As I start to write this digital diary I can’t help but express my true beliefs and ideas on contemporary and modern design. I have come to believe that in today’s standards of concepts, in particular contemporary design, it tends to emphasise on self and on style rather than on content or idea. It is my understanding that much of what is alleged to be graphic design is puzzling at the best of times.
As I started to research a few designers, I stumbled upon one or two pieces of Paul Rand’s work. He once wrote ‘The deluge of design that colours our lives, our print and our video screens is synchronous with the spirit of our time. No less than the drugs, the pollution and all the fads that has plagued our communities. For example the big brush of graffiti that has been blanketing our cities from Basel to Brooklyn’. As I read on I did agree with some of the things he wrote. I truly think that it takes talent to make something out of nothing and not just luck.
My current project at university at the moment is designing a magazine. You would think it would be easy right? There are lots of resources from thousands of magazines, resulting in a hundred different topics. I think that the overwhelming amount of information makes it harder rather than easier to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. It is my belief that when a designer designs a magazine they need or expect it to be different. How can we call ourselves designers if we do not strive to be inventive?
My lecturer gave us a topic to go forth and venture with, titled ‘Surviving the twenty first Centaury’. Already I begin to think about how design has changed from some of Paul Bass’s early works to Milton Glaser’s famous ‘I love NY’ logo. Why not go back even further to the beginning of the first decorated text from the book of Kellis. I quickly learned that many in my class had come up with the same conclusion, so I had to change my idea. After all how can I begin to call myself a designer if I am one of the sheep? I needed to go back to basics, back to research.
I came to understand that today’s media can’t seem to make its mind up e.g. one week meat is good for you the next it contains chemicals that relate to cancerous cells. More popular in today’s media is the size 0 epidemic that is sweeping the world. Fifty years ago the most desirable woman was Marilyn Monroe, she was a size sixteen, yet in today’s standards she would be classed as obese. I don’t think that Andy Warhol thought ‘hang on a minute I can’t use her she’s to fat’.
Why is it that today’s media puts so much emphasis on appearance? I can’t seem to be able to pick up a magazine these days without it telling me to loose weight. For a change I would like to read a magazine that doesn’t prejudge, but instead questions why the civilized world strives to be skeletal, yet the third world countries strive to eat.
