Author: Andre Mercharles (Mello) (Page 2 of 2)

In his book, “The New Typography”, typographer, Jan Tschichold, explains the difference between the old and new typography, which was a new idea for typography that came about in the 1920s. He explains that opposed to old typography whose goal was beauty, new typography aims for clarity. Tschichold explains that the reason for this change was that “This utmost clarity is necessary today because of the manifold claims for our attention made by the extraordinary amount of print…”(Tschichold 35). When it comes to typography, one should design with clarity in mind. With a market that’s growing in competition, the goal can’t be physical beauty anymore, it had to be clarity. Something that gets straight to the point and gives what is being looked for without searching too deep. Tschihold believes it is wrong to design a text in a certain way just for the beauty of it, completely ignoring the impracticality of it. For example, the beginning of the title of a book being larger letters and the rest much smaller right underneath it. He states, “We believe it is wrong to arrange a text as if there were some focal point in the center of a line that would justify such an arrangement” (Tschichold 36). One should design with function in mind, because “It is essential to give pure and direct expression to the contents of what- ever is printed; just as in the works of technology and nature…” (Tschichold 36). One should also design with the mindset that it is up to them to study how his work ought to be read. And lastly, with an objective mind and “Above all, a fresh and original intellectual approach is needed, avoiding all standard solutions”. (Tschichold 38).

Graphic designer Karl Gerstner’s idea of how one should design came from a simple thought; “not to make creative decisions as prompted by feeling but by intellectual criteria”(Gerstner 58). He wants designers to design with a rational, systematic approach. To him, designing is a specific group of selection that leads to an exact criteria and produces a specific piece of work. Wanting to have been a chemist before a designer, Gerstner combined his art with science and created a generating system for a range of design solutions. It was ultimately a cross between science, technology, and art that prompted this idea that one should design in a logical and systematic approach rather than be guided by feelings. When speaking about the program he designed for typography it can be seen exactly how Gerstner looks at design. He states, “There are many imperfections. But it is precisely in drawing up the scheme, in striving for perfection, that the work really lies”(Gerstner 59). Gerstner believes designing is full of imperfections, but the goal of it is to follow a process that will have you in the mindset of working towards perfection.

Josef Muller-BrockMann was a graphic designer that like Karl Gerstein, believed in following a process to turn work guided by feelings into something more rational and controlled. His main goal was to achieve a universal system of communication through typography, and just like Gerstein, a big part of his process was the grid system. Muller-Brockmann believed that “the designer’s work should have the clearly intelligible, objective, functional, and aesthetic quality of mathematical thinking” (Muller-Brockmann 63); both expecting art to transcend creativity and step into more structural fields like math and science. Like Tschichold, he also believed that designers should design with clarity in mind, stating, “Work done systematically and in accordance with strict formal principles makes those demands for directness, intelligibility, and the integration of all factors that are also vital in socio political life”. This means that one should follow a strict system that allows them to deliver all demands being made, which are essentially providing a clear and direct message. Muller-Brockman thinks that “Every visual creative work is a manifestation of the character of the designer. It is a reflection of his knowledge, his ability, and his mentality” (Muller-Brockmann 63), which is why he thinks the grid system is so essential. It allows a designer to manifest his character through a process that advocates for clarity, objectivity, concentration and technicality. 

Though the ideas were expressed differently, an overlap can be found in how these designers feel one should design. The main goal should always be universal clarity. All of them are looking for designers to step out of what traditional typography started as and instead embrace the new changes technology gifts them. Gerstner’s work with design systems reveal “How much computers change— or can change— not only the procedure of the work but the work itself.” One should design through the use of design generating systems in order to put their objectivity aside and provide clarity, rationality, and a form of universal communication through their work. 

Fragment Air Jordan is a product that came into existence after collaboration took place between Jordan Brand and Hiroshi Fujiwara. Fujiwara is the designer who labeled the fragment design. Fujiwara gave the Air Jordan 1 its fresh color. The original Air Jordan remains, but it was a tweak in the sneaker color with the previous color schemes to give it the classic retro vibe as noted by Deleon (2020). The Jordan shoes released in the past were known as “Broyal” with black and blue color, but the name change to “Black Toes” after Fujiwara added a white base now resembling white, blue, and red. Fujiwara’s signature branding is in the form of jumpan motis on the tongue under the ankle discrete tooling coding and fragment thunderbolt logos found on the heel tabs. The shoe connects Japanese figure love, where it features stability at the midfoot and leather overlays. The making of Fragmented Air Jordan by Fujiwara was culminated by the “The Ten” brand’s failure. The brand was scrapped without even being released, and Fujiwara wanted to improve on his designs. Fujiwara was passionate about fashion, which encouraged him to produce more products relating to Nike Air Max. Upcoming artists tested several of these products during their performance.
Semiotic Theory
Semiotics is basically founded on semiosis, of which in its essence is more about relationships between a sign, as well as an object, and the respective meaning. In semiotics, Hervey (2016) says the sign is a representation of the object that is in the interpreter’s mind. Signs can be verbal or nonverbal. The semiotic theory is also



referred to as sign theory, and it was put across by Peirce’s. The theory by Peirce is distinctive and innovative, following its breadth and complexity (Crow 31). This theory captures the importance of interpretation of significance. This theory’s development is central in logic works as a means of discovery to prove pragmatism. Fujiwara has applied this theory to a wide extent of his work by introducing Nike’s signs in the designs (Hervey 29). Likewise, changing the color from black and blue and introducing the new white changed brand perceptions. The previous had not passed even the display stage. Hence Fujiwara was focused on proving the pragmatism that his products can also be within the Nike markets.
Under the semiotic theory, signs and values have connections to each. The signs and values include detachment in which a person of a system preserves is independence. Dominance, in this situation, the person or system takes control over the other. The third-party controls dependence in this area of focus he needs or the person or system (Hervey 38). This theory was applied in creating the Air Jordan, where the Nike Company had to depend on Fujiwara to provide them with a new design that they could compliment in their older designs. Nike remained dominant
Gestalt Psychology Theory
Gestalt psychological theory is also a theory known as the principle of groupings. The view was put forth by Gestalt psychologists purposely to observe how humans perceive objects naturally as patterns that are well arranged and objects (Koffka 10). According to the Gestalt psychologists’ primary reason for this principle’s existence, innate disposition patterns are perceived simultaneously on specific rules with the mind. There



are five categories used in organizing this principle. They include Proximity, Similarity, Continuity, Closure, and Connectedness.
Proximity involves grouping elements that are closer to each other to keep them from further apart. Thus clustering of items in one group will make it more conspicuous, and people will recognize it more (Wong 863). Fujiwara employed this idea and employed different colors like black, blue, and white in one product of Nike Air Jordan and gained more attention from Nike users. The principle of similarity postulates that perception leads to an individual’s stimuli looking similar to each other under the same object. Fujiwara employed this idea by adding another color to the product, which made the product look the same but very attractive.
The closure principle holds that individuals can see items to be complete even though they are incomplete. The picture might have other hidden objects that make it stand out even when they are hidden (Gavrilova et al. 420). Fujiwara has effectively employed the principle in the products. They failed o reach the display stage, but just a twist in color made the product gain market value. In the continuity principle, individuals look at two or more objects and see a continuation without interruption. Gestalt’s theorist looks at the product and saw that is continuity was never interfered with and asked for its continuity. Connectedness implies having products that are closely connected and following a similar direction (Gavrilova et al. 426) This perception was employed by Fujiwara to ensure that all Air Max produced by Nike followed a particular pattern even though there was a distinction in colors because of its brand image, but Fujiwara



became more dominant since his plan helped develop new shoe designs.
Embodiment of the Theory in Various Perspectives
The product has embodied the theories from various perspectives. First, in the semiotic theory, the approach has employed signs that entail Nike during its production. Nike signs are critical, following their market share and brand image. Products produced with Nike signs are likely to sell faster than those claiming to be Nike affiliates. The principles of Gestalt have also been embodied in this product by looking at various impacts of the product. The work ought to have promoted Nike products’ continuity, which is embraced in all sectors of producing the product. The coloring of the product was unique, but it never deviated from Nikes color, a blend of white and black.


Works Cited
Crow, David. Visible signs: an introduction to semiotics in the visual arts. Vol. 40. ava publishing, 2010..
Deleon, Jian. “Hiroshi Fujiwara Details His Ambitious Jordan Brand Collaboration. Air.jordan.com.” Air.Jordan, 10 Oct. 2020, air.jordan.com/card/hiroshi-fujiwara-details-his-ambitious-jordan-brand-collaboration/.
Gavrilova, T., et al. “Gestalt principles of creating learning business ontologies for knowledge codification.” Knowledge Management Research & Practice, vol. 13, no. 4, 2015, pp. 418-428, doi:10.1057/kmrp.2013.60.
Hervey, Sándor. Semiotic perspectives. Routledge, 2016.
Koffka, Kurt. Principles of Gestalt psychology. Vol. 44. Routledge, 2013..
Wong, Bang. “Gestalt principles (part 1).” Nature methods 7.11 (2010): 863-864.

Aside from the literal role design plays in the world today, which is to produce art to advertise industrial products, “Creating design theory is about building one’s own community, constructing a social network that questions and illuminates everyday practice” (Armstrong 7). “In contrast to the predominant modern concept of the designer as a neutral transmitter of information, many designers are now producing their own content.” (Armstrong 10). The shift in the focus of design has produced an array of work from designers such as their own magazines, theoretical texts, books, and products. According to author Bruno Munari in his book, Design as Art, design isn’t about serving a select group and producing masterpieces anymore. The role design should play in the world today should be serving the community and connecting art to life. Essentially, to humble the idea of what art is and bring it down from its pedestal into reality.

According to designer and author Helen Armstrong, one of the things that distinguishes the field of design from other creative occupations is how exposed the work of a designer is yet how little acknowledgement the designer and subculture of design get. “Design is visible everywhere, yet it is also invisible—unnoticed and unacknowledged” (Armstrong 7). The field of design was built upon the idea of anonymity, the goal simply being to deliver the client’s message. For example, the objective of the academy Bauhaus at Weimar was truth and clarity; they believed “…artists had to detach emotionally from their work in favor of a more rational and universal approach…cleansing visual language of subjectivity and ambiguity” (Armstrong 11). In her essay,“Dematerialization of Screen Space”, Jessica Helfand challenges the current design community to become the new avant-garde. “Helfand asks that we think beyond technical practicalities and begin really “shaping a new and unprecedented universe.” Just as designers in the early twentieth century rose to the challenges of their societies… Delving into theoretical discussions that engage both our past and our present is a good start.” (Armstrong 15). She believes it is important for designers to think theoretically in order to address the new challenges of society like designers of the past did in their time. Part of the prospectus of the Bauhaus read, “‘Thus our task is to make a new kind of artist…wish to make him conscious of his creative power, not scared of new facts, and independent of formulas in his own work’” (Munari 27). Even in the foundation of art design that Walter Gropius founded at Bauhaus, the goal was always to make the designer think and not succumb to fear of exploring new ideas. 

Technology has been playing a role in design for a very long time, occupying the minds of designers with the same questions that past designers also had. Young designers have recently been taking the route of something referred to as “authorship”. They produce their own content, sign their work, and brand themselves; this being possible through technology. “Digital technology puts creation, production, and distribution into the hands of the designer, enabling such bold assertions of artistic presence” (Armstrong 9). Technology is allowing designers to create in a way that they couldn’t before, and it is changing the dynamic of the producer-consumer relationship. This is also removing the anonymity designers have in their field. They can now market themselves in large platforms with their name written all over their work, whether that’s on a website, a watermark, their social media, etc. “As a result of technology, content generation by individuals has never been easier… As more and more designers, along with the rest of the general population, become initiators and producers of content, a leveling is occurring. A new kind of collective voice…is beginning to emerge” (Armstrong 10). This collective creative voice that is being referred to has more to do with the subculture of design than with the individual designer itself. The platform of design is being used as an open platform to share ideas, tools, and intellectual property, moving the subculture out of the shadows of anonymity more into a world of leaders, and advocates for social issues. 

An issue that remains present in the face of design today is the identity crisis design is facing. “Issues like authorship, universality, and social responsibility, so key to avant-garde ideology, remain crucial to contemporary critical and theoretical discussions of the field” (Armstrong 15). While ideas like authorship are new and evolving, universality is an old one that though designers are trying to move away from, they can’t help. Because of the use of the same technology being used by a lot of current designers, there is bound to be a universal component to a lot of designs. There is also social responsibility, which has all a history, present and future in the world of design. The field of design is figuring out a mix of new and old methods and ideologies while still theoretically questioning them. Designers are responsible for solving this problem in order to connect their art to the real world. Like Bruno Murani said, “The designer of today re-establishes the long-lost contact between art and public, between living people and art as a living thing…There, should be no such thing as art divorced from life.” (Murani 25). 

One thing lacking in art of the past wasn’t in the art itself, but in the way the academy (education)  approached art. It is mentioned by author Walter Gropius that the way in which the academy taught art, resulted in something called “Isolation of the Artist”. He states that “The fundamental pedagogic mistake of the academy arose from its preoccupation with the idea of the individual genius and its discounting the value of commendable achievement on a less exalted scale” (Gropius 310). This led to a high number of unsuccessful artists, useless by product of their schooling. With this Gropius suggests that what lacked in the art of the past was a different approach to how it was taught. 

Looking for hope in the future art, authors Herbert Bayer, present ideas to improve it, like the idea of Universal Communication. He believes that the amount of different languages we have have led to barriers of communication and as a solution to this problem, suggests “a more universal visual medium to bridge a gap between them” (Bayer 47). Artists have taken their part in beginning to evolve such communication gaps, and now, he wants scientists to do the same. Bayer believes the main support systems for this idea could be pictorial communication, which is already an older concept, and should now be adapted into text-picture integration. 

Another idea he suggests is square spanning. Traditionally, we read texts horizontally, but how about we begin to adapt to vertical reading? “There is no reason for this to be the only method to transmit language to the eye. sentences could as well follow each other vertically or otherwise, if it would facilitate reading” (Bayer 47). Grouping words into short lines horizontally can ease understanding and help. Both of the above ideas help form complementary images and will also have to bring about a change to the colors used on prints to better associate images and vertical text groups to their meanings, helping understand. 

Author László Moholy-naGy believes that “The creative work of the artist, the scientist’s experiments, the calculations of the businessman or the present-day politician..” ( Moholy-naGy 33) is what binds together the roles typography, photography, and other media play in the new art. Using for example the long term effect of the printer; something one man invented that is now used in various forms, such as photography, stereotype, electrotype, phototype, etc. “Only quite recently has there been typographic work that uses the contrasts of typographic material (letters, signs, positive and negative values of the plane) in an attempt to establish a correspondence with modern life” (Moholy-naGy 34). However, it hasn’t had much effect, and so Moholy-naGy believes that also embracing different techniques in other areas of typography, photography, and other media can be more effective to new art. He admits that in this new type of work, things will have to be different from the linear typography that is used today, but is confident that they can be well worth it and effective in new art. He goes on to give ideas for future uses like printing presses having their own block-making plant and printing with X-ray radiography. 

According to Walter Gropius, the artist of the past created art based on experience, working their way up from the bottom, living as part of the community, and participating in life. However, artists now are taught that art is a profession that can be mastered by studying it. He feels quality and talent cannot be taught, however, manual dexterity can. “…manual dexterity and the thorough knowledge which is a necessary foundation for all creative effort, whether the workman’s or the artist’s, can be taught and learned” ( Gropius 310). The skill of performing artistic tasks manually is something Gropius feels the academy can teach artists. He also believes that they can teach artists to connect their art to the community with things like their use of materials so that they don’t end up with a great idea like the art-proletariat movement that ends up in the ruin because of lack of connection to the community.                        

An idea that needs to be updated is the way in which art is taught in schools and academies; taking for example the Bauhaus at Weimar. The Bauhaus was a school in Germany that decided to take a different approach to teach the art in order to produce more successful artists and give them a more expansive understanding of it. Its statement of belief was, “‘ The Bauhaus strives to coordinate all creative effort, to achieve, in a new architecture, the unification of all training in art and design.  The ultimate, if the distant, goal of the Bauhaus is the collective work of art– the Building in which no barriers exist between the structural and decorative art’” ( Gropius 311). This is an idea that needs to be updated and applied to all art academies. Another idea I believe should be updated and used in the 21st century was the idea of Universal Communication, presented by Walter Gropius advocating for a bridge in the communication barrier through the arts.