GRAPHIC DESIGN HISTORY | CONTEMPORARY
INTRODUCTION
- In its day, Victorian was considered “contemporary.” What will be considered “contemporary” 20 years from now will look very different than the examples in this slide show.
- Today's contemporary look is clean and simple, with roots in Swiss design as well as other historical styles.
- Since contemporary designs reflect what’s currently in style, students should build portfolio samples that reflect the examples in this slide show.
INFLUENCES
- The "classic" little black dress never seems to go out of fashion. Its simplicity evokes elegance and sophistication, desired qualities that never seem to go out of style.
INFLUENCES
- The iPhone is a music player, telephone, PDA, video player, web browser and more all in one hand-held device.
- A good example of Bauhaus functional design combined with contemporary simplicity.
INFLUENCES
- As devices get smaller and smarter, they also began to look cool.
- Following in the footsteps of the iPod and iPhone, today's cameras have to function well both as image capturing devices as well as status symbols in order to compete in the marketplace.
INFLUENCES
- Herman Miller asked designers Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf to design a functional chair that would move and adjust as simply and naturally as possible. The result is the ultra-functional Aeon chair.
- The semi-transparent surface was a deliberate design strategy allowing the free flow of air to the skin. The transparency of the chair is also a visual element in keeping with the idea of transparent architecture and technology communicating the inner workings of things.
INFLUENCES
- Barbara Kruger is a trained art director who also produced works for display in museums. She is one of the few commercial artists who crossed over into “fine art.”
- All of her work was created with great economy: one phrase, always set in Futura bold italic married with a single image.
- In traditional advertising, word and image combine to enhance each other, but Kruger subverts this by opposing the meaning of the words with the image.
INFLUENCES
- The Swiss system of grid alignments, formal organization systems and use of sans serif type still prevails in many contemporary designs.
CONTEMPORARY
- Grid layouts and alignment of visual elements convey a sense of order and structure.
This clean and straight-forward approach is popular in print as well as on the web.
CONTEMPORARY
- Asymmetrical layout, good use of white space and clean typography all help project a professional image.
CONTEMPORARY
- Google's classic home page is as simple and as functional as a web page can be.
Simple and straight-forward designs never seem to go out of style.
- Google makes all their design decisions based on user feedback and data collected from their research.
CONTEMPORARY
- Making complex information simple and easy to understand is a contemporary philosophy embraced by many designers.
CONTEMPORARY
- Creative typography is a major trend contemporary graphic design.
This minimalist layout is rooted in the Swiss approach.
- Note the formal alignment of the type which makes the out-of-place “H” seem even more deliberate.
CONTEMPORARY
- This all-type solution plays with the inner and outer circles of the “O” to spell out the headline.
- A creative concept executed in a formal Swiss-like atmosphere with lots of white space.
CONTEMPORARY
- This all-type approach uses scale to make the headline scream. Playful yet formal.
CONTEMPORARY
- The formality of the type at the bottom allows for the letters at the top to go to wild extremes in expressing its message.
- This playfulness in typography is rooted in postmodern attitudes, but the look is very contemporary.
CONTEMPORARY
- This all-type solution has a postmodern playfulness. Yet, there is a logical structure to the design that's rooted in the Swiss approach.
CONTEMPORARY
- You have to work a little harder to read the type in this poster. It’s unusual to hide the headline, but the reward for the extra effort makes the poster memorable.
CONTEMPORARY
- The arbitrary fonts sizes feel postmodern while the simple and clean layout looks contemporary.
CONTEMPORARY
- Rolling Stone Magazine has broken new ground repeatedly with its creative type treatments.
- Here, you have to turn the page to read the entire headline.
CONTEMPORARY
- Here, the letterform “O” is actually part of the photograph.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- Paula Scher is best known for her theatre posters for NYC’s Public Theater. Here she is inspired by Russian constructivist type treatments.
CONTEMPORARY
- In this poster, the creative typography makes a statement while the simple layout makes the poster look contemporary.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- Milton Glaser is back playing with very formal type, but making an artistic statement.
- Other Milton Glaser designs can be seen in the Psychedelic slide show.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- Paul Rand playing with his own logo design by using a rebus to sound out the letterforms.
- A rebus is a puzzle that uses pictures to replace the sounds of words or syllables
CONTEMPORARY
- Another rebus example spelling out the company’s name.
- Pentagram is an international design firm that has at one time or another been associated with some of the most influential designers working today as partners: Michael Bierut, April Greiman, Woody Pirtle, Paula Scher.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- Here, a very straight forward all-type approach is made interesting by adding perspective and motion.
- Chip Kidd is known as "the world's greatest book-jacket designer" for his clever typography and creative visual puns.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- A good example of effective hand-generated type executed simply and directly.
CONTEMPORARY
- The range of contemporary commercial illustration styles has never been broader and more varied. However, graphic simplicity never seems to go out of style.
- Note that none of the following illustration examples look computer-generated. In fact, the hand-rendered look is probably valued more than ever in contemporary design.
CONTEMPORARY
- In this poster, Woody Pirtle uses a loose, sketchy style contrasted with a formal, minimalist Swiss-style layout.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- Seymour Chwast’s flat illustration style is reminiscent of Art Nouveau illustrations, but the contrast in sizes appears to be Swiss-inspired.
CONTEMPORARY
- These simple but quirky illustrations make this children's book look contemporary.
CONTEMPORARY
- Simple silhouettes with interesting negative shapes make this illustration both creative and contemporary.
CONTEMPORARY
- Another clever minimalist approach to illustrating an idea.
CONTEMPORARY
- Michael Schwab’s illustration style is an interesting combination of silhouetted shapes and lines with photographic highlights.
- The graphic simplicity of his style hints at an Art Deco look.
CONTEMPORARY
- Another Schwab illustration with playful use of positive/negative space.
CONTEMPORARY
- The famous iPod campaign uses photo-realistic silhouettes to convey an idea in the simplest and most graphic way.
CONTEMPORARY
- This clever photographic illustration makes use of recognizable graphic shapes to communicate an idea.
CONTEMPORARY
- Simple silhouetted photographic objects are combined to make an interesting visual.
CONTEMPORARY
- Images can be made more graphic and simple by removing the background.
- In this layout, graphic blocks of color also make a strong statement.
CONTEMPORARY
- In this layout, the graphic photographic objects are cleverly cropped to illustrate an idea.
CONTEMPORARY
- This NYNEX Yellow Pages ad campaign would start with just an absurd image and no type. The audience would spend weeks trying to guess what the image means. The payoff came several weeks later when the visual pun became obvious once the type was visible.
CONTEMPORARY
- The success of this campaign can be partially attributed to the very minimalist layout and clean typography.
Chiat/Day is an award-wining agency based in Minneapolis. In the 1990s, its reputation for clever pun-based headlines started a new trend.
CONTEMPORARY
- The tongue-in-cheek American Kitsch-inspired approach is nicely cleaned up with a simple pun headline.
CONTEMPORARY
- The poster uses a creative concept to create a visual pun.
CONTEMPORARY
- The visual pun in this image cleverly communicates a music festival at a zoo.
CONTEMPORARY
- As digital imaging software became more advanced, photographic manipulation became more common.
CONTEMPORARY
- This clever photomontage communicates a strong social message in a compelling way.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- This conceptual image metaphorically communicates the title of the book and adds another dimension to the message.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- In this Saul Bass design, the lens distortion makes the swimmer appear to be flying over the earth.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- Tibor Kalman was best known as the “bad boy” of design, breaking whatever rules he can just for the fun of it.
- At its height, Tibor’s design firm M&Co. was the most desirable place to work and every design school graduate dropped off their portfolio in hopes of getting an interview with Tibor.
- Here he turns the “A”s upside down for no discernable reason other than to have some fun.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- Tibor Kalman worked with photographer Oliviero Toscanni on creating some of the most controversial images used in fashion.
- “Colors” was Benetton’s house magazine, which Tibor used to communicate strong, if unpopular messages about society and the world. Between 1990 and 1995, Tibor created special issues dedicated to race, religion, violence, AIDS, and other issues.
INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER
- For the race issue, Tibor photoshopped England’s Queen Elizabeth to make her look black. The British did not see the humor in this.Other issues of “Colors” were burned in Japan.
- As a result of Tibor’s playfulness, other designers were “given permission” to violate the strict tenets of the Swiss style and soon an “arbitrary” approach to design became acceptable.
CONTEMPORARY
- Recently, there has been a reaction to obviously posed photographs with professional models. Some photographers started experimenting with spontaneous lifestyle images that look un-posed.
CONTEMPORARY
- Unusual non-professional models sometimes make humorous statements that attract attention.
CONTEMPORARY
- Another example of a non-professional model trying to convey “reality.”
CONTEMPORARY
- This image uses harsh flash photography and an uncropped snapshot look to try to capture that spontaneous “real-life” moment.
CONTEMPORARY
- This catalog also makes good use of negative space to frame the products in an early modern geometric environment.
CONTEMPORARY
- Contemporary gourmet food products often use an European abstract approach reminiscent of the Swiss movement.
CONTEMPORARY
- This generic brand will stand out on cowded supermarket shelves because of its very clean layout.
CONTEMPORARY
- Coke's re-branding makes a bold and colorful statement while remaining as simple and direct as possible.
CONTEMPORARY
- This very graphic branding approach translates well to many different applications.
TRADEMARKS
- Simple illustrative symbols, beautifully drawn are part of the contemporary visual language.
TRADEMARKS
- The Prudential logo in its current configuration.
TRADEMARKS
- Although Walter Landor retired in 1989, his design firm is still going strong with major international clients.
TRADEMARKS
- A conceptual typographic solution for an entertainment firm.
TRADEMARKS
- Another playful type solution for a design firm.
TRADEMARKS
- Influential designer Milton Glaser's studio logo. A playful type solution with a nod towards both Swiss and postmodern thinking.
TRADEMARKS
- Influential designer Paula Scher's conceptual typographic solution for a financial conglomorate.
TRADEMARKS
- An instant classic from Chicago design firm VSA Partners.
TRADEMARKS
- A very kinetic design from influential designer Clement Mok.
TRADEMARKS
- Another kinetic logo suggesting clean energy.
TRADEMARKS
- Influential designer Milton Glaser’s most famous symbol.
See more of Milton Glaser’s work in the Psychedelic slide show.
TRADEMARKS
- Influential designer Paul Rand’s solution for Apple CEO Steve Job’s failed venture.
TRADEMARKS
- Influential designer Saul Bass’s simple approach in 3D started another trend.
- See more of Saul Bass’s work in the Late Modern slide show.
TRADEMARKS
- A redesign of Paul Rand's concept in 3D.
TRADEMARKS
- Another updating of a Paul Rand design with a 3D look.
TRADEMARKS
- A similar updating of the original Apple icon in 3D.
TRADEMARKS
- A clever way to render type in 3D.
TRADEMARKS
- A clever use of transparency to create overlapping shapes.
TRADEMARKS
- Another example in the recent trend in creative use of transparency and overlapping shapes.
TYPOGRAPHY
- Zuzana Licko, along with her husband Rudy Vanderlands promoted major new type designs with Emigre magazine.
TYPOGRAPHY
- Zuzana Licko's contemporary Baskerville revival named "Mrs Eaves" after John Baskerville's mistress and assistant.
TYPOGRAPHY
- This Adobe font was the first typeface designed with a serif family, a sans serif family and an informal version halfway in between.
TYPOGRAPHY
- This Adobe innovation known as multiple master fonts allows the user to generate as many weights as needed.
TYPOGRAPHY
- This font designed for use by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis allowed the user to add various serifs as needed.
- Influential designer Matthew Carter recently won a $500K MacArthur Genius Award
TYPOGRAPHY
- FF Din is a popular contemporary sans serif based on the original 1923 German design that is also known as the "Autobahn typeface." In 1998, Albert-Jan Pool expanded the typeface with new weights and widths.
- Like Helvetica, FF Din is simple, neutral, objective and very legible. Perhaps it will replace Helvetica as the new international typeface?
TYPOGRAPHY
- Influential designer Matthew Carter was commissioned by Microsoft to design these two typefaces to be readable on low resolution computer monitors.
- Matthew Carter is one of the few contemporary typeface designers who has worked as a punch cutter in the days of metal type.