Week 2 National Visions within a Global Dialogue - A History of ...
Week 2 National Visions within a Global Dialogue - A History of ... Week 2 National Visions within a Global Dialogue - A History of ...
A HISTORY OFGRAPHIC DESIGNJapanese designers, Kamekura brought professionalismto graphic design in Japan by way of his own work,as well as through his leadership in founding the JapanAdvertising Club and, in 1960, with the establishmentof the Japan Design Center. As managing director ofthe center, he brought graphic designers and industrytogether. Kamekura’s work is characterized by discipline,a thorough understanding of printing techniques, geometriccomplexity, and awareness of the InternationalTypographic Style, as seen in his poster design for the1970 Osaka World Exposition.In 1958, Tadashi founded the Masuda Tadashi DesignInstitute and combined his interest in photographicillustration with his interest in the collaborative team approach,resulting in new ways of seeing and unexpectedsolutions. The work is characterized by the effectiveuse of photography and color for communication anda structure of fine, ruled lines that contain typographicinformation, as shown in the 1964 Brain magazine coverdesign.Nagai, in his 1984 poster for a Paris exhibition of worksby twelve Japanese graphic designers, explores thepotential of line and geometric form in which linear elementscombine with scale and color to create a strongsense of space. While Nagai focuses on line as a basicdesign element, Tanaka, who opened the Tanaka DesignStudio in 1963, focuses more on plane and shape. InTanaka’s 1981 “Nihon Buyo” No direct translation availablebut the “nihon buyo” is a traditional Japanese typeof dance poster for the Asian Performing Arts Institute,a traditional theatrical character is presented in Tanaka’svisual language of plane and shape, supported by a geometricgrid structure and vibrant, contrasting colors.After graduating from Tama University in 1968, Igarashiearned a degree at the University of California, LosAngeles. When he returned to Japan, he opened IgarashiStudio in 1970 after he found Japanese companies unreceptiveto hiring a designer who had spent time abroad.Igarashi is best known for what he calls architecturalalphabets, letterforms drawn on isometric grids, whichhave been used in print, signage, and as three-dimensionalsculpture.Yokoo’s work was influenced less by constructivism andmore by the lack of structure and expressive vitality ofDada. He was fascinated with mass media, pop art, andcomic books, and their influence found their way into thevisual language of his work. The three examples shownin Chapter 23 chronicle the evolution of his work fromthe mid-1960s into the 1970s, when his work grew moreuninhibited and he experimented with a range of printingtechniques, and into the 1970s and 1980s, when hemoved toward unexpected and even mystical images.Fukuda’s work is characterized by the contradictionsof Dada and surrealism. He communicates in a visuallanguage of simple graphic forms, as in the 1975 poster“Victory 1945,” commemorating the thirtieth anniversaryof the ending of World War II. In this poster, a shell turnsback toward the gun, signifying the folly of war. Fukudaalso uses optical illusion, as in the 1975 exhibition posterfor Keio department store, and visual puns, as in theplayful teacups he designed in 1975.Sato opened his own studio in 1970, two years aftergraduating from Tokyo University of Art and Music.Metaphysical forms, gradation and glowing color, andcontrast through opposites, such as light and dark,organic and mechanical, and traditional and futuristic,characterize his work. He writes haikus and understandsnonverbal communication in the tradition of ZenBuddhism, which teaches the use of all five senses inreceiving communication. In his 1984 concert poster“Eclipse Music ’84,” yellow and blue calligraphy vibrateagainst the red ground as an expression of the energy ofthe music.Design in the Netherlands, 492The postwar years in the Netherlands were a time of rebuildingthe economy and restoring prewar cultural andsocial life. A prevailing atmosphere of individuality andfreedom of expression created a climate of innovation inHolland. As Dutch design evolved, two primary directionsemerged. The first leaned toward modern design,a pragmatic constructivism that built on the Dutch traditionsof the first half of the twentieth century, includingthe influence of the De Stijl movement, Piet Zwart, andPaul Schuitema, as well as influences from Switzerland.The Dutch designers discussed in Chapter 23 whofollowed this approach to graphic design include WimCrouwel, Frisco Kramer, Benno Wissing, Pieter Brattinga,and R. D. E. Oxenaar. The other tendency in graphicdesign that was prevalent during this period was a vigorousexpressionism, which pushed beyond the traditionalvalues of harmony, unity, and order toward individualmeaning and subjective expression. The designers inChapter 23 who represent this approach are Jan vanToorn; Anthon Beeke; Ghislain (Gielijn) Dapnis Escher;Gert Dumbar, Bob van Dijk, Dennis Koot, and Studio
A HISTORY OFGRAPHIC DESIGNDumbar; Henk Elenga, Garard Hadders, Tom van der Haspel,Helen Howard and Rick Vermeulen of Hard WerkenDesign; Frank Beekers, Lies Ros, and Rob Schröder ofWild Plakken. Contemporary designers also discussedin this chapter include Irma Boom, and Marieke Stolk,Erwin Brinkers, and Danny van den Dungen of ExperimentalJetset.The impetus toward functional design in Holland beganin January 1963 when a group including graphic designerCrouwel, product designer Kramer, and graphic andarchitectural designer Wissing formed a large, multidisciplinaryfirm called Total Design (TD), so named becausethey sought a total image for their clients through integratedgraphics, architecture, and products. Kramer leftTD in 1967 and Wissing in 1972. Crouwel was instrumentalin establishing the philosophy and direction of TD andremained its guiding force until 1981, when he becamea full-time professor. To Crouwel, the designer was anobjective problem solver who developed solutionsthrough research and analysis, by simplifying the message,and selecting the appropriate means of conveyingit clearly to an audience. Simplicity of communication isachieved in Crouwel’s 1976 postage stamp design for theNetherlands Postage and Telecommunications Service(PTT). A team approach was followed with a senior designerheading the team. During this period, TD designedmuseum exhibitions with related graphics, book design,signage, and environments, and developed trademarksand visual-identity programs, such as the ingenious solutionfor Furness Holding and its subsidiaries, for whichthe same graphic shape is combined in different ways tocreate diversity within unity. TD, which now operates asTotal Identity, continues to be a major force in Europeandesign, with offices in six cities.Brattinga worked at his father’s printing firm, De Jong& Co., near Amsterdam, where he established a smallgallery and presented exhibitions of advanced art andgraphic design. He designed the posters for these exhibitionsbased on a grid of fifteen squares. The poster hedesigned for the1960 exhibition “De Man Achter dueVormgeving van de PTT” (“The Man Behind the Designfor the Dutch Postal Service”), included in this chapter,uses translucency to communicate the concept of behindin the title. Brattinga edited a journal, Kwadraatblad(Quadrate), which was published by De Jong & Co. andprovided designers with a forum to experiment with theprint medium. He also designed posters and publicationsfor the Krüller-Müller Museum in Otterlo.Dutch cultural institutions and government agenciesare also patrons of graphic design and each has its ownvisual-identity program. The Netherlands Postage andTelecommunications Service (PTT) emphasized aestheticexcellence in all areas—from telephone booths andbuildings to postage stamps—as early as 1919, whenJean Françiois van Royen became general secretaryof the PTT board. Around 1966, the Aesthetic DesignDepartment of the PTT moved away from decorative andpictorial approaches to more contemporary directions.In 1976, Oxenaar, who was selected by the NederlandseBank in 1965 to design Dutch paper currency, was appointedthe aesthetic advisor to the PTT.The Provo youth movement, which emerged in theNetherlands in the 1960s, rejected social conformity andemphasized individual freedom, providing fertile groundfor new expressionism in graphic design. This tendencyin Dutch graphic design increased during the 1970s and1980s and manifested itself in the work of late twentiethcenturydesigners including Anton Beeke, and thegroups Studio Dumbar, Hard Werken, and Wild Plakken.Jan van Toorn’s work has inspired many expressionistdesigners, and he has explored means of organizinginformation to influence the view and to transmit socialvalues. His memorable designs of calendars, museumcatalogs, and posters are often assembled of intentionallyprovocative images and idiosyncratic font choicesin unfinished montages rather than seamless compositions.His philosophy of “dialogic design” presents acritical challenge to the viewer to participate in the perceptionprocess and examine the meaning and motivesof visual messages.Anthon Beeke’s participation in Fluxus, a 1960s neo-Dadaist movement that explored conceptual andperformance art, happenings, experimental poetry, andlanguage art, inspired him to seek unconventional solutionsto visual communications problems. His work oftenincorporated photographic depictions of the humanfigure, unrestrained typography, and erotic overtones,as in the 1979 theatre poster for Leonce and Lena. Beekedefined design as a search for underlying truth.Studio Dumbar, originally located in The Hague and thenRotterdam, was founded in 1977 by Gert Dumbar. StudioDumbar projects range from experimental graphics for
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A HISTORY OFGRAPHIC DESIGNDumbar; Henk Elenga, Garard Hadders, Tom van der Haspel,Helen Howard and Rick Vermeulen <strong>of</strong> Hard WerkenDesign; Frank Beekers, Lies Ros, and Rob Schröder <strong>of</strong>Wild Plakken. Contemporary designers also discussedin this chapter include Irma Boom, and Marieke Stolk,Erwin Brinkers, and Danny van den Dungen <strong>of</strong> ExperimentalJetset.The impetus toward functional design in Holland beganin January 1963 when a group including graphic designerCrouwel, product designer Kramer, and graphic andarchitectural designer Wissing formed a large, multidisciplinaryfirm called Total Design (TD), so named becausethey sought a total image for their clients through integratedgraphics, architecture, and products. Kramer leftTD in 1967 and Wissing in 1972. Crouwel was instrumentalin establishing the philosophy and direction <strong>of</strong> TD andremained its guiding force until 1981, when he becamea full-time pr<strong>of</strong>essor. To Crouwel, the designer was anobjective problem solver who developed solutionsthrough research and analysis, by simplifying the message,and selecting the appropriate means <strong>of</strong> conveyingit clearly to an audience. Simplicity <strong>of</strong> communication isachieved in Crouwel’s 1976 postage stamp design for theNetherlands Postage and Telecommunications Service(PTT). A team approach was followed with a senior designerheading the team. During this period, TD designedmuseum exhibitions with related graphics, book design,signage, and environments, and developed trademarksand visual-identity programs, such as the ingenious solutionfor Furness Holding and its subsidiaries, for whichthe same graphic shape is combined in different ways tocreate diversity <strong>within</strong> unity. TD, which now operates asTotal Identity, continues to be a major force in Europeandesign, with <strong>of</strong>fices in six cities.Brattinga worked at his father’s printing firm, De Jong& Co., near Amsterdam, where he established a smallgallery and presented exhibitions <strong>of</strong> advanced art andgraphic design. He designed the posters for these exhibitionsbased on a grid <strong>of</strong> fifteen squares. The poster hedesigned for the1960 exhibition “De Man Achter dueVormgeving van de PTT” (“The Man Behind the Designfor the Dutch Postal Service”), included in this chapter,uses translucency to communicate the concept <strong>of</strong> behindin the title. Brattinga edited a journal, Kwadraatblad(Quadrate), which was published by De Jong & Co. andprovided designers with a forum to experiment with theprint medium. He also designed posters and publicationsfor the Krüller-Müller Museum in Otterlo.Dutch cultural institutions and government agenciesare also patrons <strong>of</strong> graphic design and each has its ownvisual-identity program. The Netherlands Postage andTelecommunications Service (PTT) emphasized aestheticexcellence in all areas—from telephone booths andbuildings to postage stamps—as early as 1919, whenJean Françiois van Royen became general secretary<strong>of</strong> the PTT board. Around 1966, the Aesthetic DesignDepartment <strong>of</strong> the PTT moved away from decorative andpictorial approaches to more contemporary directions.In 1976, Oxenaar, who was selected by the NederlandseBank in 1965 to design Dutch paper currency, was appointedthe aesthetic advisor to the PTT.The Provo youth movement, which emerged in theNetherlands in the 1960s, rejected social conformity andemphasized individual freedom, providing fertile groundfor new expressionism in graphic design. This tendencyin Dutch graphic design increased during the 1970s and1980s and manifested itself in the work <strong>of</strong> late twentiethcenturydesigners including Anton Beeke, and thegroups Studio Dumbar, Hard Werken, and Wild Plakken.Jan van Toorn’s work has inspired many expressionistdesigners, and he has explored means <strong>of</strong> organizinginformation to influence the view and to transmit socialvalues. His memorable designs <strong>of</strong> calendars, museumcatalogs, and posters are <strong>of</strong>ten assembled <strong>of</strong> intentionallyprovocative images and idiosyncratic font choicesin unfinished montages rather than seamless compositions.His philosophy <strong>of</strong> “dialogic design” presents acritical challenge to the viewer to participate in the perceptionprocess and examine the meaning and motives<strong>of</strong> visual messages.Anthon Beeke’s participation in Fluxus, a 1960s neo-Dadaist movement that explored conceptual andperformance art, happenings, experimental poetry, andlanguage art, inspired him to seek unconventional solutionsto visual communications problems. His work <strong>of</strong>tenincorporated photographic depictions <strong>of</strong> the humanfigure, unrestrained typography, and erotic overtones,as in the 1979 theatre poster for Leonce and Lena. Beekedefined design as a search for underlying truth.Studio Dumbar, originally located in The Hague and thenRotterdam, was founded in 1977 by Gert Dumbar. StudioDumbar projects range from experimental graphics for
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