Postmodernism
Michael Cronan
One of the fundamentals of modernism was that there should be no decoration or ornamentation as it will only become dated - this is why I think this magazine spread is a prime example of postmodernism because Cronan has used a multitude of colours, patterns and techniques which make it look extremely cluttered. It was published in 1990, which was when Photoshop 1.0 was created and I think the patterns used definitely reflect that as the textures, gradients and strokes used look computerised. I personally don't like the image because I think a lot of the textures are pointless, and I think the effects used on the photographs are tacky. Massimo Vignelli said that 'Modernism was a commitment against greed, commercialization, exploitation, vulgarisation, cheapness.' As postmodernism was a rebellion against all the principles of modernism, this quote supports the fact this magazine spread is a postmodernist piece of graphic design, because it is incredibly vulgar and its style is very cheap looking as it is so easy to achieve, and there seems to be no thought gone into the layout and colour.
Raygun Magazine
David Carson was the art director for magazine Raygun, which was very controversial for the way he didn't follow the organised rules of modernism in terms of layout and editorial design. In an interview for the film Helvetica, he spoke about this particular article which was about the musician Bryan Ferry. He thought that the article was incredibly boring and not worth reading, so he published the whole article in Dingbat - a font made entirely of images, therefore illegible. I admire how he wasn't afraid to publish his own opinions, but the article was actually printed in a readable font at the end of the magazine, so what was the point of doing this in the first place? The purpose of the article is to be read, and as it cannot be read it has no purpose, which I think makes it postmodernist because one of the key charateristics of the movement is that it doesn't have to make sense, and the designer or artist can create anything they want without it having to mean anything to anyone else. This is why I dont like postmodernism, because to me the idea of graphic design is to communicate to a wide range of people, which this can't.
Greiman is noted as one of the first designers to produce design solely on computers, and create digital art. Here is an example of one of her magazine covers for WET, which I think is postmodernist because it is a collage, a common medium for postmodernists to design in, and the images used are very random. It is also very typical of Greiman as there is a lot of computerised methods used, such as different gradients and shapes. It is not completely functional as the image of the person in the middle has a black rectangle over his eyes, preventing the audience from recognising him. As there are a lot of different shapes which make up most of the design I don't think it is very successful as it doesn't give you much of an insight to the contents of the magazine.
Jamie Reid
This was the back of an album cover for Sex Pistols, Never Mind The Bollocks. It is from the punk era, and one of the characteristics of this was type cut up from magazines and newspapers on designs, which can be seen here. A common theme of postmodernism is chaotic bricolage, which can be seen here by how the track listing is scattered, and how the text is placed on different shaped, roughly cut out shapes. I don't like this design because it looks too unorganised, and created with no skill or precision involved.
Terry Jones
Published in 1980, i-D was a british youth culture magazine designed by Terry Jones. I think it is postmodernist because of the high contrast, bright colours used which are very tacky and kitsch. It says 'worldwide manual of style' which I think is very ironic because the cover itself is incredibly ugly. Postmodernism is known for being tacky, with designers rebelling against the rules and constraints of modernism. I guess it is successful in the fact that is eye-catching, but I just don't think it is very aesthetically pleasing.
Modernism
New Graphic Design
This is a typical example of modenrism. It is a magazine front cover, and the title is in three different languages, as modernism was an internationalist movement where its aim was for everyone to understand the design. The number '1' is enlarged, which was a typical trait of the Bauhaus which was a modernist art school. The contents is on the front page, so that it gives the audience an insight to what the magazine is about. This is very functional as before someone buys it they can see exactly whats in it. There is no illustration or photographs, as there is no need for any - the type lets the viewer know all the information they need, and modermism follows the principle that function comes before aesthetics. The fact it is in black and white could also show that it is practical and cost saving, because it is cheaper to print on black and white than it is in colour. It also uses a simple grid system so that it is very readable - much different to the magazine covers from the postmodernist movement.
Bayer was one of the teachers at Bahaus, and is known for creating many fonts. In the modernist movement, sans serifs were introduced as serifs weren't needed, and the main concept of modernism was to strip design down of ornamentation and concentrate on the most practial way of doing things. These are two fonts that he designed, and they are very simple letterforms, just serving their purpose of communication.
Toscatti
Toscatti is a kitchenware brand, and they have a wide range of containers, all of which are varying sizes. Anagrama created the identity for the brand, and the packaging categorises the containers in a logical way. They are colour coded into the different shapes, and the capacity of the containers are a main focus of the packaging as this is a big part of choosing what containers to buy. I think it is modernist because it is very functional - the focus of the packaging is to advertise the products function. The design is very simple, and the layout is very straightforward, making it very legible which is a charateristic of modernism. Also, the numbers are considerably larger than the text which is actually one of the formats the Bauhaus used a lot.
These business cards for graphic designer Laura Slater are printed on 2mm thick cairn board sand, which I think is modernist because you can still tell what material has been used, and the designer hasn't tried to hide the material it has been printed on. The design is very simple, using one colour to convey the type of design she does. Her name is also in lowercase letters, which is something some modernists liked to use because they didn't think uppercase letters were needed.
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