McLuhan’s reading was an interesting read even though I did face some pieces were it seemed to digress into a different topic, where I would lose understanding. Overall, he made interesting points about technology to which I assume he referred as mechanization. He talks about how when a new technology comes into society, creating a whole shift in change, people as a whole either adapt to it or become ignorant of it. He states that “censor acts at once to numb us from the blow and to ready the faculties to assimilate the intruder.” The way he phrased this reminds of me of when a person becomes socks with a virus, the cells in their body are ready to attack it but then they are drugs (medicine) that can alleviate it. This the body becomes numb to the attacker and automatically fights it off without fear. Similarly, as a society we may have reached a point where we accept the new technology changes because in the end, the result is convenient to many.

Another interesting point he makes is about media and technology being extensions of our bodies . This reminds me of the theory referring to man being responsible for creating the advances of our life being dependent on the means of communication transportation and etc, we have created. So, I agree with the statement, because media such as TV and technology such as our phones, is dependent on what we want, need, what we prefer. McLuhan explains it best when he states that we as people give up our sense to be the subject of media and technology. We give up our control, and when media such as the TV produces content, we take it in because at one point it is what we desired to receive. This as a result leaves us vulnerable to manipulation and being influenced by things. My favorite line he says is “taking a lease on our eyes and ears and nerves.”

Although it was a little difficult to follow, he mentions art being looked at differently instead. To be looked at “for what it is” and how our psychology has our rearrange information for us to comprehend. Instead of taking the information and letting our psyche do the work of thought and anticipation for what artistic technique comes next. Can we then explore the art as it is face value and regard the medium as the medium it is, like an ornament on a tree, an inanimate object or accessory?

McLuhan in “Understanding Media” emphasizes the importance of media in human life, how they changed and keeps changing it and invites the reader to analyze the medium as the message, not for its content. Examples of media are the bulb, the print or any new technological inventions. For McLuhan media is anything that extends our capabilities as human beings influencing our way of thinking, interacting and behaving. A medium influences our “sense ratios” (our senses) in fact it uses specific senses to transmit the message for example we read a book through eyes and mind and we watch television with our eyes and ears. McLuhan defines media as “extensions of ourselves” and the cause of positive and negative changes in human behaviors and societies. For example, the introduction of new technologies brought a change in the interaction between humans which eliminated jobs but at the same time created roles for people. Another example is the railway which doesn’t introduce only movement or transportation but increased the speed of human functions creating new cities and new activities. So society is affected not merely by the content of the medium but by its characteristics, such as the electric light which controls the form of human action and activities. It is thanks to the electric light that men can operate or play baseball in the dark. The medium in this case eliminates space and time. Another example is the impact and the role of the tv had on the society, not because of the kind of shows it showed (its content) but because of its characteristics. Furthermore, as a movie is a combination of different medias such as speech, music.. The same is Cubism, where different patterns, textures, lights were used. The final work of art was a fragmented representation of something (from the top, from the side or the bottom) that let the viewer to receive the message as an whole (“drops the illusion of perspective in favor of instant sensory awareness of the whole”) through different media. 

McLuhan affirms that the machine technology brought fragmentation and decentralization (which is centralist and superficial) while the automation technology brought the opposite. McLuhan defines alphabet as a basic mechanical technology in which the language has been broken in twentysix characters that we can arrange to create words and express thoughts. Before the written language men had to physically communicate through spoken word. The introduction of the electric technology such as the telegraph brought a speed diffusion of the written text in few seconds instead of weeks. 

The content of any medium is another medium, for example for the telegraph is the print, for the print is the written word, for writing is the speech, for speech is a process of thought. “An abstract painting represents direct manifestation of creative thought processes as they might appear in computer designs.”   

At a certain point McLuhan introduces the analyses of Arnold Toynbee of the power of the medium and the concept of “etherialization”. He affirms that our personal opinion or perception of a medium produces a different effect. He introduces the third dimension or private point of view comparing it to the Narcissus fixation, in which the medium brings to the alienation of the man. 

As Werner Heisenberg, in The Physicist’s Conception of Nature, underlines technical changes brings changes not only in the way we behave but also in the way we think and value. One of a possible psychological effect of technologies is the demand for them. The need of constantly have the radio or tv on not for its content, but because we feel the urge of using the senses that are available. “Electric technology is directly related to our central nervous system”. The dependence of the man to technology created a kind of enslavement, but at the same time pushed the fragmentation and the rebellion as a technique of achieving security. 

McLuhan recognizes the art as immune to the technology and able to provide immunity. The artist has integral awareness and he can correct the sense ratios before the influence of new technology. 

Marshall McLuhan’s concentration is on English literature, and he is beginning write about the media in the late 1950s. Media ‘passive entertainment,” meaning they change or altar all aspects of our lived experiences. While I study on the technologies that strengthen the internet infrastructure, I have made a collaborative attempt to provide more individual, face-to-face time with friends, colleagues, and family pre, during and post pandemic. This fact has convinced me that tools such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs can be abused by their own makers and cause people to lose the ability to physically interact with others. Public library, book shop, physical bookstore etc.…is replacing the internet in Western culture as the main thing we read.

This is the way of media and design related in comparison’s way. Marshall McLuhan said, “Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of media by which men talk than by the content of the message.” I can tell in the text “Understanding media” that harm is in the technological advances that may be brought to the individual humans do not study media meaning that there is not enough creativity done in technology. “The electric light escapes attention as a communication medium just because it has no “content.” (McLuhan,8).” Media, today’s essential tool that reshapes the pattern of communication, where we must spend on the internet for entertainment purposes, informational research, publishing, broadcasting and more. For instance, there are printed newspapers, which are mainly bought and read by elders on the subway or bus. One of the major risks that might come with technological improvement is the impact it has on the older group using technology. They are going to have a harder time living in a developing modern society, which puts them at a disadvantage when coming to new chances.

Because of the high speed of the internet communication, everybody time is valuable so, I don’t think we can be too slow to show that our designs are relevant or effective. The statement “Media is a massage” means that the way something is conveyed affects the way the meaning is carried by a creator, for example, a political advertisement with lots of color and noise can obscure what’s being said by a designer, and it’s a kind of perceptive alert about social mass media. Another example, you can learn how to do anything online because there are sure to be YouTube videos on how to do it. The interplay between old and new environments creates many questions and confusions. Marshall McLuhan’s collaboration with graphic designer Quentin Fiore uses visual drawing to question conventions associated with print media. A 1967 NBC television experiment even referred to subliminal messages. Subliminal information includes visual or auditory stimuli that the conscious mind cannot recognize. Getting to know more about words/ images presented below our conscious awareness:

The truth about subliminal messages [infographic]. Visme Blog. (2021, November 26).

Designers should be well aware of the positive and negative aspects of the communication tools they are employing and by keeping these ideas in mind, they should try to produce the content that hopefully makes the world a better place.

References

Berke, R. L. (2000, September 12). Democrats see, and smell, rats in G.O.P. AD. The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/12/us/the-2000-campaign-the-ad-campaign-democrats-see-and-smell-rats-in-gop-ad.html

The truth about subliminal messages [infographic]. Visme Blog. (2021, November 26). Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://visme.co/blog/subliminal-messages/

Reading McLuhan_Fiore_MediumIsTheMassage_1967 was interesting to see how they compare technology is changing with our personal lives. The article, “The medium, or process of our time-electric technology – is reshaping and restructuring patterns of social independence and every aspect of our personal life. It is forcing us to reconsider and re-evaluate practically every thought, every action, and every institution formerly taken for granted. Everything is changing-you, your family, your neighborhood…” Technology is changing and it will benefit society and personal lives. It’s making us re-think what we do in today’s world and our loved ones because we take things for granted. Once, everything is changing we have to grow up and take full responsibility of what we say, think and do.

Another interesting part of this article is the visuals. The images that were selected for each page, flows in with the summary. Especially when the article mentions, “We have already reached a point where remedial control, born out of knowledge of media and their total effects on all of us, must be exerted.” Meaning there’s an answer that we already heard of and it was developed by the media, which causes by influnece. The image is a black and white circles, surrounding one behind another which associates of the small circle being the “answer” and it was caused by the other circles around it (as a way being influenced by one and another).

This article expands my creativity in designing editorial. All spreads are minimal, messy and monochromatic. The black, white and having the images be zoomed in brings more drama, it catches the reader’s attention. This a perfect example of breaking the rules in design, it’ll make some designers feel odd but rules are meant to broken. I enjoy the result of the design.

According to Jan Tschichold, Karl Gerstner and Josef Müller-Brockmann, how should  be designed? I personally do not judge any design however, below are my thoughts

We read about how designers should be able to design in a way that they can express themselves. According to Jan Tschichold, the design should be based on the differences between the old typography and the new innovative typeface. Most of his work is in red and black color. Hence, I firmly believe that this place is the main goal of every designer, to create something that everyone can receive and understand clearly. The goal of old typography held a sense of attractiveness and clearness, but Tschichold points out that new lettering also had a feel of simplicity and clarity. When we design with a purpose and incorporate details that improve the functionality, we are able to develop a great design

When we design with a purpose and incorporate details that improve the functionality, we are able to develop a great design. There are some points that our three designers above agreed on. Even though, Müller-Brockmann’s approach is more general, he details the benefits of grids in his article and gives insight into how the grid system “implies the will to systematize” (pg63). However, they state that the typographer not only has to choose the font, but also figure with its weight, height, color, arrangement of lines. There is always a group of solutions, one is the best under specific conditions. Because grouped colors, fonts, sizes (from reading: basics, colors, appearance, and the expression) can be generated behind text and design. They also state that what sets the design apart is the ability to decide where you want to place illustrations, text, and more. Depending on the position, you can get any type of result. Some examples in the article show how complex a design can appear in terms of the shapes used, but the text itself is still well organized such as how letters are formed and are located grids or number of spacing areas by these illustrators.

In conclusion, the value of the text and not be designated according to the way we want to do it, exactly as a technological or natural element had been designed according to their functions.

For this weeks reading, the articles were a little bit confusing. However the gist was the effect media and technology has on society. McLuhari speaks on the change each of these aspects had on us and or interaction with our environment . He speaks on how media and technology are an extension, of ourselves. In the day and age of technology we live in today, technology is an extension of the person who owns it. There are many people whose phone are an extension of themselves and cannot simply live without their phone. Not only technology but media is also an extension of ourselves. It is the way we learn of what others are doing or the news in or area. All media no matter the medium is an extension of the receiver and the creators. The creator in using old techniques and sharing the story of the writer or in historical movies or inspirational movies history. Technology has created a way to share information and relay stories of the past. This is seen in all media and technology. This Could been seen in apposite light or a negative light depending on your opinion on media and technology and on your dependency on it.

This reminds me of a movie I saw called the circle. It about how the main character joined a media and technology company and how she notices how everything she does at the company effects the society. Although it is totally fiction it could be seen as a future for us if we continually become dependent on technology. As a person within this society I continually use my technology, however I try not to be too dependent on it.I love to do art and see it as an extension of myself, meanwhile I love doing digital art, I also love song traditional art. This was a discussion that my class had in one of my graphic design history class. We went into depth on how technology has improved the fields of graphic design and how it and media has effected history. Most media in the past has been an extension of the artists and creators beliefs whether it be political or not. For example the political cartoons and the posters n the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.