EVALUATION

I found a lot of these study tasks for cop were quite pointless to undergo, due to having to blog pre plans of my essay etc. I believe the study tasks were useful knowledge however, I thought my essay would represent that I have done my study tasks. Other than that, the essay was an intriguing topic to read up on. No more Rules by Rick Poynor basically covers all the content and information I needed for my essay. An informative book, that aided my essay a lot. Postmodernism is an interesting subject, I have studied and written about it before so thought it would come as second nature to write about this question, however over my development for the last few years as a designer I realised that my knowledge and experience from when I first wrote this essay is far more enhanced than before. In future I will look to create time-constraints for myself so I manage time on a brief like an essay more efficiently.

SYNTHESIS

I will go through and analyse my intent and purposes.  believe my design expresses key themes from my essay, as a visual response in 4 main ways;

1. Planned irregularity of space and type

2. Use of custom type

3. Critical examination of pop culture

4. Design as a conceptual experience

(in relation to parody in graphic design) There could only be a genuine outcome if the viewer saw that the new version departs from its prior normality. 

I believe my piece does this. In relation to both Van Gogh and Mike Tyson’s actions, can be deemed acts of expression, I tried to keep Van Goghs style of expression, but added postmodern graphic design techniques, inspired by the likes of David Carson. I wanted the brutality of their actions conveyed with a level of satire. I have achieved this through mimicking in an absurd way the conventions and style of Van Gogh, in order to derive ridicule, ironic comment, or affectionate fun. 

How does my design relate to my essay? Well lets look at the themes described. I focused a lot on how postmodern design has impacted graphic design, in the sense that some of their traits are now employed in contemporary design, and are not even labelled postmodern anymore. 

I mentioned Neville Brody in my essay, his style is constantly replicated in contemporary graphic design, the application of cultural influences.  Brody’s work as he happily admits, bears witness to the many other ideas and sources of imagery that have influenced him-all feeding into this central concern; agitating, questioning, stripping-back towards what is really necessary, really ‘real’ underneath it all. This was not a theme expressed in any paradigm before postmodernism, and believe with the influence of pop art, it has impacted graphic design practice, which is why this trait needed to be included in my design.

Another postmodern trait I have tried to input in my design, is the use of typography, and the irregularity of space and alignment. Adopting techniques from Weingart, Carson and Fella. Employing the “new-wave” style into my typography, I tried to fully grasp the meaning behind this style, by looking at the design process, and disconnecting myself from the design principles focused around type, and focused more on looking at typography as a form of art expression. Disallowing any recurring style, pushing for irregularity, and planning deconstruction in my design. I believe my final resolution questions the established typographic practice, through use of alternative spacing, typeface, size, layout and placement.

I have tried to maintain and use these postmodern graphic design traits since the beginning of my design process, it is these traits that have impacted graphic design as a practice, which is why I have used these traits as the focal point of my design process. Overall the lack of coherency, and general combination of styles expresses my essay question visually, and believe I have created a piece that transcends a visual into how postmodernism has impacted graphic design, through demonstrating my knowledge into practice.

STUDY TASK 08 - PRACTICAL EXPLORATION 2

I wanted to include Pablo Picasso in my design, or someone who was a large contributor to modernism, and mix that content with a postmodern design, perhaps with a degree of controversy. Really trying to grasp the concept of postmodern graphic design. My question was How did Postmodernism impact on Graphic Design practice? I want my design to be a representation of this very question. I covered a lot of points in my essay, and one point I wanted to express in my design. is the use of Parody and Pistache, I believe it be a strong aspect that is in postmodern graphic design practice. 

I took particular interest in Marcel Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q, as I felt it epitomised the ethos of postmodernism. It was controversial in its simplicity. 

I wanted to experiment with different textures and mix media, like above. I think it makes a nice aesthetic.

I wanted to create a parody myself, of a famous modernist piece of art. But more than that, I wanted it to express a certain level of controversy. So theres a degree of meaning behind the piece. Of course it wil have a lot of the postmodern graphic design themes in a creative term, but I also want to express the theory in my design, both literally and metaphorically. 

PABLO PICASSO - WOMAN ASLEEP IN HER ARMCHAIR (THE DREAM 1932)

I LIKED THE 

I did not have a specific starting point, I was just experimenting with a range of ideas, not really focusing on any design principles, and just piecing together different concepts. Here I used a cut out of a Pablo Picasso piece, and I like the colours produced however it was not describing much of my essay visually. So I moved onto another artist.

I decided pretty early on that this yellow was going to be my main colour scheme in my piece. I do not know why I like it so much.

This is a colour scheme used a lot with Jean Michel Basquiat's work. I believe Basquiat to be a representation of postmodern art. The way he expresses himself, it is with passion, but it is conveyed in irregularity. This is a theme I want to express in my design.

 The New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat was a significant figure in the transition of graffiti artfrom a clandestine street activity to mainstream post modern art Despite his premature death from a heroin overdose at the age of 27, the reputation of his raw style of neo-expressionism- with its references to jazz and African art- remains high, and he is regarded by 'cool art critics as one of the important postmodern artistsof urban America. 

I looked into Van Gogh and decided to ditch Picasso. Exploring his self portraits. As he is another pioneer of modernism, I wanted to mix this image and relate it to our contemporary pop culture, to convey a hidden message. I started to look into a way to play around this. 

At first I looked at perhaps himself biting his own ear off, however it was not really a strong use of parody and pistache. It was not conveying a bold enough message to me, or really enforcing the themes related to my essay. I wanted to play around with his infamous cut off ear. 

I had the idea of incorporating Mike Tyson's infamous bite on Holyfield. On June 28, 1997, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield fought in Las Vegas in one of the most anticipated rematches in heavyweight boxing history. Holyfield was the defending world champion after he had shocked Tyson seven months earlier in an 11th-round knockout. The two had wildly divergent personalities and were categorically different fighters. Holyfield was a warrior and a strategist; Tyson was a fearsome brawler. The events that followed remain some of the most inexplicable, bizarre and disturbing moments in a sport well-accustomed to pandemonium. For several weeks after Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear and was disqualified (Tyson actually bit Holyfield twice; he was only penalised after the first bite), the world focused on the controversy.

 I thought of potentially linking two controversial moments in history, with a level of satire to produce my own parody, inspired my Duchamp, accept instead of duplicating the Mona Lisa, I will be experimenting with Van Gogh.

I found a fan made image online of tyson biting an ear off. And tried merging the two images together.

This was my final design, I will go through and analyse my intent, and reasoning now. Overall I am happy with my design outcome, as I believe it expresses key themes from my essay, as a visual response in many ways. 

1. (in relation to parody in graphic design) There could only be a genuine outcome if the viewer saw that the new version departs from its prior normality. I believe my piece does this. In relation to both Van Gogh and Mike Tyson’s actions, can be deemed acts of expression, I tried to keep Van Goghs style of expression, but added postmodern graphic design techniques, inspired by the likes of David Carson. 

I wanted the brutality of their actions conveyed with a level of satire. 

How does my design relate to my essay? Well lets look at the themes described. I focused a lot on how postmodern design has impacted graphic design, in the sense that some of their traits are now employed in contemporary design.

Look at Neville Brody, his style is constantly replicated in contemporary graphic design, the application of cultural influences.  Brody’s work as he happily admits, bears witness to the many other ideas and sources of imagery that have influenced him-all feeding into this central concern; agitating, questioning, stripping-back towards what is really necessary, really ‘real’ underneath it all. This was not a theme expressed in any paradigm before postmodernism.

Another postmodern trait I have tried to input in my design, is the use of typography. And the irregularity of space and alignment. Adopting techniques from Weingart, Carson and Fella. Employing the “new-wave” style into my typography, I tried hard to fully grasp the meaning behind this style, by looking at the design process, and disconnecting myself from the design principles focused around type, and focused more on looking at typography as a form of art expression. Disallowing any recurring style, pushing for irregularity, and planning deconstruction in my design. I believe my final resolution questions the established typographic practice, through use of alternative spacing, typeface, size, layout and placement. 

I have tried to maintain and use these postmodern graphic design traits since the beginning of my design process, it is these traits that have impacted graphic design as a practice, which is why I have used these traits as the focal point of my design process. I have inputed certain nods to my outcome, such as L.H.O.O.Q (is written subtly). Overall the lack of coherency, and general combination of styles expresses my essay question, and believe I have created a design that trancends postmodern graphic design.

This is just further experimentation, with my final piece I did not use this idea I was just exploring different ideas.

STUDY TASK 08 - PRACTICAL EXPLORATION 1

POSTMODERNISM GRAPHIC DESIGN:

DAVID CARSON is a graphic designer, art director and surfer. his work for the magazines beach culture and ray gun in the 1990s brought a new approach to type and page design breaking with traditional layout systems. he continues to explore the possibilities of graphic design, particularly typography as a form of expression across print and video for both commercial and cultural clients. 

POSTMODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN IS ABOUT THE DECONSTRUCTION OF SPACE AND ALIGNMENT, THE INPUT OF POP CULTURE (WHICH CAN SOMETIMES STIR CONTROVERSY), GENERAL ABANDONMENT OF RULES. MORE APPLYING TO A MIX AND MATCH OF STYLES. IT IS A LOT MORE FREE IN IT'S APPROACH, AND A LOT MORE EXPRESSIVE.

DAVID CARSON ON RAY GUN MAGAZINE:

"Ray gun magazine january 1995 – ray gun had no grid, formula or format, letting the music and individual articles dictate the direction of the design and layout. every page was an entirely new design assignment, making it a lot more work than most magazines, but also a lot more fun, and I believe with more effective results . with this cover the editor had given me a few cover lines including one about keith richards coming clean about sex, drugs, rock and roll etc. I looked at this portrait and realized you really didn’t need to say anything else, the landscape of his face said it all. often a hotly debated topic of editors, many believing a menu of everything in the issue on the cover is best, others have rules about where the cover lines NEED to be. it turned out this cover, with NO cover lines, was our biggest selling issue – funny, we thought keith looked ancient THEN."

Designboom

The same free level of expression is a style and approach I shall adopt in my design, with perhaps an added depth of controversy. 

RESEARCH

Sources

Any discussion of postmodernism must be preceded by at least a provisional definition of modernism. First there is modernism with a capital "M," which designates a style and ideology and that is not restricted to a specific historical moment or geographical location. Modernist designers from the Bauhaus in Germany, the De Style in Holland, and Constructivism in Russia, share essentially the same Modernist ideology as designers like Paul Rand, Massimo Vignelli, and Eric Spiekermann. Its primary tenet is that the articulation of form should always be derived from the programmatic dictates of the object being designed. In short, form follows function.

Modernism was for the most part formed in art schools, where the pedagogical strategies were developed that continue to this day in design schools. It is a formalist, rationalist, visual language that can be applied to a wide range of circumstances. All kinds of claims can and have been made in an effort to keep Modernism eternally relevant and new. The contradiction of being constant, yet always new, has great appeal for graphic designers, whose work is so ephemeral.

Then there is the modern, with a small "m." It is often confused with Modernism with a big M, but being a modern designer simply means being dedicated to working in a way that is contemporary and innovative, regardless of what your particular stylistic or ideological bias may be. Modern designers who were not necessarily Modernist would include designers like Milton Glaser, Charles and Ray Eames, and Tadanori Yokoo.

It was defined by some as both an aesthetic movement and periodising concept, the obvious merit is that this movement was about breaking boundaries previously defined by Modernists, leading to a entirely new perspective on design, which helped create iconic post-modern designers such as Neville Brody, Ed Fella and Stefan Sagmeister.

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