eye 68 (summer 2008) the international review of graphic design
Who cares about graphic design history?
As the introduction depicts, Eye magazine asked a diverse collection of articulate, talented and young (-ish) graphic designers worldwide for their opinions on the graphic design cannon, and its significance for everyday practice, new technology and education.' Here's what I, and a little bit of what Strange Attractors,) had to say in response.
1. What do you think is meant by ‘the canon of graphic design history’? [For example: The Bauhaus? Beck’s Underground diagram? Alvin Lustig book covers? Swiss Modernism? George Lois’s Esquire covers? Wim Crouwel’s New Alphabet? Glaser’s ‘I [heart] NY’? Barney Bubbles? Ray Gun?] Do you ever think about it, or buy design history publications?
Timeless, pioneering work that has defined the visual language and aesthetic of their respective era and the years that have followed—that’s as simple as I could put it.
I buy too many design history publications for my own good. I’m after Milton’s Dylan poster right now. I have tomes dedicated to the subject, piles and piles of the memoirs of the famous and influential. These books are important to me. I ‘d hate to think where would I be without my trusty Megg’s History of Graphic Design. (Now there’s a book every student should have).
2. Does this kind of design history have relevance to what you do in your design practice?
Yes. Of course.
And I know that design history holds relevance to other working designers. Remember Paula Scher, Swatch watches and Herbert Bayer? Tibor Kalman proclaiming the aforementioned and Carin Goldberg design history pillagers? Seymour Chwast (co-founder of Push Pin Studios) recognises this also: ‘Education in the broadest sense—meaning exposure to all aspects of our history and culture—has been vital to my design ability; but technique and craft have to be learned as well.’
It is a difficult one to call though as the line between design history and design future is thin and blurred. Some camps believe that there is no such thing as a new idea, others strive to produce nothing but original work.
Mike Dempsey (of CDT) recently indulged in a bit of soul searching with the statement that graphic design had hit a watershed, had plundered all stylistic trends and could only go backwards from here. Now, I’m not so sure of that. Sure, designers have always been inspired by movements and design icons, that’s essential, but to say that going backwards is the way forward is quite a paradox. Be influenced and inspired by design history but solving problems in a new and original way is what designers are for aren’t they?
3. Where did you learn about design history (if at all)?
At Falmouth. My course placed particular emphasis, (and did a good job of it) on the importance of design that has been and how it can influence, inspire and progress what is to come. And they creatively named it HACCS (Something along the lines of Historical And Contextual Cultural Studies).
Not only did we devote a full days slog to HACCS, crammed with lectures, readings, presentations and films all on the history of design, but we also had more concentrated, one off case studies on certain topics, such as modernist typography, post-modernism, consumerism and the Bauhaus.
These focussed lectures affected me profoundly as a designer.
I remember seeing work by the likes Rodchenko at El Lissitsky, Robert Brownjohn and Herbert Spencer and being overwhelmed with how great they were at their discipline. As a student of design, not only did they confirm that I too wanted to be a designer but they gave me that ‘How the hell do I follow that?’ feeling. But in a good way of course.
It was these classes that first introduced me to design history, but it is my personal reading that has furthered it.
4. Does history have any relevance to the new technology and techniques you’ve had to master in your work?
Many have debated, and still do, that Typography is the closest thing to a trade that graphic design has, and this is a trade that all designers have to master. History is utterly relevant to typography and the technology used to produce it. The computer and digital technology may have made the process of typography quicker however the skill and craft that comes into it requires a detailed and rich knowledge of the techniques used 20, 50 or 100 years ago. Kerning is still kerning, leading is still leading and widows are still widows, regardless of time passed.
History, and design history cannons in particular, can bridge this gap of time and provide the technologically cultured of us a valuable reference tool on which to produce better, more crafted work.
5. If you were in charge of a design education programme, what aspects of design history (if any) would you teach to your students?
As much as possible. I don’t think there is enough design history taught. We all know of the modernists but it tends to be glossed over in todays design education. I worry that a designer may know the names of the David Carson’s, the Neville Brody’s and the Stefan Sagmeister’s respectively, however I think they’d struggle to recognise the Muller-Brockmann’s, Piet Zwart’s, and Jan Tschichold’s. I would even push to say that they would be less familiar with designs modern history with the likes of Robert Brownjohn, Milton Glaser, Herb Lubalin and Wim Crouwel.
Students should know these designers. They should know the times in which these designers practiced, be familiar with their beliefs and principles (used loosely) as it will help them define who they are as a designer and how they will ultimately work. They will determine, parallel to their own, work their definition of Graphic Design and their values to support this. They will grow in terms of understanding their creativity knowing whether they design intuitively or rationally and to what extent. It is this examination of design history that allows a student of design to progress and find their place in design.
I would also be more specific were I to educate students. I would lecture on Posters alone, books alone, brands alone, design for music alone and typography alone (but possibly over more lessons: bit bigger that one) as well as others, as each field within design has its own story to be told respectively. I don’t feel you can compare and contrast a modernist poster with an album cover, its chalk and cheese—a different box of frogs.