After reading these articles I realized that the point of view of each artist had similarities when it comes to evolution and fundamentals of design. Moholy-Nagy, Walter Gropius, and Hebert Bayer were founders of theories that at some point could have been impactful but seemed to be more wishful thinking defying the logic of design. Moholy-Nagy at its current time concerns about what was missing from the past in art was the connection of human intuition and drive while interacting with technology and machinery. He also based his idea on the Typophoto, which consisted of the combination of typography and photography to deliver or explain a message like the magazines. However, he defines it as a visually most exact rendering of communication, having the idea that someday it could make photography could make typography obsolete. This can’t be possible because typography or text itself has been used for so long even before the printing press and it’s a language medium that complements others. This resonates with Herbert Bayer’s theory of redesigning the alphabet and the ways we read and write to make it simpler and easier to digest. The attempt of this simplistic but at the same time complex idea leads to different outcomes where eliminating capital letters and serif could lead to confusion for the sake of a new style. This doesn’t change the appreciation that he had for typography as he defines it as “a message conditioned by its visualization” and the fact that in the US it’s considered a minor art and is generally ignored.

Along with typography or design skills, Walter Gropius enhance the idea that visionaries artist needs to learn and need to be taught the concept of giving form to space. This can only be done by the knowledge and mastery of creative endeavors concepts that can be achieved collectively. His theory was that only talented people could make it as artists without even having to go to school. Only for the foundation and design theories can be useful for shaping the mind of the artist in the right way for its purposes. In the 21 century, these ideas can be controversial and might need to get updated as society has become extremely competitive, and being talented doesn’t always guarantee a successful pass to glory. However, with all the social media and technology that we have today, the chances to be a successful freelancer are higher than in that era. What changes is the type of designer or artist do you want to be. If the person is aspiring to be in a corporate environment then definitely schooling and having a career is the right way. Even if the talent and skills are there, a solid foundation is needed to become a successful artist executing the right language and communication for current society.

According to the articles, what I interpreted from both is that Authors from back then seem to be afraid of evolution and the concept of change, they always viewed technology to be a difference in which was not necessarily needed. Yet it continued to grow in our community and every designer had to adapt in order to stay in tune with everything that is happening in today’s society. A lot of the things designers do has to do with personal experience or the things in which they may have witnessed in life with fuels the creativity levels. No matter what it may be, design is always there and traveling with you, it’s all a matter of how you see the situation and draw it. Gropius believed that all work is manifestations of our innermost selves, which I truly agree on due to the fact that everyone pictures certain situations differently and it’s all a matter of how you represent them thoughts and place them on paper. It is a true cause for growth as well as you are constantly challenging yourself and the designs you create with the topics that are brought up. Typography is important to every designers design as it improves the concept the more you know the topic and what you decide on adding towards the design.

After reading these three short texts from architect-designer it helped me realize that we as  designers are meant to change how we view things. These authors of the past are frightened of the future because in their time they dint rely on visual-expression but on visual-form. Each author had their points on design but they can agree on was typography. Typography is a dedication to typeface as time change so does typeface because designers would create different variations to help their message get across to their audience. Walter Gropius talked about how the means form to space, with the negative space on a page. Typography is the key essence to design why because it creates attention to the message you are trying to send for example if you doing work for a client that is promoting rock and roll fans you would a typeface that deliver the energy or idea of rock roll like Acdc font which is called Squealer. Now you wouldn’t use that same typeface for a more soft mellow band like The Beatles. Because that gives off the wrong vibe and message to people. As designers, we might need to make a design that speaks a language that is understood easily rather than use a simple typeface that is bland or neutral that shows personality. In my opinion, Bauhaus’s ideas should be updated to remain relevant in 21st-century art and design because their design was so advanced for their time that now people are looking or being inspired to use the technique of Bauhaus to help get their message across to today audience.

-Daniel Rodriguez

I enjoyed the three readings because it made me realize how a lot of what we do as designers is “born” into us. We need instruction from the academic curriculum, but No matter who we are, there is a simultaneous physical, spiritual, and intellectual function that we naturally integrate into design.

According to Gropius, all work is manifestations of our innermost selves. I enjoyed the reference to how our brain is a mathematical space in forms of numbers and dimensions (whereas I am not mathematical – but can learn to use grids) and how the hands master through the crafts, tools and machinery. I relate it to muscle memory, using an application repediatily or even typing on a keyboard. I think he means form to space, as concept to reality, or the negative space on a page.

The concept of theory being used as a recipe is a great analogy because the individual elements combined form the idea of Unity. Although I was a bit confused when they said art wants to triumph over nature, I thought they kinda go hand in hand.

With tech today I sometimes take art for granted how art comes in many forms. The typophoto contributed to graphic design because it represented the importance of both the type and the photo image. There was a balance of information and play. There are multiple ways of communicating but what stood out was the confidence Moholy-Nagy had in typography, “the typophoto governs the new visual literature”. I agree because type has its own voice and partnered with the correct copy you can tell an engaging, informative or emotional story.

Herbert Beyer agrees with Moholy-Nagy, the idea that typographic material uses distinctive optical properties of its own. The black and white values reminded me of negative space and the breathable room around type and imagery. And as much as it was fun to read small horizontal sentences, it would not work for longer text

To these authors in the reading, what is missing from art of the past is craftsmanship. The manual skills have been replaced with mechanical techniques. Craftsmanship plays an important role and it should, because making things by hand serves a more purposeful and aesthetics use and artists pay more attention to detail. 

The role that typography, photography, and other media play in shaping a new kind of art, is that it designs a visual communication that is clearer and  apprehensive. These medias help to optically form a better perception of what is being communicated. According to Moholy Nagy, “photography is highly effective when used as typographical material”. As Moholy Nagy later states he believes that typophoto is the “new visual literature”.

The role that language should play in art and design is that it should be a universal understanding. Since language poses as the communication aspect to art and design. It is a issue to express language in a more visual pleasing way, without having to get tired of reading. A change in perception can help improve what is being communicated.

New strategies or ideas that will be necessary for future art forms is the concept of problem-solving and the collective work of individuals. Design thinking can also create a fundamental aspect to design. Especially, problem-solving because it is a designer’s duty to communicate to the public about any needs that need to be fulfilled. 

The education or “the academy” teach artists about their field by teaching them the principle of color theory, composition, and craftsmanship. Also ,teaching artists about  design thinking and using problem-solving skills to design and communicate broader issues. Bauhaus ideas can be updated to remain relevant in the 21st century art and design by not just focusing on problem-solving in creating material and objects for human interaction and needs. But to also, design and communicate broader issues that are occurring currently whether it is political, social, or cultural needs.

According to the authors from this week’s reading, “typography is a service art”, it was used to make language more visible to the world opposed to what we know as fine art. Dating back from the reading to now, typography is still one of the best if not the most complete forms of communication when done correctly. With the developments of  typography, typographers seeked a deeper visual experience for society; one where the content is able to be digested more easily and has an effective impact on the betterment of the world. The authors from this week’s reading believed that technology was the game changer.  With the inclusion of technology into the arts world, typography was able to flourish in a new light; making communication through type/text even more effective. One example of this was the typo-photo, this was a technological invention made by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, that allowed one to view visual communications, it was made using both type and photos all in one. 

Typography, photography, and other media played an evolutionary role in the art world that allowed design and art to hold a particular standard along with becoming internationally known, inspiring new artists/designers to come. The authors from this week’s reading believed that in this new world of technology, technology is going to be key for new strategies and the development for future art forms. My advice for artists and designers of today, is to not be afraid; don’t be scared of experimenting and trying new things, because that’s how the greats became great. The foundational skills young designers and artists learn at institutions like the Bauhaus, are essential, but if they are not using their creative responsibilities in an enlightening way that helps society then it will be the same as if they were just creating fine art.

Based on our reading of Herbert Bayer on typography, it was believed that it is just a tool to serve one purpose. Typography has its own attributes that demonstrate different expressions, and can give different experiences based on the medium it is being used such as magazines, television, or posters. Different typefaces, have different purposes and thanks to the development of technology, designers nowadays have more options, and can experience more. 

However, Typography still doesn’t get the attention it deserves, and people still underestimate the importance of typography, even designers in the 21st century. Based on a report published by the U.S Department of Education, about 54% of the population is lacking literacy proficiency and reading below their level. 

Many people have tried to tackle the issue and have invested millions of dollars in our education system without progress. A research conducted by Thomas Jockin found that in order to improve reading skills, text must be adjusted specifically to the reader– meaning, people can have their own ‘prescription’ if you will. By working smartly with type, adjusting the leading, kerning, or x-height, reading proficiency increased by 20% among the subjects in the research.   

In addition, technology has had a huge role in the way information is now being delivered to the audience. We are able to have photographs with descriptions that allow us to visualize the information, or a film with subtitles so it is more accessible. In the article by Moholy Nagy about Typophoto it is mentioned “Typophoto is the visually most exact rendering of communication”. Social media such as Instagram or Facebook are the perfect examples to demonstrate how people document their lives by uploading pictures or videos along with captions and hashtags.

With that in mind, designers today should be more educated with the way information is received, and the different techniques that help relay information better. Using visuals is helpful, especially when combining visuals with typography. Using the right fonts  would help readers experience the content better, understand the visuals more, and make media more accessible.   

The authors of these readings looked at their era as the start of the revolution of graphic design and media in general, but they were still worried about the future of typography. Since Johannes Gutenberg, there hasn’t been any change to how the type looks it is all the same. As one of the authors said it created boredom, so he wanted this to change and he believed that to change it we have four ways, I think we still haven’t accomplished the revitalization that he meant for typography, the way that might lead us to have typography that crosses language barriers and relay pure meaning without complications is to create new typography.

We should aim for a future where the world isn’t so divided because if you think about this world, we live on a tiny little fragment in a massive universe, and to accomplish this unity we first need to be able to communicate with each other as one. As designers, we might need to make an optically logical language that would be easy to learn and teach the whole world. In my opinion, to accomplish this we need to go back to glyphs but make them from scratch as logical symbols that don’t need that much knowledge to understand.