Continuing in our adventure in theory, design thinking and contemporary design we will read Andrew Blauvelt's Towards Relational Design published by Design Observer.
Our goal is to heighten our knowledge and understanding of the influential current and historical design movements, ideas and projects. As well as consider Blauvelt's belief that "we are in the third major phase of modern design history: an era of relationally-based, contextually-specific design."
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Here are some images excerpted from Blauvelt’s post on the Walker's design blog.
Identity for Bunch, a design firm, outsourced for re-interpretation to other designers, c. 2008
”Experimental Jetset, John&Paul&Ringo&George T-shirt, 2001, and variations from others: the archetype as meme.” ”In 2001, Experimental Jetset designed ‘John & Paul & Ringo & George’, a t-shirt for Japanese label 2K/Gingham. A couple of years after they designed the shirt, people started sending them images of self-produced shirts that were referring to our shirt, either as homage, tribute or as parody.”
“LettError, Twin, typeface for the Twin Cities commissioned by the
Design Institute at the University of Minnesota, 2003.”
“A typeface designed for a city alters its weight and appearance
based on changes in the reported air temperature.”
Luna Maurer and Jonathan Puckey, workshop with kits for poster-making using game-like, rules-based instructions for participants. Graphic Design in the White Cube exhibition, 22nd International Biennale of Graphic Design Brno, 2006. (Also check out: Jonathan Puckey, Conditional Design)
Lust, Poster Wall, Graphic Design Museum, Breda, the Netherlands, 2008. 600 unique posters are automatically generated daily using content gathered from various Internet sources.
There are more image excerpts from the Blauvelt article and blog post below as well as some I have added.
As a final note, Rick Poynor responds to Blauvelt's article in Print Magazine in his article “Observer: Strained Relations“ by asking what should “relational aesthetics” mean to graphic designers? And stating, "if this is the era of relational design and if graphic design really is a part of it, then Bishop’s clear-sighted question—what types of relations, for whom, and why?—remains the one we need to answer.
Laura Kurgan, Spatial Information Design Lab, from Million Dollar Blocks project, c. 2006: informatic mapping of individual incarceration costs to inmates’ former neighborhoods in the hopes of shaping public policy.
Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, Blur Building, Swiss Expo 2002. A pavilion on a lake containing thousands of jet nozzles adjusts to atmospheric conditions and dispenses a continuous mist around itself, the resulting fog both conceals and reveals the structure: a scaffolding with no “real” building. As these are among my favorite architects, also check out their work on the Highline a defunct elevated railway bed in NYC.
Blauvelt’s diagram—overview
Blauvelt’s diagram—overview—key ideas for each “wave”
FIRST WAVE
Overview of First Phase: (key ideas / Key points and identifiers ) language of form a visual syntax that could be learned and thus disseminated rationally and potentially universally (collect + present especially typographic images: Futurism, de Stijl)
1921 page from De Stijl magazine
Early inspiration found in the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire's "Calligrammes", such as Il Pleut ("It rains"), 1916 (poem)
Marinetti
Italian Futurists typography expresses violently passionate manifesto; “Parole in Libertà”, or words in freedom. F.T. Marinetti, Zang Tumb Tuum, 1912
Jan Tschichold — Constructivist Exhibition Poster
Early Russian Constructivists’ belief in a universal language of form that could transcend class and social differences El Lissitzsky’s “Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge”
SECOND WAVE
Overview/introduce the second wave including collect + present images (esp. typographic images) and an overview of Second Wave: (key ideas / Key points and identifiers ) 'born' in the 1960s, focused on design’s meaning-making potential, its symbolic value, with the ultimate claim of “authorship” by designers (i.e., controlling content and thus form)
Learning From Las Vegas: Architects such as Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour’s famous mapping and content analysis of the vernacular commercial strip of Las Vegas (describe the project/book); talk about the "decorated shed" (the duck) collect + present images (esp. typographic images).
Learning from Las Vegas, 1972, designed by Muriel Cooper
“A decorated shed is a building wrapped in signs, literal or metaphoric (a firehouse that says "firehouse" or a bank with Greek columns, signs for classical power and stability). A duck is a building that is itself a sign, like the Big Duck on Long Island: a duck-shaped building that sells, you guessed it, ducks.” —William Bostwick, Core77
The Duck!
Learning from Las Vegas, 1972, designed by Muriel Cooper
Learning from Las Vegas, 1972, designed by Muriel Cooper
Images from Yule Hiebel's article of Ducks and Decorated Sheds
Typographic Eclecticism. While not a part of Andrew's article I have added "TYPOGRAPHIC ECLECTICISM" (2nd wave) to our survey of design history. Typographic Eclecticism "mixes historical and vernacular idioms" (Ellen Lupton, from the book Mixing Messages). Responding to formalized Swiss Modernism designers tapped history, nostalgia, irony, ready-made aesthetics (instruction manuals, generic highway signage and matter of fact vernacular commercial printing and icons) as inspiration and materials for their work. Designer Charles S. Anderson's work often includes "line art" and "clip art" llustrations as well as 1930s and '40s imagery and typography.
Pop Ink, Truck Shop, plate (product design), Charles S. Anderson Design
French Paper, Dur-O-Tone Paper Bag, Charles S. Anderson Design
Biscuitville Poster by Charles S. Anderson Design
For Typographers International, Hatch Show Print, Poster by CSA Design includes
off-register and make-ready sheets aesthetic.
NoZone Magazine Poster by CSA Design
Charles S. Anderson Design
Charles S. Anderson Design
Tibor Kalman also utilized the "Eclectic Typographic" (Ellen Lupton) approach incorporating very clever word-based approach to typography.
An example of Tibor Kalman and M&Co's design work for and collaboration with Restuarant Florent (books by Kalman). One of my favorite places to eat when we lived in NYC — here is the former store front (the restuarant is closed now). For a review of Kalman's book Perverse Optimist by Blauvelt click here. For more work check out this website. [Photo from the Florent homepage]
Lunch, Brunch, Supper. Postcard. 1985. Designers: Tibor Kalman and Alexander Isley, M&Co.
Florent's board
Above images above from an amazing French Typography and Design History site go to: theoriedesigngraphique.org
Cranbrook Academy of Art meaning-making exercises in the 1980s collect + present images (esp. typographic images) here a few places to read about this school and the student's work key figures to present images, exhibitions and work: Ed Fella, Mixing Messages: Typography! (Cranbrook), Allen Hori and his piece syntax (BatesHori) Luption's Article on Cranbrook, Cranbrook from the book Graphic Design: A New History, and about Cranbrook from the book No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism. An article in Eye by Ellen Lupton, Cranbrook Academy of Art is producing some of the world's most challenging graphic design.
Allen Hori: ‘Typography As Discourse,’ 1989: “New directions in America typography are the subject of the lecture announced by this poster. The poster bases its composition on a communications theory diagram discussed in the lecture. Information clusters become smaller diagrams that question the conventions of written language.” Quoted from the book: Cranbrook Design the New Discourse, 1990.
Allen Hori (BatesHori): ‘Too Lips’ Poster, 1989" " Oral communication and storytelling are the subjects of a promotional poster for Typocraft, a commercial printer. Quotations from John Berger and Italo Calvino and communications theory terminology are montaged with photographic imagery. A verbal/visual pun connects tulip-petal imagery with the title." Quoted from the book: Cranbrook Design the New Discourse, 1990.
Allen Hori (BatesHori)
Ed Fella (click to see the entire image.)
Ed Fella’s polaroids of signs and letters. (check them out!)
Ed Fella’s polaroids of signs and letters. (check them out!)
Ed Fella’s drawing — "Ed Fella (born 1938) is an artist, educator and graphic designer whose work has had an important influence on contemporary typography. He practiced professionally as a commercial artist in Detroit for 30 years before receiving an MFA in Design from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1987. He has since devoted his time to teaching at the California Institute of the Arts and his own unique self-published work which has appeared in many design publications and anthologies. In 1997 he received the Chrysler Award and in 1999 an Honorary Doctorate from CCS in Detroit. His work is in the National Design Museum and MoMA in New York." —Wikipedia. Emigre also released typeface and "parts" by Ed Fella: "OutWest" and "Fella Parts".
THIRD WAVE
Overview (key ideas / Key points and identifiers ) The third wave of design began in the mid-1990s and explores design’s performative dimension: its effects on users, its pragmatic and programmatic constraints, its rhetorical impact, and its ability to facilitate social interactions. linked to digital technologies, even inspired by its metaphors (e.g., social networking, open source collaboration, interactivity)
Shared Space
Shared Space concept in England, c. 2005, (above New Road, Brighton — shared space scheme.) most likely by Ben Hamilton Baillie after Hans Monderman’s schemes. A Dutch city removes all of its traffic markings and signage in order to reduce collisions between motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians by increasing awareness among those sharing the roadway. More on this at livablestreets.com.
Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.
