depauldesignhistory

For the first photo that I chose I was drawn to the work of Pearce Marchbank. When I saw it in the book I was intrigued by the collaging of images. I think it is interesting the way that the designer chose to lay the text over the image on the right. It gives it an interesting effect as well as keeps the focus on the main image of Mick Jagger. I enjoy the simplicity of the color scheme as well in this design. Most of all I like the parallel of the poses of Mick Jagger and the women, it gives the page a very symmetrical feel to it. I looked at some of the other work done by Marchbank on his website for Oz and I think he is a really creative designer who plays with really fun imagery, text, colors, and shape to create very interesting and fun page layouts. Marchbank, P. (1971). [magazine page] Retrieved from  http://www.pearcemarchbank.com/Magazines/oz.html  on February 10, 2020 For my second design, I chose to look at the designer Jamie Reed. I am a big fan of the Sex P...

Loewy, R. (1969) New Man Logotype Re-design. Image Retrieved from  https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Man  on February 10, 2020. I really love this logo for the New Man clothing company and how much it differs with the previous logotype they used. This conveys a chic and modern style, where as the old one felt like the logo for an old western saloon. What I love most about this logo is the fact that it is the same upside down as it is right side up. This is not only incredibly clever and satisfying to look at, it also poses a lot of practical benefits. For example, this logo can be read whether it is on somebody's shirt standing in front of you, or whether it is folded up facing away from you in a store. I love the adaptability and simplicity of the font, with the capital and non-capital letters being the same height. It does a good job at a conveying the brand fast, while also having the extra detail of the vertical reflection which adds to the pleasure of looking at it for ...

Bayer H. (1960) "Great Ideas of Western Men" Retrieved from  http://www.codex99.com/design/great-ideas.html  on February 7th, 2020. This image caught my attention because I think it captures a juxtaposition to the American dream. It exemplifies how people are resorting to a way of getting rich fast without working years for it. I find this image to be interesting because it conveys gambling, lust for wealth and women, and alcohol. All things which are desirable for pleasure and instant gratification. These objects pictured are very de-saturated which could imply that these vices are negative. In the bottom left, there is a lottery ticket which epitomizes the desire to get rich fast. The word "Corruption" is displayed which may hint that these notions were possibly a correlation to the corruption of America. Magritte R. (1958) "The Intimate Friend" Retrieved from  http://www.codex99.com/design/great-ideas.html  on February 7th, 2020. This image give...

Some of the material feels repeated a little more than necessary. I like that we have recaps about what we learned but I think this might be the third or fourth time we have talked about Mad Men. I really just want to know what happened in the world and how the design community reacted to it. It seems easier to keep up with if I can connect events to the design world. For example, WW2= propaganda posters. Stuff like that is easier to remember than give examples of work from all over different periods of history. Still, I am liking being able to see so many examples and talking about them. Oh, and I really like working in the dark. It makes the images look better and I like the vibes.

Seeing the evolution of design can be quite intriguing, especially as designers draw such obvious influence from each other as movements grow and spread--such as, in this case, the Bauhaus Movement. I've thoroughly enjoyed most of the videos that have been presented, as they tend to shine a lot of fascinating light on different timeframes and individual subjects of graphic design. That said, though, I think that overall, some of the material has some potential to be a more interesting, more engaging subject, but as it stands, though, it often comes across as fairly dry.

The video we watched with the photographer Stern who held the glass up to the building was nice because it is really helpful to me to learn how other people work and get inspiration, especially from observation and thinking about the way cameras work. One thing I do not like so much about today's lecture is that although I think the message form the TED talk we watched is very valuable and she is a great speaker and interesting person, I have seen it shown a number of times in other classes throughout my schooling.

I thought it was interesting learning about Mad Men and the history of the term. Although it was interesting to gain some knowledge about the original mad man, Bert Stern, it seemed a little bit unimportant for the lesson in my opinion. I enjoy learning about the different influences different cultures have when it comes to design. The "New Alphabet" by the Dutch designers was interesting and I would definitely like to learn about more other Eastern designers making a wave in the industry.

I liked that there was concrete examples of what we were discussing. And I think that some of the videos, like the one about the photographer and the video of the ted talk, enhanced the lecture. I think that we don't really need a long recap of what we've been learning. Today's was short and continued the ideas from the last class further. I also like learning more about specific designers, and seeing more of their work.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what class is about anymore. I don't feel like there's any direction or any plan, we mostly spend three hours looking at examples of cool design on the screen. This is fun, don't get me wrong. I do feel like I'm learning about interesting designers and like seeing examples of graphic design over the years, but I don't feel like there's really any structure to it. I'd like to focus on certain movements and mediums, to talk about where they came from, who pioneered them, what were the attributes and elements that differentiated them from the norm and made them unique? Why is it important to know this today? What can I, as a developing graphic designer in 2020, take away from this? It would also be nice to get our full breaks. We're given 15 minutes at 7:00 and then at 7:07 we're being taken to the gallery and asked to write this blogpost. Again, I'm fine with this, it's just inconsistent and confusing.

Watching all of the videos, such as the ted talk snippet, mad men trailer, and photographer documentary, was very interesting and unexpected. I wouldn't have anticipated watching any of these specific things today yet I do appreciate coming at the history of design from all these unique angles. Sometimes I do get a bit lost, like what today is all about overall.

I found it interesting that after the war, art and design began to take a more modernist approach. Many posters, type, and even furniture started to look more futuristic. Another thing I found interesting was the way artists and designers would "copy" or be influenced by other design work around the world like the Bauhaus movement. They would apply certain styles from specific design movements to their modern piece of work .

I liked learning a bit of back story on Bert Stern. I like learning a more in depth about a designers history. Its interesting to see where these designers are coming from however, I know that the time frame of this class doesn't really allow for too much of that. I didn't really like watching the ted talk at the beginning because, while the message is good, this is the fourth class I have had to watch that talk in.

I appreciate your efforts in this class to show some more diverse examples of designers and examples of some of the pioneers of printing that occurred in non-english speaking countries. I have noticed that the book heavily favors the European side of the history of design, however they have made some references to asian artists and techniques. I also am very interested in Paul rand and would like to do some more research on his work, and finally I will definitely be watching mad men.

            Paul Rand made some beautiful and heart-felt work that I often find as a great inspiration of my own pieces. As we discussed briefly in class already, he was creating ad design for corporations, but it would not seem that way at all. They are eye-catching, sincere, and thus share touching stories of these companies rather than what is often exposed in contemporary advertisement which seems inauthentic and capitalistic (maybe that's how it should be–I personally just do not like it that way). This peak of printed advertising definitely seems to have a different view that what is developed today. I also appreciate the delve into other influences, and other stories of artists and designers. Like we have discussed throughout this course, the book focuses mainly on European male designers, but it is nice to view and appreciate the work of people of color, women, and other oppressed groups within the field. They too are creating beautiful work t...

Something that I liked about the lecture so far was the bit about Mad Men, and relating it to TV shows/pop culture. Something I was not a fan of, and I have noticed this in a few classes, is that the lectures can be repetitive from day to day.

I enjoyed looking at the Mad men advertising examples. The man's story was inspiring because he dropped out of high school and blew up from his advertising agency.

I really enjoyed the topics discuss in the lecture. The one thing that I really appreciated is integrating diversity into the lectures because the book so far do not mention any minorities that have done something for Graphic Design. Thank you.

For me, something that has stood out so far in the lecture was the discussion we had about Mad Men. In hearing about what the Mad Men were in actual history and what they were like, it was nice to have a sort of visual and literal representation of what they were through the example of the Netflix show and then having that to compare and contrast with a real life mad man in that of Bert Stern and the scene we saw from his documentary. It was just nice to have the comparisons to make between a literal and a creative representation of what a mad man was.

What was most interesting to me so far in the lecture was the discussion of how we view history, all history, and how it affects the curriculum we've already covered in this class. History is generally told from one perspective, and we miss out on so much. There is no doubt that the book is missing a lot of material regarding work by people of color, from other areas of the world besides Europe and the United States, and by women. So, I think it would interesting to learn more of that information.

I like that we are starting to look at more designs and talking about designers that are more relevant in today's world. I think that also studying the different designers is interesting because we then learn about the people who created different styles and methods. I enjoy learning about collages and shape forms, so this class today has been extra interesting for me.

I thought the Mad Men introduction was very interesting. The combination of mediums really created a certain ambience for the viewer and set the tone for the show. The way that the background music worked with the animation of the designs and the slow motion moments really brought the piece together.

I really enjoyed seeing the work by Herbert Bayer and Herbert Matter, and their use of biomorphic shapes. I find their designs very interesting to look at, and very easy on the eyes. Its nice to something that's simple and that flows. It is relaxing to look at after looking the preceding designs, which involved a lot of photography and other detailed stuff that became straining after a while.

I thought it was interesting seeing some of the work of one of the men who inspired the TV show Mad Men. I also appreciate that we are talking about the fact that a lot of history is a very western idea of history and a lot of important people are being left out. It would be really interesting to see some of that in the future that the book does not touch upon.

I enjoyed the brief talk about mad men and the connection to the industry, I also love talking about the Volkswagen ad, i had mentioned that in my post for this week so it was nice to see that connection to what we are talking about. I think that the video talking about the Smirnoff ad with the pyramid was interesting to think about the though process of how he ended up with the final result.

I really enjoy discussing more contemporary pieces and how they've been influenced by the designers that have come before us and the ones who have been making new paths in our current generation. I find that every time I come to class I am inspired by another designers work and want to replicate it within my own or at least draw from it.

I liked watching Mad Men, I would have liked to see more. I like when we watch clips like that. I didn't particularly like analyzing some of the posters

Everything is fine

I really enjoy learning about the roles that early art directors played in the United States, the confusion they faced about what to call themselves (just like we talked about what to call graphic designers in the beginning of the quarter), and what kinds of changes they would make to designs. I particularly liked seeing the changes that Loewy made to the Lucky Strike cigarettes packaging in 1940...changing the background from green to white to make the box seem cleaner, fresher and of a better quality, and putting the circle logo on both sides to increase exposure of the product. Such small and seemingly simple changes really enhanced the design as a whole, which I love learning about as we go into our final papers/presentations as I would love to continue to study packaging and branding. I also enjoy thinking about type on packaging, and I think that opening up the letter spacing on “cigarettes” on the newer packaging was a nice design choice; it looks much sleeker after the change ...

I must admit, I had a hard time getting through this week’s reading, mainly because I was a bit sleep deprived and a bit due to the dryness of the reading in some sections. Reading about Abram Games helped recapture my attention when I had begun to feel bored. Up until now, I had never heard of him. At first glance, I didn’t pay attention to his work. However, the moment I read that he did not use typesetting nor photography in his work, I took another look. Games, A. (1942). Your Talk May Kill Your Comrades [Poster]. https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=2013-07-2-39 (February 5, 2020).   Bass, S.(1958).Vertigo [Poster]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Bass (February 5, 2020). This piece by Games caught my eye because of its resemblance to Saul Bass’ Vertigo Poster. The most obvious similarities being the swirl design in the middle of the page and the use of solid silhouettes. The swirl in Bass’ poster is used to represent the dizziness (vert...

Hollis 97-129 | The Designer and the Art Director Ryland Tuney I think one of the most fascinating parts of this chapter was the discussion on wartime graphics during the early stages of World War 2. The book highlighted many fascist and constructivist messages, centered around popular figures and leadership ideologies, which worked for many Axis countries such as Japan and Germany, using the Emporer or Hitler to symbolize the ending of the dark times, someone who would lead them to light. However, on the other side of the canal, Britain focused on the collective, the idea that the people would change the course of the war and that it was them that would bring victory. When America joined the war effort in 1941, they adopted a similar technique, focusing on the people and the work needed to bring victory. Henrion, F, H.K.  General Post Office telephones poster, c.1943 'We're in it together', Hollis 107  Lionni, L,    Office for Emergency M...

I did not realize that the role of the art director was created in the United States. In a way it makes sense, because it gives the overall vision to one person in a majority commercial pursuit, but also it is surprising because of the way the chapter talks about the United States being a commercial model for Europe and Europe a cultural hub. It seems like by that standard the art director should have come out of Europe. It would be interesting to contrast the way magazines and designers were functioning at this time as far as individual roles. July 1 1932. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2020, from https://archive.vogue.com/issue/19320701 This is the Vogue cover that is mentioned in the reading that was the first full color cover of Vogue under art director Mehemed Fehmy Agha. I have only ever seen Vogue in color, so I wanted to see what the first color cover looked like. I do not know what I was expecting but it is a very simple design. The lettering is different and althoug...

The most interesting thing I found in this reading was in the chapter about propaganda. It talked a little bit about how effective propaganda was used to affect the people of the countries involved in war but then it got into the design of the propaganda itself which is where I found my interest. The book had talked about how the advancements of photography had changed the effectiveness of propaganda and gave it a much more visceral feeling. Instead of using primarily drawings and illustrations as they did for propaganda in WWI, much of the propaganda in the WWII era used black and white photography on top of colored posters. Lionni, L. (1941) 'Keep 'em Rolling!' Retrieved from  https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/420557003/  on 5 Feb, 2020. This is an example of such a poster from the textbook where seeing the people themselves in a poster as opposed to an illustration creates more of an emotional connection making the propaganda more effective. The following...

In this week's reading, I enjoyed reading about different brands and firms either deciding to hone in on a unified graphic identity or trying to broaden and go in a lot of different really high quality directions. Both of these options have benefits and downfalls and both are equally hard to achieve. I thought that the paragraph about Pierelli was well put when it said: “ aimed not at standardization of its design but at high standards” (Hollis 143) I think all three Pirelli ads included in the textbook do a great job at showcasing the wide swath of design directions they chose to go in and executed very nicely. Of the three I like the Andre Francois poster from 1960. Its hand drawn feel and well done play on the elongated P of the logo being a windshield of a car feels unique, fresh, simple and unexpected from a rubber company. I think a contemporary company that does this in today's market is maybe someone like Adidas. They have a wide range of products and consumer markets ...

Rand, P. (1938).  Direction   [Magazine cover]. Retrieved from   http://www.paulrand.design/work/Direction-Magazine.html   on February 5 th     2020 Recently, I have been very fascinated by collage work, and how putting images together with shapes can create a greater picture or design. Paul Rand’s work for his magazines is very interesting to me, because he used collages to help design his spreads. This cover is interesting to me because the human body is cut up and different limbs are placed all over the page, yet it feels fun and simple. Brodovitch, A. (1935) . Harper's Bazaar [Editorial two-page spread]. Retrieved from http://www.designishistory.com/1940/alexey-brodovitch/ on February 5 th   2020 In class last week and also in the textbook reading, Alexey Brodovitch’s typography layouts and magazine designs for Harper’s Bazaar have really caught my attention. I really love when type gets used in creative lay...