Part of my goal with my blog is showcasing my own work, the process behind it, and the client or class it was produced for. So I give you: my first project for my Advanced Typography class:

Typography 2: a big jumble of letters

Of Chico State’s Graphic design program, no classes are more essential than the two typography courses. They are considered the bread and butter of what we learn, and really serve as the basis for everything else. So for this project, we learned about two of the most important schools of design, Modernism and Postmodernism. We were required to use quotations, words, and typography to best explain what Modernism is, and best explain what Postmodernism is.

This discussion is hard without an explanation of what these two terms mean, so I’ll try to explain briefly:

Modernism is as old as graphic design, as we know it. Forged in the Bauhaus school during the 1920s, Modernism characterizes formal, clean, informative design.  Sans-serif type is a hallmark of modernist design, and the goal is to be invisible: design should be there to accentuate the message and make it as easy and as educational as possible.

Postmodernism is essentially a rejection of Modernism. Instead of clean, invisible design, Postmodernism stresses expressive typography; conveying a message in another layer of meaning: with the way the type is displayed. There’s more to it than that, but if Modernism’s hallmark is sans-serif typography, Postmodernism’s is layers. Especially layered type. See David Carson’s work.

The Early Process

We started, really, with a famous essay by early graphic design critic Beatrice Warde, entitled “The Crystal Goblet or Printing Should be Invisible.” Written in 1937, the essay embodies the ideals of the Modernist movement, as it stresses allowing typography and printing to be a “crystal goblet” in which to hold the message.

This, of course, didn’t happen in a day. After a short exercise in typesetting the essay, we began to design our posters. And I had a ton of questions. Landscape? Portrait? Do I separate the two schools of thought or let them intermingle? How many quotes should I use? What typefaces should I select?

It began slowly, and I tested different typefaces, layering techniques, colors, and layouts. I set “The Crystal Goblet” at least six different times, in different typefaces and styles. I decided to separate Modernism and Postmodernism down the middle, but it wasn’t until much later that I had the realization that the two should intermingle. That was an idea I had after the project was officially due.

Refinement & Tweaking

When school piles up on you, some projects fall by the wayside. This one nearly did. I had a poster that I thought was “good enough” and tried to force it to work. In fact, I was pretty much going to do the whole thing in a two-hour class period the day it was due. It would have worked, except that we got an extension.

So that’s how I found myself, the day before it was due, working long hours in the library basement, where I work as a graphic designer for the school, designing the hell out of this poster. I knew what I wanted it to look like, and I had found the time to make it work.

The type began to layer, the two sides began to intermingle, and the color sprang to life. And just like that, I had a poster. I added quote after quote, and then deleted quote after quote, until I was completely satisfied with the way it all turned out.

Diagram & Lessons Learned

The most important part of this project was assembling the process book. Sure, the poster itself is important, but the lessons we learned and the process we had to go through were arguably more vital. So I wanted to show you a diagram from my process book that explains what the heck everything is.

An explanation of the poster

Doing this project forces me and my classmates to learn what Modernism is, what Postmodernism is, and where both of them fall in the realm of graphic design. We’re forced to think about both of these as a separate movements, and how they effect graphic design today. There isn’t a discernible “phase” design is in right now, and we’ll be the ones who have an effect on what that next phase is.

I’m interested, of course, in what you think. It’s not my best work, but it’s an exploration.