Author: Joval Davis (Page 2 of 2)

As stated in the reading, as language has evolved we began to give names to certain things we see. With those names, we began to associate images with those names or ideas. And as it evolved further we began to associate these names and images to mean certain things or to represent ideas. An example of this as stated in the reading is when we see smoke when we see the name or image of this and we associate it with fire or danger. Soon designers began to incorporate this idea into designs. Images and words represent ideas that we have come to associate with them. By doing this designers were able to fit very little into a design and people would understand due to the association they have with the name and image on the design.

As stated in the reading before with the evolution of language we began to relate certain names to certain images or ideas. This relates to visual design which manages to accomplish this and more than simple language. With visual design not only are they using a single word or image to express an idea. But it uses multiple images and words to express single or multiple ideas. It can do this by using the idea I stated before using multiple images and names that relate to each other or represent the same thing and combining them to communicate a single message or even multiple messages at once. Something a language is unable to do by itself.

In the reading, it states that signs, signifiers, and the signified are used to create a message in a visual design. Using images associated with a certain idea or have a certain meaning to create a message just by looking at it. An example is this would be a famous Heinz ketchup poster which has pieces of tomatoes being sliced up and put on top of each other to make a ketchup bottle. In this design, the sign and what is the signifier is the bottle of ketchup which is meant to represent tomatoes. When we see it we know what is being signified is ketchup. This is not only because of the ketchup tag on it but because when we see tomatoes our mind automatically goes to ketchup due to both going hands in hand. From that, we know what is offered to us and where to get it.

Non-literal devices are used in advertisements to give meaning to what is being seen in the ad. They do this by having different images and ideas have connections to multiple other ideas, feelings, or people. This is due to how people have seen these images or words placed in other media or life. Causing people to connect these words with other ideas or emotions. An example of this can be seen in a Navy ad that has a soldier riding a missile. The non-literal device being used here is a metaphor. The metaphor is used to get across the idea of strength to the viewer. This does this by using images that all have a representation of strength to people. That includes the image of a missile which represents strength and destruction and a navy soldier which automatically represents the military which represents strength and courage to people. This shows how non-literal devices are used to make the viewer connected to a certain idea or emotion that the designer wants them to.

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Warde, Beatrice. The Crystal Goblet, or Why Printing Should Be Invisible Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Pages 39-43., Kepes, György. Language of Vision: Painting, Photography, Advertising-Design, Paul Theobald, 1949. Pages 200-221

Select a design or design object created after 1971 in which the influence of the theories considered thus far can be seen.

Begin with a brief description of the object, the designer who created it, and the historical circumstances under which it was made.

Your goal is to provide a critical examination, not an account of historical details.

The design I chose was a jazz poster made by Niklaus Troxler. The design uses 4 different colors to create a design within a design. First, there are two figures in the design, one behind the other. One is green and the other is red. Both are holding instruments. There are also strips going across the design t. A piece of each figure appears inside of the strips. The red figure appears inside the white stripes and the green figure appears in the black stripes. This creates two different images inside the strips. The designer Niklaus Troxler is a swiss designer and created this design as a poster for the Willisau Jazz Festival he also created others for this same Festival since1975. His work seems to use both text and images in very unique ways. Sometimes using letters and numbers to create images. Sometimes fusing two images of objects together to create a very odd shape. The Jazz Festival is a music event that has been held in Willisau Switzerland for five days since 1975.  The event was organized by Niklaus himself until 2009. The reason for its creation was due to Niklaus’s passion for both jazz and design and a desire to combine both his passions into one.

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According to this author, what role should design play in society?

The author believed that designs should play a neutral part in society, something that is trying to communicate a message. Something that gives the creator the freedom to create that message in their own way. It is something that should not be known simply by a title or who created it. But by the work that went into it and how it communicates the message it is trying to get across. It should not be something tied down by the will of the buyer but something that should give the designer freedom to express themselves in any way they see fit.

What distinguishes the field, or fields, of design from other creative occupations?

What distinguishes design from other creative fields is that the designer is in control of what they make. While they do have to follow the will of the client they are one’s creating the image using ideas from their own head. How they choose to bring those ideas together is up to them. Take painting for example. Most of the time the painter is limited to creating a painting of what is in front of them so that they can make sure the image is perfect. Those limitations are not on designers who are simply creating an image from their own heads and imaginations.

Why should designers concern themselves with unsolvable theoretical questions?

Designers should be concerned about theoretical questions because it is those kinds of questions that allow their designs to grow. Asking themselves whether this will fit into a design. Whether something like this would be in what I am creating. Finally, if someone were to see it would it grab their attention? Questions like these push the design to improve and expand their work making it better than it was when they started.

What role does technology play in shaping design?

Technology plays an important role in design because as it grows and advances so does design in the way it is created. For example, today with things like photoshop and illustration designers can bring drawings to life and control the look and feel of a design a lot better than they did before. Technology gives the design better control over how things look in the design they are creating. It lets them erase work without having to redo complete everything in the design and stress over whether they can get it done. Technology plays an important role and grows along with design.

What are the most urgent problems facing designers today?

Some of the most urgent problems that are facing designers today are stress over the deadlines of a design. Fitting in the client’s desires alongside what you want to create as a designer. Fear over whether your work is unique enough or whether you are simply copying someone else’s work. Finally trying to stay up on all the latest technological advances in design in order to stay relevant in the public eye.

How, and why, is a designer responsible for solving these problems?

It is a designer’s responsibility to solve these problems because they are the only ones who can. This is their field of work no one will know more about it than them so only they can solve it. They simply have to push themselves to solve it, to think before they act, and consider all their possibilities before making a move. Ask themselves questions before they start working whether this will work or what is my next step that is the only way this gets resolved.

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