Madeleine Morley; Master László Moholy-Nagy Saw Photoshop Coming, 90 Years Ahead of Time (2019), AIGA Eye on Design, László Moholy-Nagy; Typophoto (1925): Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong on pages 32-34, Jan Tschichold, “The Principles of the New Typography” 1928: Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong on pages 35-38.

Questions/Prompts

Here are the questions to which you should respond in your reading response:

  • According to these authors, what is their aesthetic approach, and why is it better than the traditional design/typography of the past?
  • What role should typography, photography, and other media play in shaping a new kind of design? 
  • How did technological advances influence aesthetic forms and theories in early 20th Century design?

Response

According to these authors, their aesthetic approach is to be more expressive in their work by going for a more uncomplicated yet aesthetically look, it can be viewed better than traditional design/typography of the past because they are breaking the standard rules of traditional design in order to make something new and different, able to express more of their ideas instead of limiting themselves to what the standard version can offer. This was after all the new era where exploring styles become more of a thing even to this day, in order to create a new identity yet explore new ways to express ideas through visuals or typography. They do this with asymmetrical, lowercase sans serif, and cuts off of photography. It abandons the readability and comprehension of its rules to create bolder works. To read and understand the text word for word is not the point of these visuals anymore.

The roles that Typography, photography, and other media should play in shaping a new kind of design is to be an experiment, discovering new ways to design or to turn it into a different light comes down to us breaking or mixing guides to create new unique designs. Avant-garde abandoning the usual rules for design to create something entirely new is a form of experimenting for the sake of making a new thing. Things like Typography, photography, and other media can be experimented with so many times even in our current world, whether for the sake of being different or to express an idea by mixing and matching design choices properly.

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