The History of Type

Critical Positions on Advertising

Karl Marx 1818-1883
Communist manifesto: critical of capitalism - suggested a better way of life

Critique of consumer//commodity culture

• In commodity culture we construct our identities through the consumer products that inhabit our lives
• This is what Stewart Ewen terms 'the commodity self'
• Judith Williamson (Decoding Advertisements) 'Instead of being identified by what they produce, people identify themselves through what they consume' (1991:13)
• Looking individual doesn't mean being individual

Symbolic associations - calvin klein advertisement

Image represents use, group culture, sex appeal & desirability

How does commodity culture perpetuate false needs?

• Aesthetic innovation - essential for the fashion industry//seasonal trends
• Planned obsolescence - products have an 'expiry date' just beyond the guarantee//warranty so we are always needing to update things
• Novelty - newer version of products makes us want to discard the older versions

Commodity Fetishism (term coined by Marx)

Basically advertising conceals the background 'history' of products; the context in which a product is produced is kept hidden (Nike - Adbusters)

Reification

Products are given human associations; perceived as sexy, romantic, cool, sophisticated, fun etc.

Commodity culture manipulates us into thinking one-dimensionally; it stifles us and prevents us living full, meaningful and creative lives.

Watch John Berger - Ways of Seeing

Ways advertising work & make profit:

• Economy
• Subsidising the media quality
• Stereotyping
• It seeks to make people unhappy with existing material possessions
• It potentially manipulates people into buying products that they don't really need//want
• It encourages addictive, obsessive & acquisitive behaviour
• It distorts the language and encourages bad usage & incorrect spelling
• It encourages consumers, especially children to want products and brands that they cannot afford, causing feelings of inadequacy and envy
• It uses images that encourage us to buy products and brands that have the potential to be unhealthy
• It encourages unnecessary production and consumption therefore depleting the world's resources and spoling the environment

Summary

• Karl Marx - Marxist analysis used to critique advertising
• Commodity culture & fetishism
• Reification

Public Transport Research

Public Transport

• Types of public transport
• Public transport & the environment
• Divides in classes
• Problems with public transport
• Display of information
• Early forms of public transport & history
• Famous public transport

Problems with public transport

• Delays & cancellations
• Passenger satisfaction
• Lack of space//no available seats
• Ticket fares & rising costs
• Waiting around
• The conditions of stops & stations
• Other passengers
• Terrorism
• Effects on the environment
• Getting lost
• Misleading & confusing timetables//maps
• Congestions
• Missing connections

Secondary Research

Article on Issues with the New York Subway

FixMyTransport - a site to report any UK travel problems: 'FixMyTransport was built to help people get common public transport problems resolved. It is targeted specifically at smaller problems such as persistently broken ticket machines, buses that always leave early, or silly rules that appear to do nothing but create inconvenience for travellers.'

'Rail fares and tickets are not surprisingly a common source of complaint on FixMyTransport. Although there are expensive fares, there are also many which are cheap or reasonable, but the overall impression is one of a fares system riddled with unfairness and traps for the unwary, and a rail industry unwilling to do anything to fix the fundamental problems.

Examples which have been reported are the confusion of having cheaper fares for going further, where it is difficult to spot the right ticket on a machine from the confusing selection available and where splitting the journey into two tickets is cheaper than one. Users have also reported problems with ticket barriers which reject valid tickets.'

Infographics on public transport 

London Transport Museum's Online Archive of Posters

Via Confused.com

Rising price of fares

Rising usage of public transport in America

Photographic Documentation of Public Transport Issues

PTUA's flickr photostream

#Farefail

'In 2012 our overpriced rail fares have been hiked again. Our trains are already the most expensive in Europe! In three years’ time ticket prices will be 24% more expensive than now, yet passengers continue to be stuck with overcrowded, unreliable trains, with less staff on trains and less staff at stations.This Government is taking us further and further away from the value for money train service we all need. This month it's time to say enough is enough.' 

Graffit & Street Art

Five books to look at in preparation for Essay

• Focussing on specific examples, describe ways Modernist Art & Design was a response to the forces of modernity.
• Choosing a particular period from 1800 to present, in what ways has art or design responded to the changing social and cultural forces of that period? (2 specific examples)
• Is it possible to describe any aspect of graphic design as post-modern(ist)?
• Could it be argued that fine art ought be assigned more 'value' than more popular forms of Visual Communication?
• 'Advertising doesn't sell things, all advertising does is change the way people think or feel' (Jeremy Bullmore). Evaluate this statement with reference to selected critical theories (past and present).

Barnard, M. (1998) 'Art, Design and Visual Culture: An Introduction' London, Macmillan
(306.23, Visual Culture)

Cummings, N. & Lewandowska, M. (2000) 'The Value of Things' Basel, Birkhauser Verlag
(301.5, Visual Culture)

Findlay, M. (2012) 'The Value of Art: Money, Power, Beauty' New York, Prestel Publishing
(701.1, Art Theory)

Marcus, G. H. (2002) 'What Is Design Today?' New York, Harry N. Abrams Inc. Publishers 
(745.4, Design Theory)

Vanderlans, R. (2004) 'Graphic Design vs. Style, Globalism, Criticism, Science, Authenticity and Humanism' New York, Princeton
(741.601, Graphic Design Theory)

The Anatomy of Type Part 5: Type as Image

From the work we prepared for this session we found that line length is a key factor which affects readability - a single line of text is more readable even at a smaller scale.

Script fonts are less readable at a larger scale; although they can work in body copy generally they should be used for headers as a display font.

Block fonts are more readable at a larger point size.

From the letterforms (script, roman, gothic & block) that we collected for this week's session we made traces of them experimenting with and changing the weights.

Starting with a regular gothic 'b' and creating lighter and bolder versions

Starting with a regular roman 'A' and creating the lightest and boldest versions

Keeping the stem the lightest it can be and the bowl the heaviest it can be

Creating the lightest and boldest versions of  a Roman lowercase 'c' without changing the height, going below the baseline etc.

Making the stem of a Roman b the boldest it can be and the bowl the lightest

Message and Delivery: Distribution Research

Mailshot//envelope research

"Minneapolis based Cue have designed a wonderful invitation for the Children’s Theatre Company’s Curtain Call Ball, the theaters annual fundraiser that supports programs for young people. The design draws its inspiration fromThe Wizard of Oz (the movie that is) and feels as classic Hollywood as anything I’ve seen in recent years. The detail of the work is incredible and I wish all invitation was as well thought-out and executed as this."
-- via Below The Clouds

Patterned envelope

Marta Harding designs

Mount Fuji envelope via Designers Go To Heaven

Red Square Stationary

Joel Wells

"To coincide with the release of the band ‘Gentleman starkey’s’ E.P: CD Packaging for E.P mail out, including a fold out poster and bespoke envelope. Fold Out Poster featuring absurd shots of the band doing ‘wobbly faces’, along side simple portraits."