1
Intro
Hustwit, G.
(Producer and Director) (2007). Helvetica [DVD]. New York City: New York:
Plexifilm.
Rick Poynor
“graphic design is the communications framework
through which these messages about what the world is and what we should aspire
to”
(Hustwit, 2007, 2:38)
·
Typography is seen to be one of the most crucial
elements within graphic design, so therefore the correct use on a fashion
magazine can portray a number of messages about the content within
·
Fashion magazines sole purpose are to encourage a
sense of aspiration to the models, suggesting that graphic design is a massive
part of the process when establishing a particular ‘image’ that will gain the
attention of the intended target audience.
Broos, K.
(2001). From De Stijl to a new typography. In S. Heller & P. B. Meggs
(Eds.), Texts on type: Critical writings on typography (pp. 100-107). New York:
Allworth Press.
Broos (2001) defines typography “as the deliberate
use of letters”
·
Valid discipline of study with rules and parameter
to follow, allowing for the comparison between the use of it in mainstream and
independent fashion magazines.
·
If there are well-known rules for the use of
typography ad the number of meanings each typeface can portray, then there must
be trends in regards to the choices made by the independent fashion magazines.
Type communicating
expectations
Type
can be used to set a mood, promote readability and give clues about the nature
of the document. A fashion conscious individual will be looking for a very
specific style of content in which they would want to read about. An example
that typefaces can communicate more than initially presented is by Neville
Brody (2007).
Hustwit, G.
(Producer and Director) (2007). Helvetica [DVD]. New York City: New York:
Plexifilm.
Neville
Brody
“the way a message is dressed is going to define
our reaction to that message in the advertising. So if it says, ‘buy these
jeans’, and it’s a grunge font, you would expect it to be some kind of ripped
jeans or to be sold in some kind of underground clothing store. If you see the
same message in Helvetica, you know it’s probably on sale at Gap”
(Hustwit, 2007, 40:50)
·
Typefaces compliment products
·
Communicate underlying meaning
·
Set expectations
·
Elicit an emotional response
History of
typography
Typography has a long history, dating back as far
as 3000 B.C. Typefaces started
primitively as symbol carvings on cave walls and
slowly developed throughout many years
In
the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution brought about new innovations in
typography,
mainly
in the increased efficiencies of the production of type-reliant products like
magazines,
newspapers,
and other regularly produced publications. This era is credited with the “birth
of the
modern
advertising,” which lead to the use of large wooden display type in ads as well
as other
design
related creations like photography, sans serif and condensed typefaces.
Furthermore,
various
art and cultural movements of the period helped to further progress the field
of
typography
(Byrne, 2004).
·
Find some more information in
terms of fashion magazines and typefaces used
Introduction
-
editorial design as communication
-
traditional representation of men and women
within editorial and the deign decisions
-
compared to the ‘new women in design’ how
editorial presents her based on design decisions
Masculine design vs.
feminine design - Typography
Masculine typefaces are often based on straight lines, have
strong serifs, geometric spacing and have thick strokes.
-
Traditional men based magazines and the design
choices
Masculine design vs.
feminine design – Colour
Masculine design vs.
feminine design – layout
CHALLENGING
-
With minimalist design, black text, and a bold
use of white space, they bring attention to inequality
-
Feminist
movements like that of the Guerilla Girls have also
been initiated by graphic designers. The WD+RUproject was founded by Teal Triggs and Siân Cook in
the mid-90s, at a time when graphic design was undergoing major changes (WD+RU
stands for The Women’s Design + Research Unit). By showcasing projects from female graphic designers that dealt
with what were, at the time, new technologies, WD+RU aims to break down traditional male power
structures in design and motivate women to ply their trade on a global stage.
The blog today showcases the work of female graphic designers. The founders of
the project also created the font Pussy Galore. Triggs and Cook
see themselves as educational activists and seek to provide a platform from
which female graphic designers can make their voices heard.
Pussy
Galore: A publication that addresses
the scarcity of female graphic designers is Women in Graphic Design 1890–2012.
The 600-page book from Jovis Publishers was written and edited Gerda Breuer and
Julia Meer. It contains numerous interviews with, and articles by, women
designers including Ellen Lupton and Paula Scher. Written in two languages, it
showcases artwork produced by female graphic designers between 1890 and 2012,
and, with help from interviews and guest contributions, provides an overview of
the history of women in graphic design.
Strong women
magazines
-
commentary and reportage on culture, philosophy,
nature, and creativity, and aims to give readers encouragement on living a more
meaningful life
-
serif typeface, bold takes the more masculine
associations and portrays intelligence and power
-
independent magazine turning
the spotlight on an international expanding community of women from all genders
within arts, culture and activism.
-
without adhering to a specific
gender or stereotypical notion of femininity
ethos = “We’re
constantly exploring how to grow in an organic way, juggling between existing
both inside and outside of the commercial system and finding our own voice,
while simultaneously being inclusive.”
-
follows the traditional feminine graphic design
representations
Feminist design
strategies
I then thought more about what I actually wanted to explore within the essay and it seemed as though the idea of really picking apart each element was into the focus that I had intended to explore. The research and structure of the essay would need to be more focused around the design movements and how as they have changed, different editorial design approaches have been used as methods of communicating the gender gap and inequality within the design industry. The next plan shows a starting point that gathers a lot of the research on design movements and different aspects that may have influenced the editorial design decisions and challenged the gender gap. It is the start of section topics for exploration and it is something that with more research can be built upon.
3
Introduction and
overview
1.
70% women in education and 11% as creative
directors
2.
Another 116 years until the gender gap is
removed completely
3.
‘Anyone who wanders through the classes of our
art academies is surprised by the high percentage of women among the students’
– Spondé – which is an absolute contrast to the number of women that are found
among practising designers. (Gebrauchsgraphikers VOL.5)
Feminist movement
4.
100 years ago women were given a voice through
having the vote, 50 years ago and advert
in a design magazine was asking for males aged 30-4- to fulfil an important job
opportunity as an art director
Gender stereotypes
5.
There are perceptions relating to the behaviour
of people that distinguish what are expected and what is not expected from
people of a given gender. E.g. sensitivity, dependence and expression of
emotions are considered feminine in nature. Men are expected to exhibit traits
such as bravery, independence, assertiveness.
6.
Violation of these stereotypes allows for a
change in society - gender roles have changed over the last decades,
particularly women's roles, so that today's women possess more of the traits
traditionally considered as masculine (e.g., Diekman and Eagly, 2000;
Spence and Buckner, 2000;
Wilde and Diekman, 2005;
Ebert et al., 2014).
According to these findings, instrumental traits have become more socially
desirable for women and expressive traits have become more socially desirable
for men (Swazina et al., 2004).
Social expectations/norms
7.
Views of ‘femininity’ were part of a standard
upbringing
8.
Until just a few decades ago it was considered
inappropriate for a woman to pursue a career, especially if married. She may be
left apprehensive about projecting a public image of a creative and
self-assured working woman.
9.
For starters, having a career as a woman until
recently was seen to be against the norms, let alone a successful one in
design. It is these stigmas that are still slightly present within society and
the creative industry. Magazines such as Riposte address this issue by valuing
the intelligence of the woman that they choose to be part of the magazine. The
magazine is dedicated to spotlighting issues and women across the disciplines.
The founder Danielle Pender’s opinion that “girls
shouldn’t think that what they do is lame, or what they want to do is lame” is
supported by the decision to use minimal, typographic covers to reinstate that
it is the content as a focus and not the desirability of the woman. The bold
splash on the cover successfully shows confidence in regards to the content and
certainty that the designers chosen are of positive influence to society.
10. Role
expectations imposed by society are hard enough, but a common complication to
career development is often the primary responsibility of raising children.
11. These
social expectations may be seen to have played a part in preventing women from
investing as much time and energy in their design work as men, leaving them to
feel discouraged to publish, resulting in a reputation surrounding this issue
of lacking confidence. Contemporary criticism disputed women’s capacity for
creative ‘genius’.
“When typography is part of the image and part of the expression, it
made me understand that no communication is impartial” – Brody
·
Riposte
·
Power of graphic design as visual communication
of ideas
No comments:
Post a Comment