Overview
Our first reading consists of an introduction to the primary text we will use in this course, Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field, Armstrong, Helen, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Navigate to pages 9-15 to read “Introduction: Revisiting the Avant-Garde.”
This introduction briefly mentions many of the designers, movements, and texts included in the collection while also describing the author’s own interest in the theoretical aspects of the design process.
Due Date(s)
- Add your reading response in a comment on this post on the day before the next session.
Instructions
NOTE: Prior to starting this assignment, complete the Week 1 Agenda tasks: setting up Hypothesis, create your Writing Portfolio, and review OpenLab Help> Commenting on a Site.
1. Open the reading.
In a new tab open the text Armstrong, Helen. Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Navigate to pages 9-15 to read “Introduction: Revisiting the Avant-Garde.”
2. Enable Hypothesis.
The reading link above will automatically open Hypothesis. Login to your account and select our group COMD Theory Fall2023 Group (IMPORTANT!) from the dropdown to make sure your annotations and highlights will be recorded in the group. See Using Hypothesis for details.
3. Consider these questions/prompts
Let’s look at a few terms you will find in the reading. In your reading response, define these terms (as they relate to design) and consider in what ways do today’s designers participate in, facilitate, or reject:
- Collective Authorship
- Universal Systems of Connection
- Social Responsibility
Provide specific examples (ie: specific designers, social media tools, design trends, advertising campaigns, etc). Check out AIGA’s Eye on Design to find out what topics contemporary designers are exploring.
4. Read & Annotate.
Consider the questions/prompts listed above. Start to formulate the answers to these questions while you practice close reading with annotations. Share at least 3 annotations in the Hypothesis group, including your questions, definitions, and ideas with your classmates. See Using Hypothesis for details.
Add the tags: Revisiting the Avant-Garde and Reading Response 1 to your annotations.
5. Draft your Reading Response.
Write a draft of your 200-word response in your Writing Portfolio. Check for grammar/spelling errors using Google Docs spell-grammar check or Grammarly. Use the word count tool too. Add a numbered or bulleted list of links to at least (3) of your Hypothesis annotations. In Hypothesis, select the Share icon and copy the URL. (see Using Hypothesis > Share)
6. Add your Reading Response in a comment.
When ready, add a comment at the bottom of this post. Paste your reading response from your Writing Portfolio into the comment box. Adjust any formatting issues that may have occurred while pasting.
Resources
More info
- Tutorials > Using Hypothesis
- Assignments > Writing Portfolio
- OpenLab Help > Commenting on a Site
Texts
- “Introduction: Revisiting the Avant-Garde” from DesignOpenData
Much like early 1900s avant-garde artists, graphic designers of the new millennium are faced with debates concerning collective authorship, universal systems of connection, and social responsibility. Collective authorship refers to the collaborative nature of design creation, opposing the tradition of having a sole designer or author. This practice can be seen through the emergence of design agencies and studios that employ several designers of varying skill levels and areas of expertise. Some well known agencies include Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, Pentagram, and Triboro. Design is all about communication; universal systems of connection relate to the development of a visual design language that can be understood without boundaries. This can be established by the methodology of graphic design. For instance, one of the most fundamental design practices is the use of the grid system to display text and images. This system can be used for websites, posters, editorial pages and so much more. It is simple to follow and customizable. Finally, designers throughout history and now more than ever have taken on the social responsibility that comes with their creations. Graphic designers have to be aware of the implications of their design and their design choices. Art is for consumption and I believe that at the very least graphic designers should be aware of their ethical duties to society. Designers today are discussing the importance of gender expression representation in typography. Type designer Marie Boulanger recognized the need for gender neutral glyphs for type in specific gendered languages in her 2019 book XX, XY: Sex, Letters and Stereotypes.
*Follow up comment: After our class discussion I thought about new ideas concerning authorship. Anonymity occurs often in design studios and agencies, but it can also occur on a much smaller level. When designers are creating portfolios they have to think of the most suitable work to display, so in sense the work left behind remains anonymous. Or they may not acknowledge work that is least important to them. On the contrast, I’ve also noticed individual authorship increase on passion projects that may not be related to work or even school.
This reading gave some understanding of collective authorship and how objectivity in design works. The original intention of graphic design was to send a message from an objective voice rather than one’s personality. Maholy Nagy described objectivity with truth and clarity. He believed graphic artists must detach from their emotions to be more rational and universal in messaging. These post WWII ideologies approached design with a robotic and depersonalized methods. and a lack of expression. The 60’s followed which artist began to break the norm by following their emotions as they create work. In retrospect, design has changed with the evolution of technology, software, structures, grids and hierarchy. As designers continued to emerge, these universal systems work together to help designers work with a structure regardless of aesthetic or expression.
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Collective Authorship refers to the idea that more than one artist is involved in the creation of a work or a project. I think today more than ever before, artists are looking for ways to collaborate on projects; since there are many ways to find and meet other artists with similar interests. For example, the design firm IDEO has a very collaborative method of creating work. They work with designers, engineers, and experts from various fields to collectively solve complex design problems. By collaborating with this many people from different design backgrounds, IDEO benefits from having all these different areas of knowledge. Universal Systems of Connection refers to the technological advancements we have today, that make it so much easier to connect with people all over the world. Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Flickr have given artists a space to share their work freely. Which could have gone unseen without them. Lastly, social responsibility has become a significant concern for not only today’s designers but for society as a whole. Artists seem to be creating work that addresses social issues and promotes sustainability efforts. I also believe audiences are more open to these conversations “socially aware” work brings up.
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In the early 1900s, artists used ideas from other arts that no one claimed. Since there was no authorship in the old times, they couldn’t get copyrighted when artists used old art. This is probably why progressive artists view old art as overrated and disgraceful to society. I think collective authorship is when artists work together or use each other’s ideas and creations to create something. My definition of design is the creation of something, not just using a computer or art. I feel like universal systems of connection are when artists work together to create programs and tools to help other artists learn and use. In today’s society, some artists give free brushes for the app “Procreate,” for other artists or beginner artists to use. I also see artists give free templates as a way for others to practice and just have fun creating something. In art history, there were a lot of movements that were talked about. Artists will create artwork to spread awareness about the problem that is happening in the world. In today’s world, there are a lot of things that can trigger people easily. Artists would have to be careful and take responsibility if they created something that provoked people.
As technology began to arise in the early 2000s, graphic designers began to take control of production. With the use of the internet, software, and social media, designers can handle all the aspects needed to create a body of work however they want. There is no longer the need for assistance for producing and distributing their work. All they require is a computer and access to the web. Universal Systems of Connection all work in favor of communicating a message to the audience to the best of its ability. Having one single system is the complete opposite of what graphic design is meant to be used for. No matter what language a person speaks, the design an artist makes should be understandable unless there’s a specified target audience. This is why having multiple systems works best, to accommodate for one’s needs. Another thing technology has influenced within the design industry is social responsibility. There are now different sides to what designers choose to work for. Either the branded side that includes designing for businesses or working for social change. Today, it’s becoming more popular to become a designer for purpose, change, and impact. Each artist can now use their talent as a voice to be heard farther than words. This is how designers are adapting to the evolving world we live in that is now filled with all different types of voices.
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The reading helped me to understand, how designers need to know how everything they put on a page communicates, influences, directs, invites, entices, and excites an audience as well as there being different principles of design. These principles include emphasis, balance and alignment, contrast, repetition, proportion, movement, and white space. Emphasis refers to a design’s focal point and the importance of each element within it. Balance and alignment are the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. Contrast generates space and distinction between elements. To operate effectively together and be viewable, your backdrop should be different from the color of your details. Understanding contrast is crucial if you want to work with type since it implies your type’s weight and size are balanced. Repetition is a principle of design that is vital for more than just one printed product. Beautiful graphic patterns are a big part of today’s packaging design. Anyone considering starting a business understands that one of the first things they’ll need is a great logo to use on their website, business cards, social media, and other marketing materials. Proportion The visual size and weight of parts in composition and their correlation are referred to as proportion. It’s generally more effective to approach your design part by part rather than a full thing. Movement would be controlling the elements in a composition such that the eye is led from one to the next and the information is transmitted appropriately to your audience. Lastly, white space helps organize and create a hierarchy. White space around an element has always been related to aesthetics in viewers. It informs our eyes that objects in one area are separated from objects in other areas.
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Hi Corey, I’m not sure which reading this response is related to. Please take a look at the Reading Response 1 Guidelines above and let me know if you have questions.
NOTE: Private response is visible only to instructors and to the post’s author.
The introduction’s breaking down how graphic design these days is totally conflicted – like, designers wanna express their own thing but still communicate clearly for everyone, or they wanna critique society but also keep their corporate clients happy. It’s looking back at how issues from the old avant-garde art scene are becoming relevant again for designers today. Stuff like how digital tech makes it so easy for big groups to create together (collective authorship) instead of just one artist being the lone genius. And how software now lets designers everywhere share tools and styles globally, when avant-garde folks were trying to make one unified look for everything. Oh and also how more designers are getting critical of society again, when modernism was all about pleasing companies and selling stuff.
On pages 9-15 it shows how all these big theories flowed from the old avant-garde to now. It’s pushing designers to be bold pioneers again, really diving into debates around authorship and responsibility and all that, and defining the future. Or at least that’s what I got out of it!
The key is questioning critically – how do emerging tools and networks impact expression and ethics? Can authorship avoid ego for more collaboration? How can designers use tech and networks for social good?
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I used to thing that collective authorship exists due to technology and online platforms or applications, but it seems to be existing from a long time ago, since the future and constructive manifestos are already talking about collaboration. Also, art movements like Dadaism and Surrealism, which also emerged in the early 20th century, often involved collaborative efforts among artists, writers, and designers to create manifestos, magazines, and artworks. These movements emphasized the collective over individual authorship.
There are a multitude of complex discussions left to uncover when it comes to graphic design. This introduction was the start of it as collective authorship, universal systems of connection and social responsibility are explored in relation to design. Collective authorship seems to revolve around the discussion of whether designers should remain anonymous or claim their work as their own and the effects this has on the consumers. In a way, right to ownership and setting rules to what can and cannot be done to your work seems fair but on the other hand, it seems to place limitations on what design is about or can be about which is learning and becoming inspired by the work of others. Which leads us into the discussion of universal systems of connection within design and technology. One quote that struck me was, “Software applications mold individual creative quirks into standardized tools and palettes.”, which I understood as technology limiting our ability to use our hands to physically create and express ourselves. Although technology has connected us and has made design and creative content much more accessible, we seem to have grown dependent on it. An example of this would be using AI to generate content ideas for us. I have always thought about how design involves itself in the topics of social responsibility because we all live on the same planet and we all share this responsibility to do what’s deemed best for the greater good. Amplifier serves to help bring awareness to social causes through a variety of mediums and I think it is our responsibility as designers to consciously keep this in mind when designing and producing a concept.
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The text delves into the concept of the avant-garde and its continuous integration and relevance into the current conversations in design. The new designers are being pushed to position themselves in an ever evolving space of design concerning principles of collective authorship, universality, and social responsibility as these complexities push the discourse of design.
Collective authorship refers to the collaborative nature of the creative process. With new technologies changing the way we create and produce, it diversifies and provides new opportunities for our roles to evolve, and the number of content creators and producers increase. This is a new emergence of a collective voice and network that promotes open sharing of ideas, content, and other intellectual property. Examples of this are especially prevalent in social media. Millions of people on spaces like Youtube, Tik Tok, and Instagram are creating, sharing, and spreading content as the collective grows as a network.
Universal systems of connection in design refers to the development of visual languages and symbols that transcends language or cultural barriers. New technology and softwares are universally used and design systems within different design principles are integrated throughout, beyond the limited structures and language of each individual field of design. This universally understood visual system and processes are then embedded within the design process itself.
Social Responsibility refers to social and environmental complexities that designers must take into consideration and integrate within and using their design and platform. It’s our responsibility to actively participate in creating socially responsible design practices that are conscious of the social and cultural climate we are in.
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Excellent job, Morgan! I’ve added some comments/questions inline using Hypothesis. Take a look and let me know your thoughts. Post a follow up/revision to your response, if you wish. Let me know if you have questions.
NOTE: Private response is visible only to instructors and to the post’s author.
This text speaks on the avant-garde and how it has been interpreted by the new generations of designers. Change is here. It’s very striking how much technology has the power to change. The excerpt speaks on Authorship, Universality, and Social Responsibility and how it is having an effect. Authorship is the concept that a lot of artists take pride in what they make and they want to make sure they are being recognized for their work. Universality speaks of how design is universally understood. One way that I interpreted this in today’s age is emojis. There is no real dictionary definition for each emoji but they can still relay a message without having much said and everyone has used an emoji. Social responsibility goes around how designers must have an in-depth understanding of what society is going through to be able to make socially conscious work. You never want to be insensitive by accident.
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After reading, “Revisiting the Avant-Garde”, I find it surprising how graphic designers back then had to follow rules and techniques. In contrast, graphic designers now are free to express themselves and explore their own strategies. Graphic designers now have to follow the rules if working with clients and collaborators. In short, it mentioned well the way I interpreted, is that graphic designers pour their life and energy into what they do but I’d like to say anyone and everyone can pour their life and energy into something they love or something they do not just for one group of people. There was a part of the reading that made me stop and think. It was about how graphic designers shouldn’t resonate or show feelings towards their work and should instead ignore them or forget about them in order to “ favor of a more rational and universal approach”. It’s sad to think how these artists weren’t able to express themselves through their artwork versus today where everyone is welcome to express themselves in any way they want. With every new era; new techniques and skills come to the surface and graphic design evolves along each new era, and with all the techniques and skills from past to present we are able to explore those techniques and use them in our own works and express ourselves.
Nice work, Alejandra! I think you could refine your response with some additional examples. I’ve added some comments/questions inline using Hypothesis. Take a look and let me know your thoughts. Post a follow up/revision to your response, if you wish. Let me know if you have questions.
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In the initial years of design, anonymity was emphasized, some designers considered authorship in designs as shameful and a form of wanting superiority, which they though of as a way to corrupt society. Objectivity was also the goal, designers needed to convey the client’s message without inputting their own views in the designs, and they should remain neutral. This persevered with the introduction of Swiss design which at its core was minimal and universal. I’m not sure how successful this was as I do think the best designs convey some kind of emotion. Designers can convey their client’s messages clearly and also add emotion to their designs.
Over time, designers have accepted the idea of authorship in their designs more, I think nowadays you see both ideas in everyday design, the anonymity factor and authorship. The article also touches on social responsibility. Design comes with responsibility for the message it conveys because through design choices audiences are consciously and/or unconsciously influenced. There is a responsibility of ethics in the design world. In addition, designers are capable and have created work that communicates important messages that make our global societies think deeply about various subjects that affect our daily lives.
Good work, Lola! I’ve added a couple comments/questions inline using Hypothesis. Take a look and let me know your thoughts. Post a follow up/revision to your response, if you wish. Let me know if you have questions.
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Authorship refers to the owner of a body of work.
An example of social responsibility in design is being aware and empathic of the influence it can have on its audiences. One example is in 2015 AirBnb was upset that it had to pay 12 million dollars in taxes to the San Francisco government, they made ad campaigns that seemed targeted to different branches of the government, including the public library. It wasn’t well received but maybe some viewers could be influenced to think the company was unreasonably targeted and create bias against branches of the government that had nothing to do with the situation.
https://rigorousthemes.com/blog/bad-advertising-examples/
The Futurist Manifesto was written in 1909 by FT Marinetti and a group of Italian poets. Marinetti was inspired to write the manifesto after a car accident with an old bicycle. This text was written as poetry, but Marinetti believed it could serve as a real movement for progress. The manifesto rejects traditional values to focus on the future and technology. Throughout the text, it references aggression, the glorification of war, violence, genocide, and the destruction of learning institutions. The text also references the glorification of hard work and misogyny multiple times. These messages are communicated in an aggressive manner
These ideas printed and distributed these ideals to the public using flyers, posters, and books. The designs used a deconstructed typography arranged with twisted asymmetrical type elements to aggressively communicate his message. The end of the manifesto encourages the reader to embrace the possible and imminent future.
The Constructivist Manifesto was written in 1922 by Russian artist and sculptor, Alexander Rodchenko. The manifesto was written in the wake of the Russian revolution. The wake of world war I and the Russo-Japanese war left Russia in disarray. The country was already suffering economically and could not take care of its own people. The war caused a catastrophic blow to the country and tensions boiled over until the working class rebelled in the streets. Many people were injured or killed by Romanov’s troops during the unrest. The Romanovs The Revolution was led by the Bolsheviks who took over the Romanov Dynasty, making Czar Nicholas II the last Czar of Russia. Nicholas Romanov and his family were removed from power in 1916 and executed a year later, most likely to prevent a rescue.
This manifesto focuses heavily on construction, technology, and hard work to move forward as a society. Rodchenko, Stepnova, and Gan’s names are mentioned once however the word “we” throughout, not mentioning anyone specific. The parties involved wanted to make a statement with their names present -a form of collective authorship.
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Graphic design has a different focus from any of the art forms in the past. It focuses more on functionality than its subjective value. More than anything, it tries to make the focus the product itself. Because of this, many graphic designers aren’t as well known for their works.
Today, we recognize many buildings, logos, movie posters, etc., but many of us don’t recognize who the artist is. Unlike traditional art, when you think of ‘Starry Night,’ most people know the artist is Van Gogh. Some might know the name Michelangelo but not any of his works. This has given the opportunity for collective authorship to emerge, a way in which a style, a statement, a belief can exist in many disciplines through a collective.
With the advent of technology, collective authorship has advanced farther. Now that ideas and works can be shared and viewed much faster, people are able to collaborate more effectively. A style can spread and take its place much more quickly. The technology itself has had an impact on the creative process. With limitations, people had to adapt and create tools and methods. A certain way of doing things emerged, the software embraced and expanded on them, furthering the universal nature of graphic design.
Now that graphic designers were much more influential, their work had a larger impact on the general public’s beliefs and views. They wanted to harness this power for positive change; a sense of social responsibility was growing in the community. Even if the desire for good was present, once it’s out in the world it takes a life of its own. For example, the person who created the infinite scrolling videos recently made an apology to society. He was ashamed of the negative consequences his design is having. This is an example of why designers need to make sure they are aware and careful of what impact their creations might have. It is a battle that is still raging on. Naomi Klein’s book ‘No Logo’ tried to warn about this very issue. It is a hard thing to avoid but necessary for someone who cares about their social responsibility
Hypothesis Annotations (heading 3)
With advancements in technology, designers are having more of a collective, anonymous voice than ever before, allowing for more open communication and for the sharing of ideas and advice to be more widespread. This collective authorship allows for more control to be given back to the designers and to change the producer-consumer relationship to be more interpersonal.
Universal systems of connection are in a way restrictions that are in place when it comes to design. However with restrictions comes innovation and creativity. By having certain rules to follow you can make a design that is universally understandable. Universal Systems of Connection also allows the designer to remove their own emotions from the design which makes it relate more to the personal rather than the universal.
By far designers nowadays are a big advocate for social responsibility. With the countless struggles and issues both locally and globally, the drastic increase in visibility and communication technology has brought, and the shift in general mentality when it comes to activism and what it means, designers feel more incline to create designs tackling those issues, using visual languages that the majority of people can understand, uniting those that they can reach to achieve change.
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Designers recently invigorated their field by making their own content, signing their work/ branding their work and creating a name for themselves through that work and branding. This puts more power into the hands of the artist and starts fitting into the model of collective authorship. Early examples are after WW2, Swiss graphic designers extracted ideals of objectivity and neutrality.people like max bill, Emil ruder, Josef muller-Brock Ann, and Karl gerstner converted these ideals into rational and systematic approach. Technology is empowering a new collectivity, it is also redefining universally. The universal system of connection emerging today is different from the totalizing universality of the avant-garde which looked to create a single language to unite the culture. Under the influence of constructivism, futurism, and de Stijl, a depersonalized machine aesthetic clashed with expressionism, ultimately becoming the predominant model for the school. During the late 1960s tides turned leading to a renewed sense of social responsibility in the design community. A postmodern backlash against modernist neutrality broke out. Wolfgang Weingart led a movement termed New Wave design in Switzerland. He pushed intuition to the forefront, stretching and manipulating modernist forms and systems toward a more self-expressive, romantic approach.
Technology seems to be the driving force behind authorship. In the digital era, we see technology as a functional mechanism that allows for collective authorship. It creates a landscape saturated with artists and designers asserting their presence in the world. It has facilitated the access to an audience that in previous eras of design were only allowed for a few.
In the early 1900s in the wake of the industrial revolution ideas of authorship philosophically aligned with the current mode of technology. “Avant-Garde artists like Lissitzky, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Herbert Bayer, and László Moholy-Nagy (Armstrong 9)” saw individual authorship as old-fashioned, and inherently egotistical (Ironically all their names are in a textbook and we are still talking about them as individuals almost a century later). They believed that total anonymity was the key to a utopic future. These philosophical beliefs align with mass anonymous production style introduced in the industrial revolution. Goods and products that achieved a level of sameness across large batches were held in high esteem, and the individual craftsman was seen as outdated.
These ideas were deepend by Bauhaus and Swiss Style designers who believed that total objectivity and neutrality should be at the forefront of every design. The logic behind this was that complete objectivity allowed the pursuit of truth and clarity. Truth and clarity then became the mechanisms behind universality. Postmodernism challenged the idea that a universal system of connection could even exist in a world made up of endlessly different individuals and cultures. Universal visual languages cannot be established if the audience does not experience the world in a universal, objective way. Today a sense of universality has returned to the forefront of design as the technology we use unites us and the platforms we use create a more homogenous visual and verbal landscape. That sense of universal connection differs from what the Avant-Garde designers envisioned, as it is not inherently tied to anonymity.
The digital age of design has also opened up the space for social responsibility and design to intertwine. I think a large part of this is due to the easy access to an audience. If the barriers to entry for a conversation are lowered, then more people will join the conversation- specifically designers whose voices have not always been heard. On top of this our current emphasis on authorship creates a condition in which designs can hold a story of their author. On platforms like Instagram, designers are encouraged to create a personal “brand”, and their work subsequently holds value beyond individual deliverables. It is their holistic collection of stories, ideas, and work that create value. This allows for social responsibility to become a larger part of the design world than it has been before.
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