tzara.

Week 2

Arts and Crafts

The arts and crafts (aesthetics) movement was of the modern movement and the victorian movement. This group supported artist, architects, writers etc..

Made of the socialist reform group, they would often make theories on how people should run their lives.

One well known, Arts and Crafts artist, was William Morace. William Morace was known to fight against ugliness in all its form and influenced artists and works, in the Arts and Crafts movement. Till today you can still witness this form having a huge influence in the many everyday objects you see today.

His own house was heavily influenced by the medieval scheme on the exterior but appeared to be more of warmth in the interior and using the basics of the Arts and Crafts appearance.

Arts and Crafts are created with very distinctive characteristics, with the use of:

• Organic shapes
• Unity
• Patterns work and fit together to create unity
• Truth to the materialism e.g.. Not painting on wood and leaving it to its true form
• Less excessive
• Some of the works are based on oriental designs

William Morace loved using natural elements with things such as woods, figs and neutral texture. The Victorian era influenced him in his textile works and forms.

"Form follows function" - William Morace

Morace is one of the most influential architects in the world now.

Typography: Goudy and Caxton was brought in by William Morace as well as having made 21 manuscripts by him.

Another very influential artist that was well known in the Arts and Crafts movement was Frank Floyd.Frank was known more for being modern.

Art Nouveau (meaning new art in French)

Art Nouveau started around the 1880 and was a direct descendant from the Arts and Crafts movement. This new movement stood for feminine beauty and rebelled against the Victorian style.

Make up and feminine beauty products would often refer to Art Nouveau as it was "glamourous and enhanced beauty". This new movement became big and was associated to Paris but not long after, Art Nouveau became international and was influenced everywhere. In Paris, buildings had a lot of slurping roofs before the flat to bring more light in. Van Gogh was another huge influence to the movement Art Nouveau.

The distinctive Art Nouveau characteristics that make it so well known are:

• More Feminine
• Less restraint - not too over done, more simple
• Energetic and unstable
• Couldn't just be decorative but also functional
• Angles, structure and curves had a purpose - to strengthen and enhance function of the material
• Diagonal dynamic
• Assymmetrical dynamic
• Organic
• Abstract shapes and flat colours
• Was influenced by japanese wood block
• Gives unity and guides eyes around the poster
• Repeated shapes (organic and diagonal)
• Sensuous outlines and curves
• Abstract
• Main poster girl often looked like the same girl - same curves, features, hair etc..

Freerer organic lines that Arts and Crafts.

As Art Nouveau became hugely influential internationally, you can see these characteristics everywhere and even till today.