Creative Brief #3

1. Identification: Signage symbol system designed by Roger Cook and Don Shanosky in 1974.



2. The project and the problem: The project was to create a set of symbols that the U.S. Department of Transportation could use to simplify messages to international travelers so that they could better understand what something meant through the use of pictures rather than words.

3. The client: The U.S Department of Transportation had commissioned the American Institute of Graphic Arts or AIGA, Cook and Shanosky were students at the time and their design was the one chosen out of all of them.

4. The intended audience: Somewhat more so for international travelers, most likely due to they might have difficulties understanding the English language, so the pictures helped more so than words. However, it was also a system for American travelers to understand as well due to the fact that the pictures made good use for the public transportation systems.

5. The core message: A simplified number of pictorial images used to establish what something is without the use of words. Symbols that could be used around the country for everyone to understand so as to make things easier. Each symbol has a different meaning that people will learn to associate with the picture.

6. The hoped-for outcome: The U.S. Department wanted the symbols as a way to communicate instructions quickly and easily. I'd say it was pretty successful considering we're still using symbols as a way to symbolize certain objects. Hopefully international travelers also feel a bit more at ease when using this system.

7. The graphic strategy: The designers basically simplified the signs by creating small pictures of the object it was to represent. They also came up with some original ones like the warning/"No ..." signs. There's also the change in color. Most of the pictures are black, but some of them were given a red color instead.

NeXT Trademark

The NeXT Trademark by Paul Rand. The thing I find most interesting about this one is that it seems to be the only one he did on what could be considered a Third Dimensional Plane. All of his other logos, as seen in the text, are 2D and consist of either being on a flat shape or just the text.

With the exception to his IBM logos, he seems to enjoy using sans-serif text. Although the color isn't consistent. I wonder what got him to decide to use the specific colors that he did? Perhaps it had something to do with the companies colors? Or perhaps he wanted to try something new. The same could be said for the square. Why did he feel the need to put it on a 3D plane? Perhaps to catch the interest of the viewer or make the logo as a whole look more compelling.

There's also the question of why he decided to make the text big enough so that only two letters could fit on each row and make two columns of text instead of decreasing the size so that it could fit as one whole word. Perhaps he wanted the text to reflect the square shape or he just thought it looked better than keep it all bunched in one word and leave all of that negative space around it. The box is also at quite an interesting angle. Perhaps this was to emphasize the box on a 3D plane or the angle is used as a way to connect your eye to the text.

Nazi Brutality

Through all the time I've learned about what happened to those in countries close to Nazi Germany and even in the country itself, it's always hard for me to grasp the fact that people would actually do this.

This poster is just another show of how gruesome the world can be sometimes. It directly tells you the events of what happened to those people living in Lidice, Czechoslovakia.

The designer, Ben Stahn, has portrayed the ominous events perfectly. The head is concealed to give the tone an even more darker tone. It makes me wonder if we even want to know what the person's face looks like underneath.  The hands are shackled, a clear sign of their freedom taken away.

What's even more sad though is the summary of what happened in the village. Think of all the families that were separated. The children that were taken away no longer had parents due to the father was already dead and the mother would most likely be joining him soon. It's just beyond me how humans can do this to their own kind. And for what? To prove that there's a superior race of humans? There's no such thing as a superior race!

Thank god people have the right to express themselves in most places. If it weren't for the designers, we never would come to fully understand just how painful the events were around this time. Designers after all make you feel something or express their ideas visually through a powerful message. That's the way I see it, anyway. This is why these posters are so important. We come to sympathize with the victims.

Broom

Broom cover by Lissitzky has a wonderful design, in my opinion. The use of grid really does show how it helps to make the letters and numbers show up evenly and orderly on the page. I also really am captivated by the way he gave the letters a sort of 3D effect. Nowadays, we could easily set this up using one of the programs on the computer, so the fact that he did this by hand makes it that much more impressive.

I also really like the way he has the word upside down on one side so that even if you have it upside down, it still looks the same. I'll admit, I've never been one that was fond of using grids simply because it feels like it's just a hassle and makes the work take longer, but to see that you can get a result out if it by doing something like this, I feel a little more inspired to try and use grids for some of my works in the future.

Another interesting fact about this piece is that, according to the text, Lissitzky was rebelling against metal typesetting due to the constraints it placed on the work, so he'd use instruments for drafting and paste-ups to design his works. It seems he was trying to get away from Gutenburg's process of printing, due to the fact that later on it was being used less and less.

The only thing that disappoints me a little is that he decided not to use any color for it. It's pretty much fine as it is, but it would've been nice had he 'beautified' it a little. Although, supposedly, he didn't like decorating covers, most likesly so that your eye would be drawn more so to the focus of the cover. Which is understandable considering sometimes color can be a distracting element in a design.

Creative Brief #2

Identification: USA bonds poster created by Joseph C. Leyendecker in 1917. Leyendecker was a popular illustrator at the time and was rather well known for his posters.


The project and the problem: Leyendecker was asked to create a poster that honored the role of the boy scouts for the Third Liberty Loan Campaign. He was to design a poster that beautified the role of the boy scouts and, in some cases, the army.


The client: Third Liberty Loan Campaign. It's not specific on who the person was that commissioned it, but it's probably safe to assume that it was someone in charge of the event. Could've even been a Scout leader for the boy scouts or, most likely, someone higher up.


The intended audience: The boy scout groups all across of America. Basically, it was generated at males, at the time. Those who might have been looking for some purpose in life or wanted to make the country a better place. Those that felt patriotic and wanted to do what they could to help service their homeland.


The core message: To honor the boy scouts and to give the public a sense of pride of the soldiers. Lady Liberty is also standing behind the boy to relay the patriotic theme of freedom.  Also, it was a method of creating symbolic characters to represent the theme of the poster.


The hoped-for outcome: To give people a feeling of patriotic pride and to convince the public that we need to fight in order to maintain the freedom of our country. In other words, it was sort of a way of convincing males in general to join the boy scouts or army.


What is the graphic strategy: Lady Liberty was given a somewhat idealized image, as well the boy scout. Leyendecker used a combination of symbolic visuals to illustrate the poster in a way that got the audience to feel a strong passion of sense of duty. Lady Liberty is also supposed to have a somewhat intimidating and powerful look given from the shield she holds and the sword she is about to take from the boy scout.

Fortunato Depero

A futurist poster done by Depero. The form is apparently supposed to be a dynamic body. What I find interesting about this piece of work is that the body reminds me of a bunch of cans brought together to make a sort of robot or puppet. I also like the use of color. It's very interesting how warm colors were used when the subject in question looks more so like it would be metallic. Therefore, one would think cold colors would work better in this situation.

Regardless, it seems to give off a feeling of power, but it also worries me a little since I can't help but feel like this is a close representation of a nazi soldier due to the color. This is mainly due to the background. If I recall correctly, this was the sort of red they used in nazi propaganda posters. There's also the fact that it has a somewhat ominous shadow on the ground behind it.

Ukiyo-e

So far, I think Art Nouveau has been my favorite thing to learn throughout this class. A lot of the designs that have been done during this time are so beautiful. The illustrations don't feel constrained or formal. It's very aesthetic and natural.







The ukiyo-e works from Japan, in particular, are just astounding! The illustrations of South Wind, Clear Dawn and Evening Squall at Great Bridge near Atake are both beautifully capture the landscapes of Japan. The color albeit is a tad on the dull side, but perhaps this is to give it a bit of realism. After all, one thing I've noticed is that when something is usually brightly colored, it looks a bit more like a cartoon. Well, sometimes, at least.