typography: past & future ii

Gustavo Machado

Robert Leigh

GR 6050 UA History of Graphic Design II

Miami University of Art & Design

MFA in Graphic Design

“After Architecture, Typography providedthe most characteristic picture of a period, and the strongest testimonial of the spiritual progress and development of a people”.

Peter BehrensPeter Behrens (1868-1940)German artist, architect and designer

OVERALL CONCEPTThis project has the intention to not just reflect the History of Graphic Designin the 20th century, but also to raise awareness about concerning factsduring this turbulent era.

The advent of digital age, and more specifically the Internet, completely changed the communication landscape.

Now, social media networks allow professionals around the globe to join forces and make a positive impact over the world; unquestionably, the creative possibilities are almost endless asa result of this new era of synergy.

AUTHOR

Gustavo Machado is a designer and educator with an almost utopian dream: redesign the world.

Gustavo Machado

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSI’d like to thank all my classmatesat Miami University for their extraordinary contributions through critique, discussionsand high-level debates. Without any doubtI having been learning a lot with all of them through my personal journey.

I would also like to thank MIU’s Historyof Graphic Design II professor,Mr. Robert Leigh, for his categoricalguidance and support.

CONTENTS

1912 - Expressionism

1916 – Dada

1919 - Bauhaus

1924 - Surrealism

Conceptual Image

World War II." Online Photograph. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 13 June 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-73179>. /anukoski/40864622/

Expressionism is a style that started in Germany around 1912, encompassing painting, sculpture, literature, film, music, and architecture. Havingits roots on writings from the German philosopher named Friedrich Nietzsche, a revival on some thoughts from the ancient world took place;the eternal dispute between rationality and emotion, resulting in enormous pain and anxiety.

The expression of anguish is depicted throughthe distortion of reality, specially form and color. Two-dimensional art, no perspective applied, distorted shapes and bold colors are responsiblefor conveying emotion in a very intense way.

Classic examples of this style include:Van Gogh’s “Portrait of Dr. Gachet”, Edvard Munch’s“The Scream” and Wassily Kandinsky’s“On White II” paintings, Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”and Robert Wiene’s “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligarimovies, as well as Franz Kafka’s“The Metamorphosis” novel.

1893 – The Scream - Edvard Munch 2000 – Sudan - Luba Lukova

1927 – Metropolis 2002 – Metropolis (restored version)

1946 – The Key - Jackson Pollock 2007 – Mudspot - Joshua Davis

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Davis, Joshua. "Joshua Davis." 2007. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.joshuadavis.com>.

"Fritz Lang's Metropolis." 2002. Kino International. 13 Jun 2007 <http://www.kino.com/metropolis>.

Lukova, Luba. "Luba Lukova Studio." 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.lukova.net>.

Manetas, Miltos. "Jackson Pollock Simulator." 2007. 5 Jun 2007 <http://jacksonpollock.org>.

The Munch Museum. 2007. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.munch.museum.no>.

Dada is an art movement that started in Switzerland around 1916 as a protest against World War Iand classic art. According to one of his founders, Tristan Tzara, Dada has no meaning, simply because like everything in life, is useless.It spanned art, literature, and performances,which started in a place called Cabaret Voltairein Zurich, Switzerland. In few years Dada becamea global force, spreading over several countriesin Europe as well as the United States.

Due to its absolute denial on art and aesthetics, Dada has been also labeled as “anti-art.”Humor, cynicism, non-sense, unconventional media,and extremism are the main features foundon this highly controversial cultural movement.The result could not be more diverse:political pieces, non-sense poetry, art theory, collage, everyday objects (readymades);everything carefully produced in a way to shockthe audience, instead of engaging them.

Several artists became well known during the 20’s including Tristan Tzara, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, John Heartfield, Hans Arp, Max Ernst, and Kurt Schwitters. Also important to note is the factthat some of them took part of other movements, such as Futurism and Surrealism.

1917 – Fountain - Marcel Duchamp 2006 – Mini Cooper – Taxi Advertising

1919 – L.H.O.O.Q - Marcel Duchamp 2007 – CanTheLitter.ca – City of Toronto

2003 - The Public Theater – Paula Scher1922 - Small Dada Evening – Theo van Doesburg

1922 – Champ Delicieux - Man Ray

2004 – Tools with Construction Text - Substance

1932 –The meaning of the Hitler salute:little man asks for big gifts - John Heartfield

What make’s a good host? – Dave Plunkert


Getty Images. 2007. Getty Images, Inc.5 Jun 2007 <http://creative.gettyimages.com>.

"Heartfield vs. Hitler." Brasscheck Historical Archive. 2007. Brasscheck's Counterintelligence Project.7 Jun 2007 <http://www.brasscheck.com/heartfield>.

"Home." Can the Litter. 2007. The Toronto Boardof Trade. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.canthelitter.ca>.

"Man Ray Photo." 2007. Man Ray Trust.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.manray-photo.com>.

"Marcel Duchamp Studies Online Journal." Tout Fait. 2005. Art Science Research Laboratory, Inc.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.toutfait.com>.

"Pentagram." 2007. Pentagram. 13 Jun 2007 <http://www.pentagram.com>.

Plunkert, Dave. "Plunkert Illustration Portfolio.“2007. Spur Design. 7 Jun 2007 <http://www.spurdesign.com/dp_port.php?nav=David>

"Taxi." 2007. Taxi Advertising and Design.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.taxi.ca>.

Bauhaus is a term coined by Walter Gropiusin 1919 to designate a revolutionary school located in Weimar (Germany), merging art and architecture under the same foundation. This new vision,placing emphasis on multidisciplinary approach, played a major role in redefining design educationin the 20th century. In addition, it also promoteda huge impact in many areas, including:art, architecture, interior design, graphic design, typography, and industrial design.

Bauhaus style embraced the use of new materials (e.g. glass, steel, concrete), functionalism and simple geometric shapes. Ornamentation, a quality available on several previous art movements,was strongly rejected. For example, in typography several classic sans-serif typefaces were createdin this period: Futura, Kabel, Bauhaus, Bayer Universal, to name a few.

Several professionals became prominent duringthis phase, as practitioners and eventually alsoas educators: Walter Gropius and Ludwig Miesvan der Rohe in architecture; Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian and Josef Albers in art; Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Herbert Bayer and Max Billin graphic design. With so many developments across several disciplines, it’s not surprising that Bauhaus has been considered one of the most important events during modernism.

1925 – Bauhaus School, Dessau – Walter Gropius

1997 – Esisar School, Valence – Ruedi Baur

1925 – Wassily Chair – Marcel Breuer 2002 – Jazzanova – Jutojo

1929 – Bauhaus Book – Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

1992 – A Flock of Words – Why Not Associates

1927 – Futura Black – Paul Renner

2006 – StatAttak – Stolen

30’s – Bauhaus Style Building, Tel Aviv

2005 – National Waterfront Museum – Why Not Associates


"Bauhaus-Archiv, Berlin." 2007. Bauhaus ArchivMuseum. 30 Jun 2007 <http://www.bauhaus.de>.

"Bauhaus, Dessau." 2007.Foundation Bauhaus Dessau. 5 Jun 2007<http://www.bauhaus-dessau.de>.

Baur, Ruedi. ”Ruedi Baur et Associes." 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.ruedi-baur.com>.

”Jutojo." 2007. 5 Jun 2007<http://www.jutojo.de/>.

"Marcel Breuer - A Centennial Celebration.”Archives of American Art. 06 April 2002.Smithsonian Institution. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.aaa.si.edu/exhibits/pastexhibits/breuer/Intro.htm>.

"Paul Renner." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.17 April 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 30 Jun 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Renner>.

"StatAttak." 2007. Stolen. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.statattak.com>.

Tossin, Clarissa. "A’_." 2007. A-Linha.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.a-linha.org>.

”Why Not Associates." 2007. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.whynotassociates.com>.

Surrealism is an art movement that startedin the mid-20’s in Paris by some Dada artists.His founder, Andre Breton, defined it as a revolutionary movement, based on the liberationof the imagination through the unconscious mind.

Similar to Dadaism, Surrealism also rejectedclassic art and aesthetics; although non-sensewas employed by Surrealists, it took a different form: unexpected juxtapositions, and non-sequiturs(logical fallacies) were common practiceamong its practitioners.

Despite the fact that this movement coveredboth art and literature, visual arts became central;names such as Man Ray, Duchamp, Arp and Ernst from Dada, as well as Rene Magritte, Juan Miroand probably the most controversial artistof all time, Salvador Dali, completelydominated the scene.

1941 – Le Therapeute - Rene Magritte 2004 – War and Peace - Luba Lukova

1961 – Moebius Strip I – M. C. Escher 2000 – Pop Magazine Identity – Suburbia

1966 – Le Pelerin - Rene Magritte 1996 – The Public Theater – Paula Scher

1976 – S. Fischer Verlag - Gunter Rambow 2007 – Nail Biter?

1980 – Die Hamletmaschine - Gunter Rambow 2005 – Nike Speed – Taxi Advertising


"Foundation Magritte." 2007. Magritte Foundation. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.magritte.be>.

Lukova, Luba. "Luba Lukova Studio." 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.lukova.net>.

"Pentagram." 2007. Pentagram. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.pentagram.com>.

Rambow, Gunter. "Gunter Rambow." 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.gunterrambow.de>.

Scary Ideas. 2007. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.scaryideas.com>.

“Suburbia." 2007. Suburbia. 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.suburbia-media.com>.

"Taxi." 2007. Taxi Advertising and Design.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.taxi.ca>.

“The Official M. C. Escher Website." 2007.M. C. Escher Foundation. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.mcescher.com>.

After World War I, classic illustration wasno longer seen as an effective to communicatewith the audience during this new era. As a result,an innovative generation of images, now basedon ideas/concepts was born.

At this point, professionals started applyinga new visual language coming from the revolutionary art movements of that period, including Dada, Futurism, Cubism, Expressionism and Surrealism.

This was unquestionably a great periodfor graphic designers, who had the opportunityto experiment new techniques (e.g. Illusion, distortion, merge, synthesis) and developtheir own style. Poster, in special, was the most popular medium during this era. Names like Armando Testa in Italy, Milton Glaser and SeymourChwast in the U.S., Waldemar Swierzy in Poland, Gunter Rambow in Germany, Robert Massinin France, became well-known around the worldand still greatly influence contemporary artists.

1966 – The Association – Wes Wilson

2004 – Daydream Nation – Post Typography

1967 – Bob Dylan - Milton Glaser

2006 – Kiss FM - Adhemas Batista

1970 – Love – Peter Max

2006 – Skatebard - GrandPeople

2001 – Peace - Luba Lukova

2001 – Stop Gun Trafficking - Woody Pirtle


Batista, Adhemas. Adhemas. 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.adhemas.com>.

”GrandPeople." 2007. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.grandpeople.org>.

Glaser, Milton. "Milton Glaser." 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.miltonglaser.com>.

Lukova, Luba. "Luba Lukova Studio.”2007. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.lukova.net>.

Max, Peter. ”Peter Max Art Online." 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.petermax.com>.

”Post Typography." 2007. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.posttypography.com>.

Wilson, Wes. ”Wes Wilson." 2007.5 Jun 2007 <http://www.wes-wilson.com>.

"Woody Pirtle: Medalists: Inspiration: AIGA.“2007. AIGA. 5 Jun 2007 <http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-woodypirtle>.

ART

This publication was produced under the influence of: Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Cy Twombly, Peter Beard, Dan Eldon,Shinro Ohtake, Tide Hellmeister, Vaughn Oliver, P. Scott Makela, Stefan Sagmeister, Tibor Kalman, Milton Glaser, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, El Lissitzky, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Cirque du Soleil, Starbucks, MTV, Misprinted Type, Die Gestalten Verlag, Tupigrafia, and many others.

TECHNOLOGY

Sony CyberShot DSC-W17 (7.2 megapixels),Canon CanoScan D1230U, Dell PC with 1Gb RAM, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat Professional, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power Point.