Reading Response 3 – EW

Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong on pages 19-31

Questions / Prompts

• What common views do these artists/designers share and where might they disagree?
• Which elements of these texts remain relevant for the present, and which elements are problematic? 
• Using visual examples from the Futurists and Constructivists, present the ways that political and economic power can be expressed through visual design.
• How has the communication process changed since the early 20th Century, specifically with regard to “feedback” and “noise”?

Responses

Marinetti, Rodchenko, and Lissitzky all believed in breaking the rules, and pushing the envelope when it came to designing. They all saw a need to elevate graphic design with the rise of technology.

The elements that remain relevant to the present from the texts are designers must continue to challenge themselves with their designs. This is how new inventions are made to help designers experiment with different forms and styles. In the words of Marinetti “Exalt in the “punch and the slap,” to believe that entirely new forms are not only possible but imminent. Also learning or looking back on past artists and using their work as inspiration to design various versions of art is still relevant for the present. An element that is problematic is seeing technology as a mortal enemy. Designers must embrace the future as artists are the constructors and the future of all design as Rodchenko says.

The communication process has changed since the early 20th century, with the models of feedback which ensures a two-way process that gives the receiver the opportunity to respond to the message.  Noise interferes with the message and affects the receiver, which can be their surroundings, if their mind is somewhere else, or even if they are hungry.

Annotations

1. Reference image: Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square
2. Rephrasing: what’s needed—is no rest who saw a wall. . . .Who saw just a plane—everyone . . . and no one someone who had actually seen came and simply showed: the square. This means opening the eyes to the plane. Who saw an angel who saw an armature, sketch everyone . . . and no one. Someone who had actually seen came and simply showed: A-line who saw: an iron bridge dreadnought zeppelin helicopter everyone . . . and no one.
3. Rephrasing: Technology is—the mortal enemy of art.technology. . . .We—are your first fighting and punitive force. We are also your last slave-workers.
4. Definition: Exalt, Collotype