IksDesign

Design 20th October 2016
special edition
IksDesign

Sirli Küber, 2016

What has writing got to do with design?

p. 2-3

Words in practice Selfe­ vident, Cup challenge
self­motivated,
p. 4 p. 8
selfperpetuating

p. 5

Design 2 20. oktoober 2016

What has writing got
to do with design?

Art Center College of Design of the vertical and horizontal axes – on culture at the time of their publica-
Publisher is Eye magazine, year is 1993, the surface, at least. More important- tion and continue to do so today. They
author is Anne Burdick, theme is de- ly, they fused for the first time content helped shape a discourse from within,
signers writing, makes clear what our and form into a unified whole. The in much the way architects and artists
workshop is about. words grew in harmony with the form; have done.
they sprang from the same source. CRITICAL CHALLENGE
WE SEE THE GIANTS OF DE- Graphic design has a tendency to view Critical reflection in graphic design is
SIGN HISTORY AS CHAMPI- historical work for its interesting sur- in short supply. Too many publications
ONS OF TOTAL AUTHORSHIP faces while overlooking the contribu- are merely lavish portfolios. While it
BUT IGNORE THE OBVIOUS tory elements that make those surfaces is nice to view interesting new work,
interesting. The central aspect of the in such forums the work is accepted
IMESSAGE OF THEIR WORK Futurist and Dadaist language-based outright: no discussion, no questions
don’t have to design in my work – total authorship of words and asked. The profession needs challenge
English class, so why should form – is frequently bypassed and the from within through the reflective
I write in my design class?’ It work is seldom shown in translation. process writing can bring to it. Long
was as though I had asked my In the shadow of that agonising con- overdue, such critical introspection
students grow Streptococcus in a tradiction between design rhetoric can help broaden our understanding of
Petri dish in lieu of specifying type. and practice, where designers profess what we accept as natural. We can then
Translating verbal messages into visual to admire one thing (culture) but base choose to accept it as it is, or to change
forms is the essence of graphic design, their practice on another (commerce), it for the better.
I argued. The manipulation of lan- too little attention has been paid, both While the world of criticism can at
guage and typography is the primary in the academy and the annuals, to the times be fraught with internal poli-
ingredient that distinguishes our work relevance of writing to graphic design. tics and fashions, it is at the very least
from that of illustrators, who deal ex- Writing can feed the profession in two a forum for discussion. Through dis-
clusively with imagery. So why the in- ways: through the challenge of critical cussion and review we are held ac-
tense resistance, both in the classroom analysis and through the exploratory countable to our peers, and as a result
and in the profession? Graphic design freedom of self-initiated work. worlds of praise carry greater weight.
is neither strictly visual nor strictly ver- The role of the author, in the tradition- Constructive criticism should not be
bal. It is the marriage of the two: fused, al sense of a writer, is considered be- something we fear; it should be some-
bonded, inseparable. yond the realm of the graphic designer, thing we welcome.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES despite our canonisation of works of At the same time, self-initiated, self-au-
As the instigator of such visual / verbal total authorship. We admire the giants thored design work can be the lo-
/ typographic fusion, the output of the of design history who wrote manifes- cus for professional growth through
Futurists and Dadaists is often consid- tos, books, or self-published periodi- experimentation with language and
ered the pivotal work of twentieth-cen- cals whose form was an expression of form, as in the work of Phil Baines.
tury ‘graphic design’. From Marinetti the ideas they expounded: Theo van With complete control over all aspects
to Tristan Tzara, these artists and poets Doesburg’s De Stijl, Jan Tschichold’s of the communication, the graphic
liberated language from the stronghold Die Neue Typografie, Emil Ruder’s designer as author, in the tradition of
Typographie, Paul Rand’s Thoughts Manetti et al, has the freedom to ex-
on Design. These polemics created plore more deeply the relationship
lively debate and enriched the visual

20. oktoober 2016 3 Design

between content and form, including bound too closely to the demands of stake in the communication process.
issues which may be inappropriate to industry, and the way this constrictive Can we resurrect the spirit of author-
client communications but relevant to self-definition is reinforced through ship that is alive in our most valued
design. Autonomous works of total au- an educational stance that thwarts the historical moments? It is the mode of
thorship must be considered a valuable advance of visual and verbal explora- exploration and evaluation in the activ-
contribution to graphic design. This tion and inhibits critical reflection. The ity of writing – in many ways parallel to
is not to say that commissioned work commercial concerns of the profession the design process – that is significant:
should be devalued, but rather stim- can overshadow critical discourse, in the practice of manipulating words and
ulated by the issues that only autono- that public analysis and review are seen expression feeds a designer’s ability to
mous work can bring to the discussion. by some as endangering business, and communicate. Designers should write
DUTCH INSPIRATION as such as distinctly ‘unprofessional’ not in order to become better writers,
The situation in the Netherlands, activities. but to become better designers.
where government and commercial But while the over-emphasis on busi-
organisations encourage visual explo- ness concerns can be a hindrance, I
ration through subsidies and commis- would argue that the more difficult
obstacle to overcome is the anti-verbal

Designers should write not in
order to become better writers, but

to become better designers.

sions, has created a fecund environ- bias of much education, which renders First published in Eye no. 9 vol. 3 1993
ment for experimentation. In Holland, designers voiceless, opinionless, mind-
the spirit, impetus and support behind less. It is considered outside our role
autonomous production still thrives. to analyse the content of our work in
Typ, Hard Werken, Qwerty, Affiche relation to politics, theory, economics,
– all magazines initiated or edited by morals, and so on. This is a fallacy: we
Dutch designers – as well as numerous always lend some degree of interpreta-
small books and catalogues are in con- tion to our work. By acknowledging this
stant circulation. The notion of the de- involvement and by actively increasing
signer as complete author, editor, and it through autonomous projects and
form-giver is alive. Government grants analytical reflection, we strengthen our
and commercial sponsorship, such as communication skills as authors and
printing donations, promote design for consequently as interpreters.
its own sake for both professionals and BUILDING INTELLECTUAL
students. Community support empow- MUSCLE
ers the designer as a cultural contribu- To understand how content communi-
tor, with the freedoms and responsibil- cates and how it relates to visual form
ities that role entails. is mandatory for the student. Students
ANGLO-SAXON RETICENCE can use writing to build intellectual
In the UK and US, the same economic muscle and to provide themselves with
support for endeavours outside the cir- the mental tools to evaluate ideas, al-
cle of commerce is hard to find, the sub- lowing them to adopt from the outset
text being that it is of no value unless it a responsible position of questioning
can turn a profit. Unfortunately, many and analysis. No longer a neutral me-
designers have the ability to write, but dium through which another’s ideas
don’t. This reticence may result from flow, the student, and later the practi-
two things: a professional identity tioner, is an active participant with a

Design 4 20. oktoober 2016

Beatrice Warde, The Crystal Goblet, Sixteen Essays on Typography,1956. designers needed ‘to find ways to speak
through treatment via a whole range of
Words in practice rhetorical devices – from the written
to the visual to the operational …’ It
WJim Northover skills, not separate disciplines. Others, seems to me that designers who retreat
riting and designing either by aptitude or training, are more to the formal visual aspects of design
are part of a continu- comfortable with the formal aspects of as a safe haven restrict the power and
um of communication visual design. Many have come into de- influence of their work. Design should
skills. Graphic design sign because literacy and fluency with embrace all the communication devic-
has always been about words and imag- words were not their strengths, and es it can to get a message across. Words
es. Nowadays words play an even big- although the teaching of typography are just part of the whole. Designers
ger role in design practice because de- has changed radically over the years, often need to spell out exactly what it
signers are expected to provide a writ- it has been an article of faith that the is they want to say: to their clients, and
ten context, narrative or explanation Modernist typographer ‘erected a win- to those whose work they coordinate,
for their work, writes Jim Northover. dow between the reader … and that be they photographers, illustrators or
It’s not that images have given way to landscape which is the author’s words’ copywriters. Without words we are
words – so much of today’s media is (in Beatrice Warde’s famous metaphor). lost. For these reasons, now more than
defined principally by the dominance The typographic designer helped frame ever, we need designers with writing
of imagery over text – but words and the view, but nothing more. Since then skills who understand the craft of com-
writing have become integral to the de- the debate about the designer’s role municating with words, and can com-
sign process. In the world of brand and in relation to content has continued. bine these with complementary visual
identity design, practitioners invariably Paul Rand has been quoted as saying skills. Given this trajectory of the con-
talk about ‘storytelling’, the need to that ‘design is the method of putting temporary designer’s role, I lament the
build a narrative around the defining form and content together’ , seemingly closure of the one postgraduate course
visual elements of a brand. They refer acknowledging that while the designer in Europe that attempts to reconcile
to ‘verbal’ identity and speak about has total responsibility for form he or writing and design and look critically
tone in terms of ‘voice’ as well as co- she may have some or no responsibil- at how the disciplines interact.
lour and imagery. For some designers ity for originating the content. When Window installation by Giles Miller / It’s Nice
this comes quite naturally: they see Michael Rock addressed the same is- That for Selfridges in London.
writing, drawing and designing as part sue three years ago he declared that
of a continuum of communication

20. oktoober 2016 5 Design

Selfe­ vident, selfm­ otivated, selfperpetuating

Creative work by Experimental Jetset, Mother, Struktur and others. John O’Reilly John L. Walters

SSELF­EVIDENT categories of the professional and the the group, part of the ethic of making
elfp­ romotion is a dirty phrase selfe­xpressive. Others, such as Erwin and sending things out comes from a
in some cultural quarters. The Brinkers, Marieke Stolk and Danny shared background in DIY ’zine cul-
idea that a piece of work should van den Dungen of Dutch studio ture and mail art. This history reveals
have the primary intention of Experimental Jetset, don’t see the dif- itself in the group’s exploitation of un-
promoting the career, financial status ference. After all, the job of the graphic questioned formats of communication
and / or sex life of its creator might be designer is to deliver an interpretation and the kinds of mindset we wear when
thought shameful, except that for some of a brief, and every interpretation is using these objects. What’s interesting
people there is no gap between art and an act of selfexpression. Experimental about Advanced Economics is the way
artist: the work and the process of pro- it highlights a basic truth about the
moting it are essentially the same thing. Kairi Saarekanno, 2016 graphic design profession. Rather than
After all, can there be any more admi- Jetset insist that their selfe­xpression being pricked by guilt about how they
rable goal than giving visible form to “exists only in the analysis of the con- earn their money (and running away
ideas, feelings and opinons, exploring text. Whether this context includes a from that to produce bad art) graphic
the very depths of the soul and being? client from the outside or ourselves as designers are the people best suited to
To express one’s self is to reveal a per- clients is not important. The amount delivering a critique of the basic struc-
sonal vision – the style and signature of self­expression is the same. Besides, tures of work and commerce. Those
that makes each of us unique. Though in those situations where we serve as who package can also unpackage.
graphic designers undertake selfgener- our own clients, we don’t really feel Their training makes them the ones
ated work for many different reasons, more ‘free’ than in situations where most able to make sense of the social
when taken together, this loose collec- we work with clients from the outside. and psychological glue of contempo-
tion of greeting cards, diaries, calen- We are our own most difficult clients.” rary communications. You could say
dars, posters, brochures, broadsheets, Packaged full of office paraphernalia that the difference between the self­
hardbacks, booklets and paperbacks such as business cards, a computer disk publicist and the self­motivated is that
say only a few different things, such as and envelopes, Advanced Economics the former has something to sell, while
“this is who we are” or “this is what we is described as “a zine / multiple on the latter has something to say. Yet
do” or “these are the things we like.” corporate culture” (see also the key- the paradox is that the good design-
Or – forcefully – “this is how we can rings on page 34). It is a piece of highly er exploits content by being its slave.
change what you do” or “we don’t care sophisticated anthropology examin- Stephen Banham’s Convoy is a design
what you think, but feel the attitude” ing the world of work. Unlike British manifesto aimed at liberating designers
or even “you don’t have to be crazy to group Crash!, who cover similar ma- from “the allt­oof­amiliar role as Turd
hire us, but it helps.” Whether these terial but approach it with a hammer, Polisher.” Strong stuff. Banham gets
examples of pure design arrive under Experimental Jetset demonstrate a away with it through bravado and wit,
the aegis of a distinguished imprint, creatively light touch. According to and by employing the tools of design to
drop unsolicited through the mailbox unpick graphic design.
or accompany a portfolio, it is entirely
possible – among the unfettered out-
pouring of naked ambition, personal
enthusiasms and obsessive interests –
to uncover some fine examples of self
expression. (JLW)
SELFM­ OTIVATED
Some graphic designers see the world
in black and white, dividing up their
work into the mutually exclusive

Design 6 20. oktoober 2016

Aina rohkem on täna- kokku üheks tervikuks. Sõnalise kujundada või detaile üheks ter-
ses infot täis maailmas teksti tõlkimine visuaalseks ongi vikuks seada. Küll aga on oluline
oluline roll visuaalsel graafilise disaini olemus kirjutab graafilisele disainerile, kui hästi ta
tähelpanu püüdmisel. Anne Burdick. Graafiline disain ei valdab teksti mõistmist ning sellest
Ei piisa pelgalt sellest, vaid nende ole ainult sõnad või ainult visuaalne. aru saamist ja kuidas ta seda tõlgen-
loetud sekundite jooksul tuleb ka See on nende kahe liit: sulandunud, dada oskab.
oskuslikult edasi anda kogu vajalik liimitud ja lahutamatu. Mõndadele disaineritele tuleb kirju-
informatsioon. Inimesed kulgevad Tänu infotehnoloogia arengule on tamine loomulikuna. Teistel jällegi
igapäevaselt libisedes üle infovoo- internetis ringlemas palju uut disaini on tugevam visuaalne pool. Paljud
gude, kuna materjali on süvene- ja loomingut, mille kohta ei ole esi- valivadki disaineri töö, kuna kirjan-
miseks liiga palju. Valik tuleb teha tatud ei küsimusi ega alustatud dis- dus ja sõnade voolavus ei ole nende
mitte 3 sekundi jooksul, mis on ini- kussiooni. Kriitilist tagasisidet on kõige tugevaim külg. Aga sõnad on
mesest esmamulje saamise aeg, vaid vähe. Konstruktiivne kriitika aga ei vaid üks osa tervikust. Disain peaks
murdosa sekundi jooksul. Vahel ise tohiks olla midagi, mida me pelga- kasutama kõiki olemas olevaid kom-
tajumata, et mis oli see miski, mis me, vaid pigem tervitatav. Holland munikatsiooni meetodeid, mida on
pilku püüdis ja edasi uurima sundis. on riik, mida võib eeskujuks võtta. võimalik, et teade edasi anda.Tihti
Enamusest meid ümbritsevast mü- Seal väärtustab riik disainerite tööd peavad disainerid lahti seletama
rast aga möödume, seda tähele pa- sellega, toetab selliste väljaannete kirjalikult, mida nad täpselt oma
nemata, analüüsimata, süvenemata. ilmumist nagu: Typ, Hard, Werken, tööga öelda soovivad, samal ajal
Kas tõesti on tuleviku suund sin- Querty, Affiche. Vastupidiselt ang- olema ka fotograafid, illustraatorid
na, et vähem teksti ja rohkem kõi- losaksi kultuuriruumile, kus disai- ja koostajad ( Jim Northover).
ke muud, või peab olema disaineril ner enne, kui tema tööd hakatakse Tihti tuleb disaineril kirjutamise
oskus seda kõike ümbritsevat kirja- väärtustama peab teenima kasumit. oskust kasutada, et lahti seletada
likku vormi panna ja ennast kuulda- Me imetleme disaini ajaloo suur- kirjalikult oma ambitsioonid, näge-
vaks teha just kirjasõna kaudu. kujusid, kes kirjutasid manifeste, mused ja huvid. Kuna disainerite
Jim Northover kirjutab oma artik- raamatuid, ajakirju, mis oli nende pagas koosneb kaartidest, päeva-
lis sellest, et visuaalne vorm on tä- ideede ja nägemuste väljendus: Theo raamatutest, kalendritest, post-
napäeva maailmas domineerivam van Doesburgś De Stijl, Jan Tschicholdś ritest, brozüüridest, raamatutest,
tekstist ja selles identiteedi ja logode Die Neue Typografie, Emil Ruderś voldikutest ja ajakirjadest,siis need
maailmas on vaja oskust jutustada Typographie, Paul Randś Thoughts on võivad küll anda ülevaate kunst-
lugu, mis seletab lahti logo ja kujun- Design (Anne Burdick). niku maailmavaadete, nägemuste
duse visuaalseid elemente. Disain Kirjaniku või ajakirjaniku töös ei ja hoiakute kohta aga see ei pruugi
on see, mis liidab sisu ja vormi ole oluline osata hästi visuaalselt olla piisav. Kunstniku identiteedi ja
tema loomingu vahel jookseb väga
õrn piir. Iga oma ideele, tundele ja
arvamusele lisab ta osake enda hin-
ge ja olemust ning on disaineri ene-
seväljendus ( John O´Reilly John L.
Walters).
Ühe näitena tooks David Hillmanni
töö, kus ta on koostööd teinud tee-
firmaga nimega „Dragonfly teas“ ja
seda juba 13 aastat. Nende koostöö
algas teepaki disainimisest, mis oli
oma olemuselt liiga lihtne, et olla
tõsi – pildiks valgel taustal tee-
kannust valatav tee. Sümbolieeris
see tee „puhtust“. Samuti puutus

20. oktoober 2016 7 Design

ta kokku hoiakutega, et „valge ei saaksid paremad kirjutajad, vaid et TOIMETUS
müü“. Kuid jäädes oma otsusele neist saaksid paremad disainerid. Jalaka 8
kindlaks ütleb ta täna ka teistele, et Kokkuvõtteks võin öelda, et disai- 80019 Pärnu
„hoia seda, millesse usud ja veena neri jaoks on kirjutamine oluline – 442 0480
teisi , et see on nii ... mitte keegi ei see on tema hääl. Visuaalne kujutis [email protected]
tea, mille järgi valib inimene omale on küll nähtav ja arusaadav ena- TOIMETAJAD
teed!“ (Sarah Snaith). masti kõigile kuid erinevate maail- Sirli Küber
Kirjutamist saab kasutada ka õppi- mavaadete ning elukogemuste tõt- Kairi Saarekanno
misprotsessi ajal. Sõnade ja väljen- tu on ka meie tunnetuslik maailm KUJUNDUS
ditega manipuleerides saab treenida teine. Kirjutamine aitab seda kõike InDesign
aju ning selle kaudu luua omale idee- lahti seletada ja põhjendada. Sama TRÜKK
de genereerimise töövahend. Anne oluline kui kirjutamine, on ka teksti Printer
Burdock´i sõnul peaksid disainerid lugemine, sellest arusaamine, oskus
kirjutama mitte seetõttu, et neist eraldada oluline ebaoluliset.

VÄLJAANDJA
Pärnu Saksa Tehnoloogiakool

IKSDESIGN TELLIMINE
Kõigist postiasutustest üle Eesti
eritellimusel.
Koduleheküljelt:
http://www.iksdesign.eu
IksDesign toimetusest:
Jalaka 8
80019 Pärnu
442 0480
[email protected]

Design 8 20. oktoober 2016

Organic range packaging, 2000. Design assistant: got a lot of stick from the sellers,’ says interlocking pattern that allowed one
Liza Enebeis. Photography by Nick Turner. Hillman, ‘who said that white doesn’t flavour to ‘pour’ into a neighbour-
sell.’ When placed in certain forma- ing cup or pot. The new identity was
Cup challenge tions, the packaging for the whole launched around the time that Hillman
range formed an interlocking pattern. established his own studio after leaving
Sarah Snaith, design writer, editor, This could be seen to its best advantage Pentagram in 2008. The relationship
in stores such as Wholefoods, where between Hillman and Dragonfly was
boxes were shelved together by brand based on simple principles. Hillman
rather than by flavour. This design says: ‘Keep what you believe in and
won Best Packaging in the 2001 Food encourage them [the clients] on your
and Beverage Gold Awards. In 2003, convictions … Nobody knows how a
Hillman’s design for the Dragonfly person chooses tea!’
Rooibos Naturally Caffeine Free range First published in Eye no. 87 vol. 22
introduced a new element – a stream 2014
of tea cascading into a glass cup. ‘At
DLondonavid Hillman’s relation- the time, no-one showed the product
ship with the speciality in action,’ says Hillman. ‘Instead they
tea company Dragonfly used abstract drawings of tea leaves.’
Teas began in 1999. His When a Waitrose buyer reported that
clients Mr and Mrs Ginsberg, the own- other manufacturers were ‘catching
ers of the family-run UK business, up with’ and emulating Dragonfly’s
didn’t have a specific image in mind packaging approach, Hillman chose an
for their Dragonfly range. So Hillman, alternative route. The next generation
then a partner in Pentagram, opted for of Dragonfly packaging centred on im-
a modern approach that used abstract ages of liquids pouring into glass ves-
sels. This feature, says Hillman, ‘was
easier to extend with Chinese teas and
green teas using different receptacles.’
This box design also incorporated an

David Hillman’s photographic
designs for Dragonfly changed

the look of tea packaging.

photography in order to update the Identity and packaging design for Dragonfly Teas by David Hillman. Chinese green and yellow tea range,
existing visual language used by com- 2008. Design assistant: Amelia Gainford.
petitors such as Clipper. In 2000, he
revised his initial designs in favour of
a predominantly white packaging that
implied the product’s purity. This new
direction led to a thirteen-year rela-
tionship with the company. Hillman’s
‘white’ packaging was based around
a simplified image of a teacup and
saucer, photographed from above. A
double black line in two thicknesses
represented the cup and saucer that
encircled a clear brew, and these were
set against a white background. ‘We