Post Two, 1.22





I love reading about Futurism and the break away from symmetrical page layouts, and specifically the way typography continued to develop--how it became also about how words are strategically placed on the pages, and about what kind of relationships between text and meaning the white spaces were establishing on the pages. I was inspired seeing "Il pleu" in our book, which immediately reminded by of E.E. Cummings poems. Cummings was influenced by Gertrude Stein, who was an advocate for the "new" in art and specifically the avant-garde.




Hollis Richard. Graphic Design: Concise History. Thames & Hudson, 2016.
Cummings, E. E., 1894-1962. 95 Poems. New York: Harcourt Brace Jonanovich, 1958. retrieved from: http://kristintolbert.blogspot.com/p/concrete-poem.html

I also enjoyed reading about the way that type in posters started to develop, with thick planes and shapes and sans serif text. I really enjoy the unexpected nature of this poster, with extremely large shapes leading your eyes throughout the page, and tiny sans serif text. The contrast of the boldness in shapes and daintiness of the text really draws in reader's attention. The spaces again here help to establish the relationships between meaning and text and play a role in relaying the information.



Hollis Richard. Graphic Design: a Concise History. Thames & Hudson, 2016.

Comments

  1. Karin BuffieJanuary 22, 2020 at 2:59 PM

    I think it is awesome how much you can do with text. Not only do we obviously write with it to communicate with others, but the way it is formed can give a whole new meaning to a design. Messing around with different shapes, line lengths, kerning/leading, etc. is a great way to add character and meaning to a design, and also make it more interesting and fun to look at.

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  2. HarryKJanuary 22, 2020 at 3:00 PM

    I must disagree with you, I do not like futurist typography. I just seems so confusing and my eyes can't figure out where to start, especially when the text is on a downwards slope like in one of the examples you give. What was wrong with normal formatting? I will agree with you that it is interesting to see some of the early advertising posters. Some of them can be very cool, especially some of the Dutch posters, catalogs, and instructions like on the last few pages of the book.

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  3. Dolores WilberJanuary 26, 2020 at 6:39 AM

    There is a range of Futurist typography. Much of it was about the growing speed in the development of the economy and culture, expressing chaos. It is understandable that this is uncomfortable but powerful to simply understand the point of view.

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