Designer Presentations

Kyle Cooper

He studied under Paul Rand. He has filmed many movies, including, Se7en, Spider-Man, and Dawn of the Dead. He experiments with typography and designs movie titles. He designed the openings for the Spider-Man movies. His designs comprise of flat color planes. He liked to animate text. It shows that he is a great designer because of his work for such diverse movies. I really liked his work. He's one of my new favorite designers. 

Shepard Fairey

This is the creator of the Obama "Hope" design. His work is influenced by Art Deco, and most of his work is dark black and red. Many of his political statements are hidden within his work. His fonts are bold and colorful. He liked showing his work on the streets so that he could communicate with the community. The "Giant" design he made was so interesting to people, and he was only making it for a joke. His design career began from there. I really like his Animal Farm poster because it's so decorative.

Designer Presentations

Stefan Sagmeister 

This designer worked with Tibor Kalman and his work is known all over the world. He really like how Tibor worked with typography and his entire design style. He uses many hand-written elements and photographs and typography out of objects; he was not a user of computers. He created designs for music, including album covers. He also works with the human body and faces. For an internship, he had the information carved into his skin. Very unique/different. His philosophy is to be honest. I love how he uses a lot of hand-writing.

Clement Mok

His work began in the 80s and worked for Apple, where he was able to work with specific applications. He worked on a variety of jobs, including: producing, designing, educating, web developing, software producing. His design style was comprised of geometric lines, bold colors, and he was great at creating logos. One of his main focuses over the last decade was on web designing. As he had many clients and projects, he became very well-known and worked with big companies--a couple of them being Adobe and Sony. 

Leo Burnett

He liked to create images around the product. Three main symbols he had were apples, black pencils and a hand reaching for the stars. Some icons he had were the Pilsbury Doughboy, Tony the Tiger and the bird from the Fruit Loops cereal. His website is so so so so so coooool.

Designer Presentations

Tibor Kalman 

His child life influenced his work and that ended up being a good thing. With his wife, he opened a design firm called M&Co. for magazines, film titles, and books. He believed in 'going green' and women's rights movements. M&Co. created a C.D. cover with talking heads, which influenced other designers. He created a design for matches, where the matches were arranged in a way that it made up a skyline design. He created very interesting watches. I loved seeing them. Especially the one where there was only one number and another where the numbers were all scattered and mixed up. With magazine covers, he liked mixing up the cultural backgrounds of people. For example, he made Queen Elizabeth look African. 

David Carson

Began his designs in the 1980s. He was a self-taught designers, however he did attend a design workshop. He was inspired by abstract-expressionists. He was also influenced by surfing--giving him a laid back style. He designed his own surf board. His designs looked very cluttered, asymmetrical and vividly colored. Technology had a major impact on his design style as the computer was becoming popular. He was an art director and an art designer from '83--'94. He is best known for his work with Ray Gun-- a magazine with experimental typography. The covers were very interesting-looking. 

Designer Presentations

Neville Brody

He was a designer born in London. He was impacted by Punk Rock 1977, as it was having a cultural effect on London, and his designs were not accepted by educators. He enjoyed designing for concert posters for college students. After designing a postage stamp with the Queen's head on sideways, he was almost kicked out of school. Along with is work being impacted by Punk Rock, Dadaism and Pop Art were other major contributors. Later on in his life, he designed record covers and worked on a magazine called The Face. He was also a designer of many typefaces.

Art Chantry


He grew up with a bad childhood as his parents did not get along and his neighborhood was dangerous. His experience as a child influenced his later designs. The Vietnam War also effected him and his designs as he was against war. He worked in an interesting way. He reused already-made images in new designs, worked with screen prints and carved wood, he used various typefaces and images, and he had a Dadaist philosophy. He was influenced by psychedelic posters and Pop Art. He discovered his love for graphic design as a college student. I really like how this man knew he wanted to be a designer, even though all other areas he studied in. Also, I like how his past life influenced his current designs. It makes the designs more special/unique.


Storm Thorgerson


He had an original style, for he used many photographs and layered them on top of each other, leaving a mysterious design style. He created many album covers, one being Pink Floyd. Because he liked working with people, he used many models within his compositions. Within the album covers, he incorporated musical elements. He formed a graphic design studio called "Hipgnosis" with Aubrey Powell. The studio specialized in creative photography. Dali was one artist who he found to be inspiring, although he said he wasn't influenced by other artists, he was using them as references. He directed a Pink Floyd video and won an award from the American Billboard Awards. He currently works with freelancers.

Designer Presentations

April Greiman 

When April was young, she danced with her mother and was influenced by the advice given to her. She was told to be strong and determined and to work hard in order to achieve. She had little knowledge of graphic design but was determined and eventually became aware of American Modernism. She learned a new way of design. She incorporated irregular spacing, angles and sizing, which was an original approach compared to other designers during that time. April found new ways to design rather than copying from the past. She turned 2-D designs into 3-D and also combined digital elements. I really liked her text because it was so randomly created. It really caught my eye when I saw it. 

Milton Glaser 

Milton founded the Push Pin Studios along with many other people. His designs were simple, yet they were very original. He founded the New York Magazine, WBMG ( a studio dedicated to magazine and newspaper design work), and Milton Glaser, Inc. His work was influenced by Art Nouveau and Pop Art. Two of his well-known posters are Bob Dillan with colorful, art nouveau-like hair, and the I love NY poster. 

Seymour Chwast

This designer was influenced by Walt Disney cartoons and he took image and text into consideration. He worked with woodcuts, flat colors, and the speedball pen. He incorporated Art Nouveau and the Victorian style into his work. He liked to surround the images with text. Logos and posters were created by this designer, and he preferred to design posters over anything else because he had a greater freedom to use imagery and text. I liked his work a lot because he was so random and created such interesting designs. 

Matthew Carter: Thesis

Being known as the master font designer, Matthew Carter has made a great impact on graphic design while influencing other designers because of his ability to invent a variety of fonts and utilize them successfully.

Psychedelic Posters

This short section in Chapter 21 was interesting because it was new design style—similar, yet different from previous styles—being introduced. Psychedelic posters were brought forth because of social activism. The name, psychedelic posters, was brought forth because of relating well with rock-n-roll and drugs. The posters were made up of particular elements, like, bright color, swirling forms, illegible lettering, and complimentary colors. They were hung on the walls of apartments more often than they were hung outside in the streets; university campuses were also popular places to display the posters. Instead of conveying a particular message, as with posters of other styles, their purpose was to make a point. Since the wording was swirly and hard to read, many people claimed that it was not readable, yet the younger audience was more determined to find out what was being said. Psychedelic posters were created by people who had taught themselves; music and dance were portrayed in the designs for their promoters. Some interesting people made impacts during the time of psychedelic posters, including: Robert Wesley Wilson; Victor Moscow; Peter Max; David Lance Goines. Wilson was the main innovator for this poster style. Mocoso was an artist who was actually taught, unlike the rest of the artists. Max created posters closely resembling Art Nouveau, but with a new look added to it—more imagery and soft colors. Goines studied calligraphy and used symmetry, line drawings, contour lines, and flat planes of color with his poster designs. By the time the 1980s came, photography and paintings were becoming limited-edition posters.

The most interesting thing I learned from this section of Psychedelic Posters was how similar it was to Art Nouveau, even though new ideas were added. The forms were organic and simple, with a flowy look to them, yet the color was much more bold and energetic. Within this poster style and art nouveau, both present motion because of the way the flowy lines are shown. But with the psychedelic posters, much more energy is felt because of the bursts of complimentary colors and swirly letterforms. It’s almost as if everything is coming alive; music can be heard when you look at the psychedelic posters.

The book claimed that many people could not read the lettering, and the style was more colorful and energetic than the previous styles, communicating well with the younger generation. Were the psychedelic posters accepted by elders?

Chapter 20: Corporate Identity and Visual Systems; Chapter 21: The Conceptual Image

In Chapter 20, the topic covered is corporate identity and visual systems. After World War II, there were many advances in the economy and there was prosperity because of technological development. There was a positive outlook on the future, and it was said: “Good design is good business”. Graphic design was used as a way to develop corporate identity for viewers. In the past, trademarks and symbols were used as identity systems, but during the 1950s, a design system was used in order to communicate. Adriano Olivetti was the son of Camillo Olivetti—president of AEG—and he had a good sense of organization when it came to graphic design. He hired Giovanni Pintori, who created simple, yet complex designs; simple shapes and abstraction were also used in order to present function and purpose. CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) did not use a traditional corporate identity, like other companies used. Frank Stanton and William Golden were two who understood design, in the way that function needed to be carried out, and brought forth successful designs through creativity. Other designers during this time were Georg Olden and Lou Dorfsman. Olden was an African American who was cherished for his designs, which were comprised of symbols, signs and images. He also found a way to make the TV graphics more communicative. Dorfsman created clear, well-arranged graphics; no continuity was present between his layouts, imagery and typefaces. The intention of CBS was to carry out creativeness rather than a system of style, although, by the 1980s, their viewpoint changed and so did their graphics. There was a need for quickly-made, simple signage for travelers. The goal was to effectively communicate with simple, yet bold/interesting symbols/forms. When it came to the Olympics, it was important for the larger audience to be informed. Symbols had to be invented that would easily be understood by just about anyone. MTVs logo, which was introduced during the early 1980s, was continuously recreated, unlike other corporate identity logos. This made an impact on future logo designs, bringing forth more elements of color, texture and decoration.

Chapter 21 was on The Conceptual Image. After the war, a school of poster art opened, which was a union. New trends began to develop, with an interest in Surrealism and the metaphysical. Polish posters included many interesting elements, including, expression, communication, the spread of ideas, darkness, somberness, and surrealism. Tadeusz Trepkowski was a designer who focused on devastation by reducing the image and text to their simplest forms. Henry Tomaszewski carried out new emotions. Waldenar Sweizy created over 1,000 posters, incorporating perfection and the inspiration of folk art. In America, new processes were coming about for printing, paper, and photography. Milton Glaser was a type designer influenced by Art Nouveau, Victorian and Art Deco styles; he used unexpected form and started the Push Pin Studio—a studio where there was a creation of new ideas.

The most influential thing I learned about from chapter 20, how CBS cared more about using creativity while carrying out their designs rather than following a planned system of style, as other organizations/companies used. This brought forth an interest in designers to work for them because they were able to incorporate their own ideas and/or preferences. While looking at the CBS trademark on page 400 in Megg’s History of Graphic Design, it is seen that a layer of clouds are present among the simple shape of an eye and typography. I just looked up a contemporary trademark of CBS and noticed how the two designs compare/contrast. There is definitely more creativity/detail in the 1950s trademark than in the contemporary one. There are more words and clouds are present. In today’s CBS trademark, the letters “CBS” are largely present and positioned next to the same eye used in the old design.

What gave CBS the desire to use creativity for their trademark designs?

Chapter 18: The International Typographic Style; Chapter 19: The New York School

This chapter was on a Swiss design movement that had eventually become international because of its use of harmony and order. The designs were asymmetrical and organized by a grid; sans-serf typefaces were used, as it was known as being useful/legible/expressive during that time period. The goal of the movement was to spread information and achieve clarity. The attitude of the designs was important, and expressive/emotional designs were not accepted. Throughout the chapter, many interesting designers were mentioned who impacted and were influenced by the movement. Max Bill was a painter, architect, engineer, sculptor, and product/graphic designer. He used concepts of art concret, which incorporated exact/pure/mathematical elements into paintings, making them abstract. These same ideas have been applied to graphic design. Bill used order, organization, division, sequences, and contrast. Max Huber worked with Bill; Huber created bright, colorful designs and was able to maintain order within his complex solutions. New typefaces were invented by Adrian Frutiger and Edouard Hoffman; Frutiger invented Univers—having a variety of 21 different fonts— which Hoffman wanted to upgrade. Hoffman came up with a new font called Helvetica—used internationally. Hermann Zapf was a calligrapher and Renaissance typographer, and he created great letterforms. Three new typefaces he came up with include, Palatino, Melior, and Optima. He well understood the past and present typefaces and decided to compose new letterforms. The most influential Swiss designer was Muller-Brockmann. He used objective subjects; personal/emotional subjects were not used. Also, he used photographic images with the use of scale and camera angles to make the images look more like objects. His geometric forms were metamorphic. Rosmarie Tissi and Seigfried Odermatt worked with photographic images also; the images looked 3-dimensional. Eventually, new inventive forms were used by these two designers, bringing forth playfulness—a new addition to Swiss design.

In Chapter 19, immigrants from Europe were coming to America and introducing modern art. The Americans borrowed concepts from Europe, yet they also added their own ideas/approaches to their designs as new forms were made. These new ideas were bringing forth creativity. There was a desire to find new ways to grab the public’s attention. During this time (1940s), America found it important to present their ideas to express ideas and spread information. Originality was desired, along with personal expression. Many influential designers worked during this modern art period in America. Paul Rand was an American designer during this time; he was a promotional and editorial designer for popular magazines. As he worked, he changed visual form and used symbols for visual communication. Collages and montages were preferred by him as he integrated imagery, objects, ideas, and a variety of textures into single compositions. Bill Bernbach worked with the integration of the verbal and the visual. He also began to work more with trademarks and corporation design. In 1946, his book, Thoughts on Design, influenced many other designers; the book included over 80 of his designs. He also worked with symbols, as Rand did, and he understood their universal meanings. He was able to integrate these signs/symbols in his designs. Bernach liked to explore new ideas and show contrast between different elements, such as textures, forms, type, and color. Alvin Lustig was a designer who also enjoyed using symbols within his designs, which were contrasting and abstract. For Lustig, form = content; they were both one. Look magazine hired Lustig as the research director of visual design. Alex Steinbach was the art director of Columbia Records, so, in order to express music, he designed many interesting record covers with the use of shape and form. Saul Bass was a revolutionary designer who reduced his designs to using single dominant images. He was influenced by Rand’s balance of shape and asymmetry. He was the first to make a moving movie title, which was “The Man with the Golden Arm.” He used a cut paper look and also used organic forms/designs. Mike Salisbury redesigned the Rolling Stones magazine.

I found Max Huber’s work to be influential to me from chapter 18. After reading and seeing designs that were black and white, I saw his work and it jumped out at me. I love his use of color. And although his designs look jumbled and complex, they are still well balanced as the book mentioned. I like how there is balance between the rectangular forms and the colors throughout the composition of the yearbook cover on page 358.

With Muller-Brockmann’s “Der Film”, I did not quite understand how the rectangles were used throughout the space that was mentioned. How does it work? What were the dimensions of the rectangles?

Simply Lemonade: Ver Sacrum, Peter Behrens, Futurism

This is the Simply Lemonade label with a redesign influenced by the Vienna Secessionists. I drew a lemon in the center to relate with lemonde, as I did with the past designs. My concept behind the design was to create horizontal and vertical alignment with the words, add decoration, and create bold lines, just as the Vienna Secessionists did with Ver Sacrum designs. Vienna Secessionists used a lot of decorative/ornamental elements along the borers and within the backgrounds of their designs. They also use white space very well. Their text was hand-written (obviously mine is because it is a sketch); if I were to digitally create this image, I'd probably scan in hand-lettering. They used vertical and horizontal alignment. Along with this, color was added to the backgrounds.

This is the Simply Lemonade label recreate with the influence of Peter Behrens. He used a a grid system to create geometric, precise symmetry and alignment. I tried to create a design in the background of the lemon that was horizontally symmetrical. Also, I wanted the border to be symetrical. The horizontal lines (below and above the text) are vertically symmetrical. I tried creating text that Peter Behrens invented, which was shown in Megg's History of Graphic design in Chapter 12. Peter Behrens used all-caps with his text, so I also incorportated that element. He also used sharp angles and alignment. Rectilinear shapes were present in his designs.

This is the Simply Lemonade redesigned with the influenced of futurism. I wanted to create a design with forms composed of letters/words, just as the futurists carried out. The form is a cup with lemon juice gracefully free-falling into it from a half of a lemon, located in the top right hand corner. I do not feel that this image is as strong as I could have made it, but it does relate well with the work of the futurists.

Simply Lemonade: Victorian and Art Nouveau

(Label I redesigned)

I decided to use the Simply Lemonade label to recreate in the Victorian style. I wanted it to have a variety of fonts, so I found fonts used during that time period and incorporated them into the label. I also wanted to include a picture of a lemon to relate with lemonade, as I did in the label below. Also, I noticed that product names seemed to stand out more boldly than the rest of the text, so I used capitals for the brand name. Many arcs, curves and angles were present in designs during the Victorian era. There were a lot of patterns and ornament used, too, so I also tried to use simple patterns in the label. A simple border was drawn to make the design more uniform; many designs from the Victorian era had elaborate borders.

I decided to sketch a new design for the Simply Lemonade label in the style of Art Nouveau. I looked at a bunch of labels from Art Nouveau to get a better of how I wanted to design the label. I love the tiny stained-glass-looking squares from the style, so I wanted to incorporate it into my design. Since curves and floral designs were used with this style, I added some flowy-looking stems, leaves, and flowers. Two lemons are also present to relate with lemonade. I chose the type to relate well with the style, also. Around the entire design is a thin frame, which is seen around many of the Art Nouveau designs.

Chapter 17: The Modern Movement in America; American Kitsch

This was another chapter I enjoyed reading. I think the designs are becoming so much more interesting as the years progress. America originally rejected modern art. When it was first introduced, they did not accept the European designs because of the typography and graphics integrated in the posters. Americans were used to only seeing illustrations. New fonts were used, like Futura, Kabel, Caledonia, Electra, and Metro. Dadaist and Cubist elements were applied to the works of some interesting designers at this time, including William Addison Dwiggins and Lester Beall. Four other designers were known to have very coincidental circumstances. Erte, Dr. Mehemed Fehmy Agha, Alexey Brodovitch, and Alexander Liberman were all born in Europe, taught in France and helped with the development of modern art in America. Joseph Binder was interesting, for he use an airbrush technique and incorporates cubism and realism into his designs. The WPA was started, along with the WPA Federal Art Project—allowing artists to continue their careers. Many immigrants began coming to America, including: artists, designers, architects, scientists. Modern art was being dispersed throughout the world ever the Nazis caused the closing of the Bauhaus school. During the years of the war, specific posters were made. They were comprised of informational material and cartoons that looked unprofessional. Propaganda posters were also being made. Because of huge historical events, such as Hitler, Pearl Harbor and the world wars, many designers created powerful posters. John Atherton was one who created posters because of gossip/careless talk about the movement of the troops. Ben Shahn composed posters having to do with the cruelty of the Nazis; many people became aware of the brutality. Bayer, the designer mentioned in chapter sixteen with the Bauhaus school of design, was mentioned to have changed his style of design; he eventually made illustrations and type by hand-painting, instead of using photography.

After reading on American Kitsch, I realized how interesting it is that people have so many different views on it. It was said to be an art movement, a lifestyle, and a literature. While people find it to be tacky, it is also seen as being fun and a piece of artwork. I have never heard of the word ‘kitsch’ before, but I have seen the artwork. I have porcelain snowman at my house that my mom bought years ago. I’ve always looked at it and thought how gaudy it looked with the bright colors and the bulkiness; yet I always enjoyed putting it out for decoration. It was weird that I felt disgusted and excited about it all at once, and after reading the different responses people have on kitsch, it’s kind of funny how that happens.

The most interesting thing I learned from this chapter was how designers were incorporating Cubism and Dadaism into their work. Joseph Binder’s coffee poster was interesting, for you could definitely see elements of cubism. There is a woman standing, and her figure is comprised of defined shapes. You can see how geometric and abstract-like the forms are throughout the poster. I think it is so cool how past modern movements are incorporated into later movements—even up until now. New ideas are mixed with the original ideas, bringing forth interesting ideas and designs.

Why did the Nazis want to close down the Bauhaus school?
What makes kitsch so tacky, yet pleasant? I cannot figure it out.

Art Deco

During the time of Postcubist Pictorial Modernism, images were man-made, machinery was accepted, and the Allies won World War I. Edward McKnight Kauffer was an artist who incorporated cubism in his work. He made many posters, including underground posters. At first, he focused on making landscapes the destination point for the travelers; he eventually moved on to Art Deco. Art Deco came between the two world wars and got its name from a major design exhibition. It was influenced by many art movements, including: Cubism, Bauhaus, Vienna Succession, De Stijl, and Suprematism. Zigzags and decorative geometry were a part of the Art Deco work. Aesthetics were seen in architecture, design of products, and graphics. Decoration was desired. Jean Carlu was committed to helping his France community; he taught himself how to draw with his left hand, after he lost his right arm in an accident, so that he could present powerful messages through posters. He found that angles and lines represented tension and alertness, and curves represented comfort, relaxation and ease. He combined text with imagery and created intriguing posters of the American war effort. A.M. Cassandre was a designer who also incorporated Cubism into his work; simple planes of color and 2-dimensional shapes, words and images were used. He found that meanings were more powerful with the use of geometric forms—figures, shapes, shadows, silhouettes. Cassandre invented a new typeface for Art Deco, called Bifur. Paul Colin was interesting, for he created his posters by placing forms/figures in the center of the posters and overlapped images giving off a cool effect of colorful bands. Austin Cooper created posters for the Underground Railroad by using warm and cool colors, which communicated well with the viewers. He also took fragments of interesting places and events in Paris and collaged them as compositions. Joseph Binder used natural shapes/figures and used two basic colors—the second color creating the shadows. Abram Games composed emotional posters during the time of war; in one of the, a soldier was shown along with text questioning, “If he should fall, is your blood there to save him?” Many of these ideas were flowing in and out of Germany during this time, as the designers were influenced by Cubism and French advertisements. Printing became much easier as the technology was advancing.

The most interesting thing I learned from this chapter was how Austin Cooper created posters and conveyed meaning through the use of warm and cool colors. I think it is so amazing how color can hold emotion and have great effects. One of his posters is comprised of cool colors, trying to convince people to ride the train because of it being cooler below the ground. It definitely would have grabbed my attention on a hot day. Another poster was the exact opposite, yet having the same effect. The colors were warm, trying to convince people to come down to the underground railroad—out of the cold. Again, I would have been convinced. The posters hold expressions with the use of color.

Did Jean Carlu ever have a passion to help his community before he got injured in the trolley accident?

Chapter 15: A New Language of Form

At the turn of the century, many new changes were developing. Designers, architects and product designers began to focus more on geometric form; form and space were elements being created within their work. The main focus during this time, around the end of World War I, was on form and function. There became a rejection for art taking a political/social role; art was meant to create forms in time and space. Suprematism was a new painting style where form and color were a main focus. Russians were influenced by cubism and futurism, so they came up with the name, cubo-futurism, and used typography and designs in their work.

The most interesting thing I learned was how Kasimir Malevich created artwork with the focus on colors and shapes, without basing the work on values, emotions and pictorial representation. One of his compositions is just a white background with a large black square. Honestly, it doesn’t bring forth any excitement when I see it. As I look at it, it looks like there is depth, as if there is a big hole leading to nowhere—like outer space. I know that if many others were to see it, they may get something out of it, like a certain feeling or story that goes along with it. At the same time, many may see the piece and think nothing of it because it is so simple and plain. I think I like his work because my attention is grabbed much easier when I see less complex designs/art.

What is a leftist artist?

Day Fifteen: After Class

The topic for class was chapter 14, Pictorial Modernism.

Victoria presented and I thought she did a good job explaining what the modern advertisement posters looked like during this time; they were very simple, with only the addition of a few colors, the object being advertised, and easy-to-read text. The background usually only consisted of a flat color plane. The whole idea of the simplicity was to easily grab the attention of viewers and make sure they would also be able to quickly identify the company of the product. I always think of the McDonald's logo; it's very simple, and most everyone knows what it stands for. Bernhard was a man mentioned, and Victoria went over some important moments in his life. He became interested in colors after seeing an interior decorating exhibition, so he went home and decorated his house without permission. He got in trouble, left home, eventually entered a poster contest for a company that sold matches, and then became a well-known designer. During the time of World War I, posters were commonly used for propaganda purposes and to win the support of society. There was a difference between the posters of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary) and the Allies (U.S., Britian, France, Russia). The Central Powers created posters integrated words and images in order to communicate powerfully, and the Allies created illustrations of families and the home because they wanted to protect the traditional values, the home and the family.

The most useful thing I learned was how to better distinguish the pictorial modernism posters, and how they influenced today's posters. They were very simple; intricate designs were not necessary. The text was bold and very easy to read. A very simplified image of the product being sold was placed in the poster with a plain, single color background; the viewer could easily see what was being advertised. We played pictionary--a great hands-on activity--to help us understand how simple, yet identifiable the posters had to be created.

Unlike the Allies, why didn't the Central Powers focus on protecting the family values and the home?
Did Bernard ever contact his family, or did his family contact him, after he left?

Chapter 14: Pictorial Modernism

This was another one of my favorite chapters that we have read. The history of graphic design is becoming so much more interesting! In this chapter, it basically talked about how modern art was emerging; design was becoming much simpler and synthetic. Many simplified posters were created for World War I and businesses. Many interesting people were mentioned. Lucian Bernhard became influenced by modern interior decorating after attending an interior design exhibition. When it came to art, he was very talented and entered a poster competition for company that sold matches. His design won, after first being discarded, with a simple background, two matches and the company’s name. Simplicity became vital with successful advertisements and trademarks; past trademarks and advertisements were not distinguishable because they were so busy and did not have a single focus area. Other designers followed in his footsteps, such as Julius Klinger, Julius Gipkens and Hans Rudi Erdt. Erdt applied Bernhard’s ideas very well in his work; a simple product image and the company’s name were placed on a plain, solid background. Posters became very popular during the time of World War I in order to win the support of society. The Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary) created posters integrated words and images in order to communicate powerfully. The Allies (France, Britain, U.S., Russia) created different posters—illustrations of families and the home. They wanted to protect the traditional values, the home and the family. Cubism ended up influencing the modern pictorial images. When modern art was first introduced to America, people got upset and there was chaos. Edward Kauffer and A.M. Cassandre were two designers who were influenced by cubism; cubist elements, like geometric shapes and 2-dimensional compositions, were applied to their work. Cassandre ended up creating an advertisement for Dubonnet liqupor, which became popular for over two decades. He used double contour lines; this created a rhythmic flow of the colors and brought forth unity of the elements applied in his designs.

The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter was how modern pictorial images were created. They were so simple, and yet they were so successful. The same is true today’s advertisements and trademarks. People were actually able to better distinguish which product was being advertised. Today, McDonald’s golden arches are of a simplified trademark, very easily distinguished by most people. Also, something interesting I learned was how Bernhard became interested in interior designs. He went home and redesigned his dull-looking home, and I felt so bad that he was looked down upon for doing so. He was a natural artist and wanted to make his home more interesting.

What happened after Bernhard left his home? Did he ever contact his family again? How did his family react after Bernhard became a famous designer?

Day Fourteen: After Class

Yesterday's topic in class was the influence of early modern art from chapter 13. 

I presented on this chapter and told the class about Cubism, Futurism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Expressionism. I showed some images of contemporary work that has been influenced by these movements. I think each movement is very interesting and I'm so glad that I chose this chapter to present because the further research gave me a better understanding of it all. I love each movement because they are all unique in their own way. Cubism used geometric, rectilinear shapes and made collages out of materials while symbolizing the subjects they perceived. I loved how Futurists creatively used text to assemble forms. A lot of meaning was put into their work as they combined images and letters together. Their page layouts looked sort of random, but the intention was to bring forth ideas of the viewers. Dadaism was one of my favorite movements although it is kind of a confusing movement. I understand that they were against art, and they wanted to grab the attention of society by altering already-made objects and making them stand out. But I still am unclear about whether they were purposely making art, since they were against the idea of being called artists. I'm not up for rebellion and violence, but I like how they knew what they liked and disliked; like black and white. They did what they could to grab society's attention. Surrealism was one of my other favorites. I am so fascinated with surrealism now. After learning what their intentions were--using realistic elements, yet not taking gravity or scale into consideration, and creating an overall dream-like situation--I feel influenced. I usually like to paint or draw exactly what I see. Now when I look at everyday objects or nature, my mind starts to play around with it; it's kind of fun. I want to learn so much more about surrealists and other art movements. I love it all. Expressionists created beautiful artwork, whether it looked energetic or somber or right in between. Color and line were exaggerated and created such interesting, unexpected compositions. Some were filled with such energy that you start to feel uplifted and refreshed when you look at them. Others looked dark and mysterious; kind of making you feel sympathetic or interested in what the artist was trying to express. Visual art can really change your mood...like music...it's cool.

The most interesting thing I learned today was that Art Nouveau was the first art movement. I had originally thought that Expressionism or Cubism came first. Knowing that it was an art movement reminds me to really have a better understanding of it and how it influenced or evolved into modern art. 

When the Dadaists took ready-mades and altered them, did they consider them pieces of art? 

Chapter 13: The Influence of Modern Art

This chapter was one of my favorites that we’ve read so far. I have always been interested in learning more on the modern art movements. Before the movements came, there was much change occurring around the world. As said in the previous chapter, at the turn of the century, there was a new desire for brand new designs and typefaces. Organic, curvilinear styles were basically thrown to the side as rectilinear, abstract forms were wanted. Along with this, World War I was about to begin, in 1914, and much confusion—economically, politically, socially, and culturally—was felt throughout the world. Cars, airplanes, movies, and radios were just being introduced. As there was a growth in science and technology, there was much progress in business and trade. Cubism was an art movement that was started by Pablo Picasso and George Braque. Paintings and collages were the basis of their work. The work was comprised of fragments of perceptions of a subject. After perceiving a subject from as many different viewpoints as they could, each view was portrayed in a collage, leaving a geometric, abstract piece of art. The collage consisted of materials from the specific subjects they were portraying and were glued to a painting, leaving a two-dimensional form. This left the cubists with endless amounts of possibilities. Futurism was interesting, for it was an art movement that involved type, and the produced work closely resembles contemporary graphic design. Filippo Marinetti was the founder of this movement; many interesting futurism aspects were brought forth. There was a need to portray speed, energy and noise into their artwork. They were very interested in the war and wanted to incorporate modern everyday life. An interesting addition to design was typography; letterforms were becoming part of images and ornament and eventually began to be used as a way to create form. Poems were expressed by the way the words and letters were placed on the pages. There were no specific margins, for letters and shapes were basically thrown into the compositions. New ideas were only accepted; originality was very important within this group of artists/designers. Dadaism was another art movement; this group actually did not want to be called an art movement since they were anti-art. Their purpose was to pursue freedom. Society was insane because of the occurring war and other destruction going on in the world. Marcel Duchamp is a Dadaist who is most known of. In order for Dadaists to grab the attention of society to prove a point, they took already-made objects and altered them. Although much of their artwork was not seen as attractive, it did not matter because they only wanted to find the best way to grab the attention of viewers—something they definitely did. The Dadaists rebelled; they were in total pursue of freedom and world peace. Because of their work holding so much emotion and meaning, this art movement inspired graphic design. Typography was also used in their artwork. Surrealism was an interesting art movement, for illustrations were created of thoughts and feeling. Realistic characteristics were contributed, yet the entire situation was fantasy and dream-like. Proper perspective, color, and figures were taken into account, but scale and gravity were not. Andre Breton was the man who founded this movement, and he claimed that surrealism was meant to express thoughts with the absence of all control. Viewers were very interested in their work, and much surrealism is seen within artwork and designs today. Expressionism was another early modern art movement. Color and line were exaggerated in the artwork. It was important for emotions to be conveyed. Their main focus was on the poor and social outcasts, and conditions of people and the environment. Two subgroups of expressionism included The Bridge and The Blue Rider. The Bridge created work with emotion through the use of thick, strong stokes and bold statements. The Blue Bridge did not use subjects matters; instead, the spiritual nature of people was expressed through color, line and line. Within some of these movements, the use of typography was important. Photography soon was an important aspect of modern work. Many new styles of art and art movements were formed afterwards up until this day.

The most interesting thing I learned while reading this chapter was how the Dadaists did not want to be seen as artists. It’s kind of funny because their work actually inspired other artists. Meaning was expressed through their work in order to convey something important to the public. For them, what they created did not have to look pretty, for all they wanted was to really draw people in so that they could get their points across. Basically, Dadaists stood opposite against what art stood for. For example, if art was meant to appeal to senses, Dadaists chose to offend. Overall, I really enjoyed reading on this movement because they had an unexpected mind-set.

Were all of the following art movements and styles, up to this day, influenced by the early modern art movements?

Day Thirteen: After Class

The topic during this class was chapter twelve on the genesis of modern art.

This chapter was presented well, although the presenter was not feeling well. Art Nouveau was a short art movement as the turn of the century came. Many new changes were to occur in the world, including World War I. People were wanting new designs and typography that was not ornamental and organic. Geometric, rectilinear abstract compositions were beginning to form. A specific horizontal and vertical grid was used in order to keep correct dimensions. New desings for architecture were introduced with more space between the rooms. For example, according to the presenter, there was a huge spacial area with the kitchen and livingroom connected; this allowed people in the kitchen to interact with others in the livingroom.

The most interesting thing I learned was how the architecture was designed during this time. New ideas were being used, with space being a main focus. Most homes today are designed that way, including mine. I never really thought about how the design of architecture developed throughout time. It is interesting.

Why did the Ver Sacrum have pages with such strange dimensions?

Image Five

I was completely drawn to this image when I first saw it because it is so mysterious and fastasy-like. I wanted to find an image that would relate with surrealism, and I think this contemporary piece relates well with this art movement. I found the image online at neosurrealismart.com, among a variety of other interesting contemporary graphics. I was really impressed with the idea of turning a chess board into a body of water. I took a computer art course in the past where we had to create an interesting design with a chessboard -- very similar to this image. I turned mine into a wooden tabletop with bowls and plates of food placed on top of it. So, after working for weeks on the chessboard project, chess boards seem to really stand out when I see them. I believe the function of this image is to give off a specifc feeling for the viewers. Also, it may have just been created for visual interest -- I think it is fun to look at. My mind begins to sort of go off into fantasy land; ideas and stories begin to mold while seeing such an unrealistic setting, although the the objects look very realistic. In my opinion, the artist did a great job with digitally incorporating fantsasy with the realistic-looking objects. The quality of the artwork is great. All of the space is used, atmospheric perspective and accurate proportions are present as a sense of depth is perceieved. Specific textures are used for each object. Although the ship is very tiny in comparison with the chessboard, the overall image is pleasing because the chess board becomes the land and water, The fog surrounding the ship also adds depth to the composition; it runs off the left side of the image, along with the water, giving the idea that the chess board is part of a an even larger body of water. The dark colors in the background set a mysterious mood. It sort of looks like the chessboard is floating in a dark, dreary sky. Overall, this image relates with class since we have approached early modern art, with Surrealism being an early twentieth-century art movement.