Image of poster from Cranbrook Design Department by Allen Hori 
Allen Hori  – Cranbrook Academy Design Department

Overview

You will be reading and annotating the article “80s Design is Alive, Well, and Living in 2019” by Nadja Sayej, published in PRINT, March 6, 2019

Note the terms/styles: vaporwave, glitch, cyberpunk, zine sensibilities, duotones, glowing grids, pattern clashing, photocopy era, collage, etc.

Before reading, review the graphic design history videos from the Week 11 Agenda, especially those related to Japanese Design, New Wave, Punk, Grunge, and Postmodernism.

Instructions

Following the instructions below, read and annotate the text with your classmates in our Hypothesis group. After reading and annotating the text, create a rough draft of your response in your Research Journal. Your response should be about 200 words and checked for spelling and grammar errors. Lastly, create a new post and publish your response.

1. Open the readings

In a new tab open the article “80s Design is Alive, Well, and Living in 2019” by Nadja Sayej, published in PRINT, March 6, 2019

2. Enable Hypothesis

The reading links above will automatically open Hypothesis. Login to your account and select our 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.

Here are some questions to which you can respond in your reading response:

  • How or where are the principles of “collage” and “mixed media” used today?
  • In what ways do we see the 80’s aesthetic / ideologies in more the recent “cyberculture, vaporwave or glitch art” trends?
  • How was self-publishing in the Postmodern-era (“the use of the photocopies/zines became an alternative voice for communities who were not well represented in mainstream media”) similar to the use of today’s technologies?
  • Find 1 example of work from a postmodern graphic designer from the 1980s and 1 example of work from a contemporary graphic designer from the last five years. Deconstruct the works and explain which visual and/or ideological elements are associated with Postmodernism of the 1980s and why.

4. Read & Annotate.

Consider the questions/prompts listed above. Start to formulate the answers to these prompts while you practice close reading with annotations. This will be part of your grade. Share at least 3 annotations in the Hypothesis group, including your questions, definitions, and ideas with your classmates. Add the tags: Postmodernism and Reading Response 9 to your annotations.

When you annotate be sure to define or break down any words or concepts that you do not understand.

5. Draft your Reading Response.

In your Research Journal, write a draft of your 200-word response. Check for grammar and spelling errors. Use the word count tool. Use the Grammarly app or something similar to improve the clarity of your writing. Use visual examples to supplement your reading response. Consider looking back at the Week 11 Agenda Learning Graphic Design History videos, or the Course Resources to see if there are historical examples that will help support your ideas.

6. Post your Reading Response.

When ready, create a new post titled “Reading Response 9 – YourInitials.”

At the top of the post copy and paste the following: 80s Design is Alive, Well, and Living in 2019” by Nadja Sayej, published in PRINT, March 6, 2019

Copy and paste the questions/prompts listed above. Paste your reading response from your Research Journal. Add links to your annotations in the Hypothesis group at the bottom of your post. Always add links and attribution for any images that you use in your post. Adjust any formatting issues that may have occurred while pasting. Use the Reading Response (Example) post as a guide.

Please be sure to add the following title, category, and tags to your posts. For help with adding Categories and Tags, see OpenLab Help.

  • TITLE: Reading Response 9 – Your Initials
  • CATEGORY: Reading Responses
  • TAG: Reading Response #9
  • TAG: Your Name/Alias

Due Date(s)

Your reading response is due the day before the next session.

Resources

More info

Texts

Print this page