Posters in Paris in Milwaukee

I was fortunate enough to see the exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum last week featuring artists and printmakers from the late 1800's in France. I didn't know what to expect really but I had heard of Toulouse-Letrec being one of the fathers of graphic design so my curiosity was piqued. I went with some fellow art students who were fawning over the beautiful prints and imagery but I hardly seemed to notice it. Instead, I was reading every poster.

The typography was incredible and with no excuses, thats what I paid attention to the most. You could see in all the posters and artwork the roots and foundation for every magazine cover, advertisement, or poster that would succeed them in the next century. Here are a few examples of some of what was on display, although it will never do it justice.

I found myself taking notes on how each designer/artist/printmaker, whichever you like, used certain techniques to make the text grab attention, exude elegance, and blend in harmoniously with the imagery. What made the typography so special in most was the unique crafting of each letterform. It appeared that each letter was hand painted on because no two were exactly the same, and yet if you never looked twice you would have sworn they were.

 It was also exciting to find that I have been using some of the same techniques in some recent ad work. With slab serif fonts, cursive writing, and expressive hand drawn lettering in vogue, the exhibition was almost felt like it could fit into a modern day design conversation. Here are a few examples of some ads I've done with somewhat similar type treatment. Another technique that was widely used was a shadow of the text silhouetting in back along with varying strokes.

Ramblings on what it means to be a graphic designer...

I've had this thought going through my head lately and if anyone else has gone to school as a graphic design major assuredly you've been asked the same question. It's surprising sometimes what people think I do. "So is it like technical drawing and auto CAD?" they'll ask. I try to explain it pertains more to marketing and advertising using graphics and typography.  But is that really all a graphic designer does? Everyone has tried their hand at that using powerpoint or publisher. What makes a designer different besides doing it as a career? To be most blunt, a designer has ideas.  Not just what image should be used where, but conceptually innovative ideas. Take for instance David Carson. A former eighth-ranked surfer in the world, with less than a few months of design classes to his name, conceptually changed how people view design. He art directed the magazine Ray Gun and used it as an experimentation with typography and design. He dropped page numbers and it was the first time in magazine history that an inside story jumped to continue on the front cover (Bierut). Barcodes were no longer confined to the lower corners of the page but placed within the design. His work was considered by some as anti-commercialism.

It was this bizarre, divergent, and extraordinary design and ideas that made the magazine so appealing, along with an apropos subject matter of cutting-edge social icons in music etc. But Carson was not the person to create something and then sit back and watch it succeed. His goal was to always do something different. He never used the same approach for two openers (Bierut). This is what separates a graphic designer from someone who designs commercially for a living.

Graphic designers are thinkers.Good graphic designers are great thinkers. Great graphic designers are revolutionary thinkers.

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Mr. Max Huber

Researching a bit lately on Max Huber, I was really impressed with his work. He mixes vector graphic well with photographic images. That' sone thing I've noticed in my work lately is that it is either one or the other. I am trying more to balance them and I need to challenge myself to work on combining them more. Mr. Huber's work is always bright, and sharp, and has a very energizing layout. He also experiments with typography http://www.iconofgraphics.com/Max-Huber/[slideshow]

http://www.maxmuseo.ch/

Got to the museum

So I finally got to the Milwaukee Art Museum for the first time ever and now I’m wishing I had gone sooner. I took advantage of the free admission on Thursday. No one else wanted to go with me but I had an excellent time with myself regardless. Having been to galleries but never actually having been to any art museum, a minor felony for an art student I am sure, I didn’t know what to expect. What I found was that the real thing was ten times better than the internet pictures. My goal was to look for uses of typography in the museum but that got lost, as I was too involved in examining everything else around me. One of the featured shows in the main walkway was the work of Chakaia Booker. She uses old tires, rubber, pipes, scrap material and arranges them in astonishing compositions. They have great energy and movement. From a distance they look soft, smooth, and flowing but up close you can see the rigid texture and reality of the substance. I liked looking at the few old artifacts they had there: the suits of armor, the helmets, and the keys. I especially was attracted to the old key because of their ornate shape. They are almost a work themselves.

I was never interested in paintings from the renaissance and surrounding years but I made myself walk through those exhibits anyway. I must say they are much more beautiful in real life and much richer. I got really close to them and began looking for a visible brush stroke because I could hardly believe the quality of gradient they achieved. They were few and far between. I may have underestimated the skill of those artisans; or perhaps assumed everyone painted like me.

Of course I had to see Monet’s painting, Waterloo Bridge, because he was the biggest name there. When I walked up to it I was not overwhelmed. It was nice, nothing special. I loved the brushstrokes and color. Those were much better in real life. Luckily I didn’t give up on it because, it took me a few minutes, I finally saw the bridge. It was so nondescript that it blended right in with the background. I thought about the times in class when we talked about “eye candy” and rewarding the viewer for being perceptive. I was in no means being perceptive, I had just finally seen what I had supposed to in the first place but it made it that much better.

did find one typographic piece by Christopher Wool that I really liked. I was a large canvas with FO covering the top half and OL covering the bottom, similar to the t-shirts that say love or I “heart” NY. It is in blocky black and white letters. I liked what he said in a description that he likes to keep his work simple and let the viewer bring in the story to it. Standing in front of the piece it’s as if you’re being accused as a fool. You’re left to stand there and wonder why. What have I done? Why would the artist want me to feeling this way? Why is it broken up instead of one full word?

I had a really great experience and now I know where to go if I’m desperate for inspiration.

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The perfect font

Branching off of my previous post, I remembered we had gone over in our history of typography the mathematically perfect font so I did a little more research into it. Finished in 1745 for the French king, Romain du Roi was designed by the French Academy of Sciences. It was based on a grid of 2,304 squares and was created with precise mathematical analysis and consistency. It came across to some as cold, probably because of its conformity to calculations rather than appealing aesthetics. The drawing of it are very interesting and ill attach a few. They remind me of Da Vinci's "Proportional Study of Man in the Manner of Vitruvius.[gallery] "

Typographers are Mathematicians.

I have loved the typography project so far. I am in my element breaking down and dissecting every letter form. I have learned a lot and nothing more surprising than the amount of math a typeface may require. It seems math is particularly essential to "stricter typefaces" such as the roman fonts, but I am sure it can be found in all. To some extent every font has some numerical boundries. I think almost everyone was working with in a grid or some similar structure on the computer. But the consistency of angles and curves has proven to be a challenge for me in creating my font, but mastering them does wonders for unity. I believe the most mathematically intricate and challenging letters are "S" and "M." I knew "S" would be a pain because it demands perfect symmetry and precise arcs. "M" was more of a surprise to me. I didn't realize how exact the angles inside would have to be to harmonize the thick and thin strokes together and simultaneously not become too wide or too skinny. I apologize for a boring post but I commend you for reading through the whole thing. Ill look for something more interesting to make up for it.

Gotta Be Careful!

I found a "to-be" mainstream story involving Chad Ochocinco, a Cincinnati Bengals player, to be relevant to our discussion about editors and mistakes within a project or work that might be hard to catch. In this case it has created a soap opera proportioned disaster. Chad has released his own product,  OchocincO’s Cereal. A number on the box was given to call a charity Feed the Children. Instead, the incorrect number directed callers to a sex line where a few young children heard some things they weren't supposed to. I thought it was a good reminder again of how careful you have to be about every aspect of your design and creation. There is nothing wrong with being a perfectionist. Its a good quality to have and one that will keep you out of trouble.