Graphic Design: A Medium for the Masses Lecture

Graphic Design: A Medium for the Masses

Areas for consideration:

• The origins of Graphic Design
• Graphic Design in relation to Fine Art 
• Graphic Design in relation to Advertising 
• Graphic Design as a tool of Capitalism
• Graphic Design as a Political Tool
• Graphic Design & Postmodernism
• Graphic Design & Social Conscience.

Graphic Design is a very young term but it goes back for centuries.

Giotto di Bondone, Betrayal 1305

Fresco, Arena Chapel, Padua Italy

The first image named Betrayal shows the herons and villains in a very stereotypical way. The use of halos for herons and making the villain less appealing.

The image of Fresco is created in language to help people understand a communication of  a message when they can't read.

John Everett Millais, Bubbles 1886 Pears Soap Advertisement

This has been changed from a work of art to a piece of graphic design through the use of adding typography. Although this is an early form of graphic design as it has now derived and become more sophisticated.

Herbert Spencer: 'Mechanized Art' 

He says that graphic design is purely communicating a message but also using aesthetic needs as well as showing expression.

Edouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies Bergeres, 1882

 Edouard is a very modernist artist and promotes the new era of disposable incomes. Where as Graphic Design is also something that comes out of Modernity.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, La Goulue, 1890

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Artistide Bruant, 1893

This is an advertisement for nights of entertainment. This is an example of the blurred line as it placing of text onto an image.

Alfred Leete, Britons 1914

James Montgomery Flagg, I Want You 1917

 These posters are the media for the masses. The eye contact draws you in and is directed at the audience. This has no graphic style and again is image with type.

Julius Gipkens, Trophies of the Air War 1917

Here this shows more graphic style developing although this is German and they seem to have developed more within the graphic design style as this is the same time as the posters before.

F. H. Stingemore, London Underground Map 1931-2

Graphic representation is showing more of a communicative more readable which is much more realistic

Henry C Beck London Underground Map 1933

   

This is soon translated into this. This is a much more simplified version due to the use of straight lines which is very graphical and more realistic.

Simon Patterson 1967 The Great Bear

The use of making a consolation of stars and celebrities. Here he has made footballers line with Gary Lineker & Geoff Hurst and then Paul Gasgoine has been placed on the line of interception of football & comedy.

Herbert Bayer, Kandinsky 60th Birthday Exhibition 1926

The layout of this poster is very similar to the red wedge by El Lissitzky, due to the composition been set horizontal and the breaking up composition with an organised use of negative space.

Herbert Matter, Swiss Tourist Board 1932

Swiss design uses a more logical way of thinking and far more considered compared to what graphic design we have in Britain.

Josep Renau, Industry of War 1936

This is the a design about the political upheaval during the Spanish Civil War. Josep is a key designer and shows grpahic design as its been happening on the streets.

Josep Renau, Stalingrad: The New Star of Freedom, 1942

This was designed during the second world war and promotes whats happening on the front. They have used screen printing to allow them to be able to mass produce this poster at ease. The text and the composition is therefore simplified to allow this technique to become easier.

G. Klucis, In the Storm of the Third Year of the Five Year Plan. 1930

G. Klucis, Long Live the USSR 1931

This shows the use of new technology where they have started to use mixed media within the new technology.

Abram Games, Exhibtion of Science, 1951

This was an event taken place on the South Bank of the River Temps in London. It is an event that celebrates the 6 yeras after the World War, it encourages a sense of well being. And held to improve consumerism.

Paul Rand, Jacqueline Cochran, 1946

After the war advertising was a very big and very popular to increase consumerism and Paul Rand is a very big name & well know best for his pieces of Advertising.

Paul Rand, IBM, 1970

Paul Rand, logo for ABC, 1962

He has used very literal imagery within these advertisements, and promotion very big cooperation Also it shows very iconic imagery. Its all about big businesses advertising & consumerism.

Ken Garland, First Things First Manifesto, 1964:

He takes the idea of everything is about making money and therefore showing capitalism. He says in his speech that striped toothpaste do we need it or is it just making other people money.

Seymour/Push Pin Studio, End Bad Breath, 1968

The hippy mood goes on in responce to the Vietnam raising awareness of another war.

Art Workers Coalition, Q: And Babies? A: And Babies? 1970

The imagery is quite starkly and says exactly what it needs to say. It happening  at an amateur level which is going against the governments rules & restrictions.

Hipgonosis, Deceptive Bands Sleeve, 1977

The designer Hipgonosis is very much associated with this style of sleeves due to its over indulgent and associated especially with the type of music of Punk. its within the hippy movement and they want to create and over worked look as this is the year punk explodes.

Jamie Reid, Sex Pistols, Sleeve design, 1977

This design is very simplistic and is an aesthetic of an do it yourself style which apparent to the sex pistols due to thats the style of the punk movement. It says exactly what its going to do. Music is an art movement of itself.

Peter Saville, Blue Monday sleeve design, 1983

This was a very complicated sleeve, and became the biggest selling 12inch sleeve of all time, although they did loose 30p every time they sold one due to the expensive cost to make this product. Although Peter became more about the beautiful object rather than creating something to make money.

David Carson, Dont mistake Legibility for Communication

Equally that gets designers how legibility & communication goes hand in hand.

Designers Republic, Pop will eat itself 1994

This is as important as a design duo as they moved to London as thats where graphic designers become more famous but they decided to move back to Sheffield.

Mark Farrow, Spiritualised, Ladies & Gentlemen we are Floating Space, 1997

Limited Edition Packet

 These are more iconic pieces of graphic design. There is no play of hiding fact of taking drugs to make music. Therefore shows a drug related theme. In the limited edition one there is 12 CDs one for each song. The theme matches the packaging.

Jonathan Barnbrook, Olympukes

This piece of design shows that the olympics is much more than just bring together countries. But what purpose does this serve?

Oliviero Toscani, Benetton Adverts 1990-1992

This is shock advertising and comes to thaw as art, graphic design, photography & advertising. Its drawing attention to the brand not through fashion but through shock.

Judy Blame, Keep Britain Tidy T-Shirt 1992

This shows rise of fashionism.

This is very simple to the eye but is very refined and very well executed.

Nike were one of the organisations of producing things in sweat shops although far more people are doing it and its becoming a wide acceptance of the way organisations work. It is clever as it changes the way people think.

Final Thoughts 

• Graphic Design is a relatively young discipline & has taken its time to mature into what it is today.
• Links between Graphic Design and different disciplines eg. Fine Art, Advertising are arguably becoming increasingly blurred.
• Although born out of consumerists/capitalists interests, Graphic Design is arguably becoming increasingly concerned with social issues.