The Age of Information, Part II (Module 9)

Easter (2013), Periodic Table of Popular Typefaces

Throughout this course, we have been exposed to ever changing opinions of typography, movements towards sans-serif type, movements towards structured designs with imposed grids, and discussions about thick vs. thin lines, just to name a few.  Wolfgang Weingart's work, brings the issue of changing opinions of typography to light in the reading this week.  As we are nearing the end of the course, I decided to delve into current opinions of typography. With the presence of the internet, even the casual observer has the opportunity to examine the long view of typography, all the way back to the ancient alphabets.  In addition, I am contemplating taking the typography course this upcoming term, and this research may prove invaluable for that decision.

Poor Typefaces

Upon searching the internet, I found there were some very strong opinions against certain fonts.  This was surprising, but considering how easily typefaces fell in and out of favor within the text (including Weingart's "rejecting the right angle as an organizing principle", p. 465), I ought to have not been surprised.  Some of the common offenders were Ecofont, Souvenir, Brush Script, Papyrus, Neuland Inline, Ransom Note, 2012 Olympic, Jokerman, Matisse, and Comic Sans (Garfield, 2011; Bigman, 2012).  These very from typefaces known by the lay person, to those specifically known by graphic designers.  I wondered if there were unifying principles that made these disliked.  Garfield (2011) and Bigman (2012) describe, some of the reasons for rejecting these typefaces, including their current or past overuse (e.g., Brush Script, Souvenir, Papyrus, Neuland Inline, Comic Sans), falseness (e.g., Papyrus and Neuland Inline), over designed to the point of almost illegibility (e.g., Jokerman, Brush Script and Matisse), being considered pedestrian (e.g., Comic Sans and Souvenir), or aesthetically displeasing (e.g., 2012 Olympic and Ransom Note).  Additionally, fonts with thick horizontal lines and thin vertical lines, combined with curved shapes having a thickness in the upper lower portion of the curve, were considered ugly (Bigman, 2012).

Bigman (2012), an example of a font with thickness in the wrong places

Preferred Typefaces

Easter's (2013) graphic (see above) indicates that Helvetica and Arial are the most popular, but that's too simplistic an approach.  Furthermore, research revealed this area to be a bit muddier, in contrast to the disliked fonts.  Bigman (2012) described an experiment, conducted by typography Peter Bil'ak, to investigate what makes a typeface considered attractive, or ugly.  By looking at the same typeface in different manifestations, Bil'ak found that it was a matter of the distribution of thick and thin lines. Thick and thinness in conventional places (such as, thick vertical lines and thickness in the left and right sides of curves) created a beautiful type.  The opposite was considered ugly.  Morris (2012) posted an experiment in the New York Times that examined which typeface was the most believable.  He compared Baskerville, Computer Modern, Georgia, Helvetica, Comic Sans and Trebuchet by presenting scientific statements to readers, and asking they agreed with the statements and level of comfort with disagreement/agreement.  He presented this in the guise of testing for pessimism/optimism.  The clear winner in the typefaces was Baskerville.  The effect was subtle, but statistical analysis indicated a difference was clearly present.  I found this surprising, mostly, because I never hear anyone discuss Baskerville.  I've never used the font myself, and it is not even one of the fonts available for this blog.  Furthermore, prior to this course, I have never even heard of the Baskerville typeface.  Garfield's (2011) discussion of Anthony Cahalan survey study, makes it even more surprising.  Cahalan examined the most popular fonts (according to designers), and found that Frutiger, Helvetica, Futura, Gill Sans, Univers, Garamond, Bembo, Franklin Gothic, Minion, and Arial were mostly widely used.  Baskerville is absent from that list.  The most likely explanation is that designers are seeking different aims other than sheer believability, or it gets lumped as obsolete due to its creation in the 18th century (Meggs & Purvis, 2012).  Anderson (2012) discussed Morris's article, and indicated that Baskerville "'disappeared' more to the reader than other fonts."  It's unlikely that a designer would prefer a typeface to completely fade into the background when trying to convey an eye catching image. However, my later research revealed a font that goes "without imposing itself" (Rawthorne, 2007) was considered a positive factor in other more popular fonts, so that the messages could be conveyed more clearly.  So, in short, I don't have a particularly strong rationale that stands up to all the evidence.

Bigman, 2012, examples of how Karloff differs based on the placement of thick and thin lines

Morris, 2012, examples of Baskerville

A cursory view of the web brought up Georgia, Helvetica, and Arial, repeatedly.  So, I felt an individual discussion of each of these was in order.

Helvetica: According to Rawsthorne (2007), describes it as a quick read, that does not get in the way of meaning of the message.  It is described as a very easy to read font with rounded strokes that soften its sharpness as a font.  Helvetica is used in a variety of corporations including, American Airlines, American Apparel, Evian, Intel, Lufthansa, Nestlé and Toyota.  It first became widely used in the 1960's to convey a sense of modernness for a company.  Surprisingly, it has not been relegated to the list of overdone fonts, it appears to remain popular.  Although, Calahan's work (Garfield, 2011) indicated that some designers have grown tired of this typeface, despite its popularity.
Arial: A quick Google search, will reveal that many view this font as a knockoff of Helvetica.  There seems to be war over whether or not they can be told a part.  Nicol (2009) brings to light an important issue of rendering in terms of font.  Apparently, both Helvetica and Arial are easily legible on Apple computers, but a process of "hinting" is required for typefaces to be legible throughout the range of sizes on a Windows device.  Hinting is only used on Arial for Windows, and the result is that Helvetica looks terrible at some font sizes.  Nicol's (2009) is an important consideration for typefaces, as the digital world poses different problems than those that existed in the past.  I would have never imagined that size could so radically change the beauty of font, as long as the size did not drop below my visual acuity.
Georgia:  Morris (2012) described Phil Renaud's personal observations regarding the grades he received on undergraduate papers.  He found that when compared to other fonts (Times New Roman and Trebuchet), Georgia yielded the best grades.  This was attributed to Georgia both not standing out so much as to be grating to the grader (as Trebuchet would), but also interesting enough to avoid fading into the background compared to other papers (as Times New Roman would).  Additionally, in came in third in Morris's study.  Overall, Georgia is considered fashionable on the internet (Rawsthorn, 2006), it is considered both elegant and readable.  Part of its popularity stems from the inclusion of serifs, which renders it more print-like than much of the typefaces on the internet.

This has been a fascinating topic to finally delve into, but it has been aggravating.  Unlike other topics, there are not clear opposing or agreeing sides.  The statistical facts present are limited in scope.  In the past I have discussed political movements, where there were clear sides.  I have discussed loss of job prospects, where there a clear victim of the ever present march of progress.  I have compared the work or conditions of early designers to contemporary designers.  Despite the controversy imbedded in many of those topics, there were clear dividing lines.  A discussion of typography seems to melt into a sea of personal opinions.  I have shared merely a sampling, but it seems almost every piece of information here, could easily be contradicted by another article.  It speaks to the history of graphic design, with its constant ebb and flow of differing opinions.  It clearly demonstrates the challenge of graphic designers, to appeal to the masses, without appearing overdone.

This is no different than what we have seen in graphic design throughout Meggs and Purvis's (2012) text.  In a short span, we traveled from revering the International Typographic Style, to designers like Weingart and Rosmarie Tissi reinvented and rejecting some of its principles, and leading other designers along the same route.  If I choose to take typography next quarter, it will be interesting to revisit this post after while, to see if that course has enlightened my concepts of contemporary typography.

Works Cited

Anderson, K. (2012, August 13).  The Typography of Authority — Do Fonts Affect How People Accept Information?  The Scholarly Kitchen.  Retrieved from http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2012/08/13/the-typography-of-authority-do-fonts-affect-how-people-accept-information/

Bigman, A. A. (2012, October 16).  The best and worst typefaces, and here’s why

 99 Designs. Retrieved from http://99designs.com/designer-blog/2012/10/16/the-best-and-worst-typefaces-and-why/

Easter, J. (2013).  Periodic Table of Popular Typefaces.  Olympus Press. Retrieved from http://www.olypress.com/periodic-table-of-popular-typefaces/

Garfield, S. (2011, October 28). The 8 Worst Fonts in the World.  Co.Design. In Just My Type.  Retrieved from http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665318/the-8-worst-fonts-in-the-world

Meggs, P. B., & Purvis, A. W. (2012). Meggs' History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Morris, E. (2012, August 8).  Hear, All Ye People; Hearken, O Earth (Part 1).  The New York Times: Opinionator.  Retrieved from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/hear-all-ye-people-hearken-o-earth/?utm_source=slashdot&utm_medium=slashdot&utm_campaign=slashdot&_r=0

Nicol, J. (2009, September 30).  Reconsidering Arial.  Pixel Acres.  Retrieved from http://f6design.com/journal/2009/09/30/reconsidering-arial/

Rawsthorn, A. (2007, April 1). Helvetica: The little typeface that leaves a big mark.  New York Times.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/style/30iht-design2.1.5085303.html?_r=0

The Age of Information, Part I (Module 8)

The first Olympics in my lifetime occurred when I was two years old, however, my first recollection of the Olympics was at the age of 10 years.  I fell in love with the Olympics, I found them both inspiring and heartbreaking.  In the following decades, I was bombarded with images of graphic design when watching the games, but to be honest, I never paid much attention.  Upon reading about the powerful impact of the Olympic games on graphic design, I became curious regarding the design of current Olympic logos.  I decided to investigate the logo of the 2014 games.

However, my search brought me back to the origins of the symbols we equate with the Olympics, and I felt a brief treatment of that topic made sense, prior to delving into current designs.  While the text provided an ample discussion of the logo in recent years, the origins and meanings behind the initial trademark were not discussed.  Perhaps the most iconic graphic of the Olympic games is the five interconnected rings.  Fairly common knowledge is that these rings were meant to represent the five inhabited continents (with the Americas considered as a single continent).  Not only were the interlocking nature of the rings intended to foster a sense of international connectedness, but the color selection demonstrated this same aim.  At the time of the ring symbol's induction (1920 Belgium games), the five colors, plus the white of the background, represented the colors present on every national flag at the time of its unveiling (The Olympic Museum, 2007).  The use of graphic design to associate a sense of unity with the games was not limited to the logos induction, Meggs and Purvis (2012) point out that graphics were key in rekindling the international celebratory nature of the games, after the fracturing caused by terrorism and boycotts in the late twentieth century.

As time passed, rules and regulations were applied to this famous symbol, including exact standards for the position and color of each ring (The Olympic Museum, 2007).  In some ways, this mirrors the International Typographic Style and art concret.  According to Meggs and Purvis (2012), these movements did not adhere to strict regulations, as the Olympic symbols must, but aimed for clarity and rejected strange solutions.  The regulations set by the Olympic Committee lead to a simple clarity and avoid odd incarnations of the symbol; this is important for this symbol to be so readily recognizable throughout the world.  It is interesting, despite regulations, designers have found ways to manipulate their designs to be truly unique.  This allows the symbol to be both "absolutely fixed and used in a consistent manner (Meggs & Purvis, 2012)," but allows for the creativity that leads to a strong graphics.  The logo from the 1968 games in Mexico is distinct example of maintaining the absolute standards, but infusing the design with a distinct elements.

Olympic games, Mexico, 1968

While the ring symbol of the Olympic demonstrates unity, the overall design of the logo, often demonstrates the design culture or world culture of the era. The logo for the 2014 Olympics is no exception.  The ".ru" in the design is initially confusing, but ".ru" is the web domain of Russia, the home of the 2014 Olympics.  The inclusion of a URL in an Olympic games logo is odd, as it sets a new precedent.  The brand council's design was purposeful, it meant to show the game's "commitment to innovation" (Challand, 2009), it was designed to represent the digital age and attract younger generations.  Also, there is a mirror image between "hi" and "14" that is intended to represent the mountains meeting the sea/ocean.

Sochi Olympic Logo, 2009

The new logo is a telling example of how innovation is not always met with enthusiasm.  Airey (2009) voices many of the detractors opinions in his blog, stating that it has too many competing ideas, the domain is superfluous (as individuals can google the site), and mirrored typeface is "clumsy."  He also provides information on the some of the positive aspects, particularly in that it was considered an improvement over the logo of the London games.  The logo for the Sochi games will give a chance to observe first hand how the opinion of innovative graphic design idea may, or may not, change as it comes into regular use this January

Works Cited

Airey, D. (2009, December 2).  Sochi 20014 Olympic Logo. Logo Design Love. Retrieved from http://www.logodesignlove.com/sochi-2014-olympic-logo

Challand, S. (2009, December 1).  Sochi unveils official 2014 Olympic Games logo. idsgn. http://idsgn.org/posts/sochi-unveils-official-2014-olympic-games-logo/

Meggs, P. B., & Purvis, A. W. (2012). Meggs' History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

The Olympic Museum (2007).  Retrieved from http://www.olympic.org/documents/reports/en/en_report_1303.pdf

The Modernist Era, Part II (Module 7)

In the late forties, my grandmother was exiled from her home in Germany, so information regarding those who had to flee from the Nazis or were exiled as a result of the war, always attract my attention.  When reading about the closure of The Baunhaus, I was reminded of the this reoccurring issue of fleeing and exile.  I wondered if fleeing artist was still an occurrence in contemporary war torn areas.  My search did not yield the expected results, initially, I did not happen to find an incident of current artist leaving a war torn country.  However, I found instances of artists leaving for political reasons.

Konstatin Altunin painted a satirical portrait of the Russian prime minister and president, each in women's underwear.  It reminded me of Thomas Nast's works satirizing Tammany Hall during the nineteenth century (Meggs & Purvis, 2012).  I found it interesting that current political climate dictates whether a satirical or scathing work is acceptable.  While Nast's works caused his targets to loose there elections, Altunin was forced to flee to France (MSN News, 2013).

Konstatin, 2013, from The Guardian

However, upon further inspection, I was able to find anecdotes of artists fleeing war zones, as The Bauhaus faculty did.   According to Dehghanpisheh (2012), Wissam Shaabi resisted leaving his home in Syria to escape to Lebanon, but eventually he did just that.  Shaabi's story also relates to the story of The Bauhaus faculty, in that his work was not directly targeting any political figures.  Instead, Shaabi actually used bright colors and aimed to convey hope in the midst of dealing with the war.  Yet, he found himself in danger.  This is where Shaabi's story differs from the faculty of the Bauhaus, as he was not directly targeted by political parties (as the Nazis harassed the faculty, Meggs & Purvis, 2012), but was just impacted by the general danger and lack of exhibition opportunities that a war zone brought.

Shaabi, 2012, untitled

Works Cited

Associated Press in Moscow (2013, August 28). Artist flees Russia after painting Putin and Medvedev in pants. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/28/putin-pants-art-russia-konstantin-altunin-moscow

Associated Press in Moscow (2013, August 28).  Artist who painted Putin in underwear flees Russia.  MSN News. Retrieved from http://news.msn.com/world/artist-who-painted-putin-in-underwear-flees-russia

Dehghanpisheh, B. (2012, November 6).  Syria’s artists flee war-torn country, but they dream and paint of home.  The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-11-06/world/35505642_1_paintings-damascus-artists

Meggs, P. B., & Purvis, A. W. (2012). Meggs' History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Shaabi, W., Syrian Artists Bare Their Thoughts in ‘True Colors’.  Al Mahha Art Blog. Retrieved from http://almahha.com/2012/11/06/syrian-artists-bare-their-thoughts-in-true-colors/

The Modernist Era, Part I (Module 6)

I found the anti-Nazi posters of the example quite powerful.  This reminded me of the attitudes towards the rich in the Occupy Wall Street movement, so I decided to explore some of the visual communication created by the members of this movement, and compare these to the images of John Heartfield.  As I am sure there are several students in the class very invested in the movement, I feel I need to be transparent here.  I have never particularly had an interest in the Occupy Wall Street movement, and while I do make an income that puts me in the bottom 99% of income in the country, I do not identify with the common statement, "We are the 99%"  I actually find that cliche a bit offensive, it is a way of trying to force people into your numbers, whether they identify with your message or not.  Individuals should be allowed to choose whether they agree with a movement or not. However, my lack of identification with the movement makes this a viable blog discussion, as much of the information is new to me.

Although I do not identify with the Occupy Wall Street movement, I found some of the graphics powerful and interesting.  Many of the graphics indicate the clear disgust for the rich and members of Wall Street.  As shown by the works selected by Meggs and Purvis (2012), this disgust is similar to the disgust portrayed toward the Nazis, and those who believed their propaganda.  Two images that were strikingly parallel are displayed below:

"'Whoever reads the bourgeois press turns blind and deaf.'" Heartfield, 1930

Molly Crabapple

 Both of these posters indicate that people are at risk of being blinded to the realities of society.  Heartfield's work was paired with a headline that specifically states that individuals are becoming "blind" and "deaf" by reading the writings of the day, and calls for the removal of the "'stultifying bandages'" (Meggs & Purvis, 2012, p. 268).  Crabapple's work does not rely on an outside headline, but is less direct and infers the message that individuals are blinded by the capitalist message.  However, these images are contrasted by the differing amount of background knowledge to truly understand them.  The headline from Heartfield's work clearly indicates that reference point of the press.  Crabapple's use of the object of "tear gas" may seem out of place or confusing, if the viewer is not aware of the use of tear gas to break up Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Additionally, I noticed that similar images were used to cover very different topics.  Both Heartfield and Occupy Wall Street graphic designers use visuals of animals being killed.  However, they serve very different purposes.  Heartfield's Der Sinn von Genf: Wo das Kapital lebt, kann der Friede nicht leben portrays a bird being skewered on a bayonet. In this image, he is giving a visual to associate with the Geneva crowds who were gunned down for protesting fascism (Meggs & Purvis, 2012).  In contrast, Roger Peet's image of bear destroying a bull is a depiction of the metaphorically destruction of the bull market--strong economy with low unemployment--by the bear market--weak economy with high unemployment (Barrymore). 

Der Sinn von Genf: Wo das Kapital lebt, kann der Friede nicht leben, Heartfield, 1932

Roger Peet

The comparison and contrasting of these images indicate that the poster continues to be an avenue that many graphic artists use as a method of attempting to bring about social change.  While the example of Occupy Wall Street graphics do not use the photomontage technique that was so common with the Dadaist, these posters and the movement indicate some similarities between the ideals of the two movements.  The Dadaist rebelled against unyielding faith in technology (Meggs & Purvis, 2012), while the Occupy Wall Street movement rebelled against the faith in those with moneyed interests (#Occupy Wall Street).  It will be interesting to see if the Occupy Wall Street suffers the same fate as the Dada movement, which dissipated in 1922, partly because they had no leadership (Meggs & Purvis, 2012), which happens to be a point of pride for the Occupy Wall Street (#Occupy Wall Street).

Works Cited

Barrymore, J. (n.d.). How Stock Market Trends Work. How Stuff Works. Retrieved from
http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/financial-planning/stock-market-trends2.htm

CNN Wire Staff. (October 26, 2011).  Tear gas used on Occupy protesters in Oakland, California.  CNN, U.S. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/us/occupy-wall-steet/

Crabapple, M. (n.d.) The poster art of Occupy Wall Street.  Breaking Copy.  Retrieved from http://www.breakingcopy.com/the-poster-art-of-occupy-wall-street 

Meggs, P. B., & Purvis, A. W. (2012). Meggs' History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Peet, R. (n.d.) The poster art of Occupy Wall Street.  Breaking Copy.  Retrieved from http://www.breakingcopy.com/the-poster-art-of-occupy-wall-street