Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Rants: Why I'm post-modern...and a BITCH fan
Response
In class we talked about the difference between modern and post-modern design. I would definitely have to say I am a post-modernist. I am always trying to push my designs a little too far, and usually have to take a step or two back before something is publishable.
I agree with Heather about modernists, though. She was saying that journalism is a modern field--there is one answer to every solution: whatever the reader likes best. Everything in newspapers is whittled down until it fits the mold of what a news story should look like.
Design, on the other hand, has to be post-modern because the whole point of designing is to make something different and attractive. I think the two work well together--if designers are always being post modern and coming up with creative, new ideas, and the editors act as the barrier between those really out-there, crazy designs then you should be able to publish something that has post-modern design, while still maintaining the modern style that readers demand.
You Can't Miss: bitch magazine:
As a continuation on last week's snaps to bad design, and why it's so good, this week I wanted to point out bitch magazine's design. I bought the mag today to branch out and try new things, and at first the design seems nothing special at all. There's no color, and little advertisements. The issue is type heavy, but the more I look at it the more I am impressed. At Vox we have to work with black and white spreads, and after going through bitch I am reinspired--you can actually do a lot with grayscale images. The magazine relies on crude illustrations and photo collages. It gives me hope because even my lack of artistic ability could be of use in this publication.
Anyway, the main reason I am including it this week is because of the typography. Everything looks hand drawn, and it's different and refreshing from the computer types you see everywhere else. Check out bitch on the news stand, just skim through and see how even sparse design can be creative. Here's one of the spreads, the illustration really lends itself towards the headline. Also there's a sample of the handwritten typology.
AIGA blog
This week I read a very interesting article about whether or not designers are smart. This has been a question plaguing my own mind for the last few months because I am starting to realize my journalism background isn't necessary the normal route for people wanting to be designers. We are getting an education in content driven design, design that ties into the publication. Yet there are all those graphic designers out there who went to art school or design school, and I have no idea whether or not I can compete with them in the job market. This article eased my mind a little bit. There was a quote here from Milton Glaser that I think is saying our content-driven designing skills are exactly what designers need to be doing:
After reading a lot of the comments following the story, many designers were saying things likI 'i am a button pusher,' and that is not what it takes anymore. You have to be smart about your deigns. And all of us will have jobs. Now didn't that sound optamistictic.
In class we talked about the difference between modern and post-modern design. I would definitely have to say I am a post-modernist. I am always trying to push my designs a little too far, and usually have to take a step or two back before something is publishable.
I agree with Heather about modernists, though. She was saying that journalism is a modern field--there is one answer to every solution: whatever the reader likes best. Everything in newspapers is whittled down until it fits the mold of what a news story should look like.
Design, on the other hand, has to be post-modern because the whole point of designing is to make something different and attractive. I think the two work well together--if designers are always being post modern and coming up with creative, new ideas, and the editors act as the barrier between those really out-there, crazy designs then you should be able to publish something that has post-modern design, while still maintaining the modern style that readers demand.
You Can't Miss: bitch magazine:
As a continuation on last week's snaps to bad design, and why it's so good, this week I wanted to point out bitch magazine's design. I bought the mag today to branch out and try new things, and at first the design seems nothing special at all. There's no color, and little advertisements. The issue is type heavy, but the more I look at it the more I am impressed. At Vox we have to work with black and white spreads, and after going through bitch I am reinspired--you can actually do a lot with grayscale images. The magazine relies on crude illustrations and photo collages. It gives me hope because even my lack of artistic ability could be of use in this publication.
Anyway, the main reason I am including it this week is because of the typography. Everything looks hand drawn, and it's different and refreshing from the computer types you see everywhere else. Check out bitch on the news stand, just skim through and see how even sparse design can be creative. Here's one of the spreads, the illustration really lends itself towards the headline. Also there's a sample of the handwritten typology.
AIGA blog
This week I read a very interesting article about whether or not designers are smart. This has been a question plaguing my own mind for the last few months because I am starting to realize my journalism background isn't necessary the normal route for people wanting to be designers. We are getting an education in content driven design, design that ties into the publication. Yet there are all those graphic designers out there who went to art school or design school, and I have no idea whether or not I can compete with them in the job market. This article eased my mind a little bit. There was a quote here from Milton Glaser that I think is saying our content-driven designing skills are exactly what designers need to be doing:
"When I was talking recently with Milton Glaser about his drawings, he remarked, "Drawing is not about representation but about thinking. Trying to understand what you're looking at ... The brain sends a signal to the hand and the hand sends one back and there is an endless conversation between them."
After reading a lot of the comments following the story, many designers were saying things likI 'i am a button pusher,' and that is not what it takes anymore. You have to be smart about your deigns. And all of us will have jobs. Now didn't that sound optamistictic.
