End of the Semester

I enjoyed this semester and learning where our profession came from and all the things that have influenced it. I find a lot more inspiration and insight in everyday things after learning so much about the history of architecture, art, music, society, politics, and the world's history in general. I can't wait for next semester when we learn about artists and graphic designers that are working right now. So thanks to all my blog mates for the great conversation and for teaching me many interesting and diverse things. You never know, bloggers in five or a hundred years could be writing about how we influenced the graphic design world. At least I hope they do. Thanks and I hope everyone has a great break.

Any I would like to extend an invitation for everyone to come and see my art exhibit. My work will fill the entire space for the month of January. The place is called Cooper Ella's Cafe. It's in Maplewood on Sutton Blvd, just south of Manchester Road. They have Kaldi's coffee and great desserts and the space is really unique. Click here for directions.

LB

Camel Cigarettes Remove Joe Camel 1997

Camel cigarettes have used Joe the Camel in the advertising for many years. In 1997 they removed him because competitors and others thought Joe was enticing young children to smoke.
Mr. Joseph Camel, the cartoon tobacco mascot, is currently facing charges by the feds that he has knowingly and with profit aforethought enticed children to smoke cigarettes. He is not accused of hooking kids in the manner of a playground pusher, however--he's never directly addressed children or been seen in their company. Rather, Mr. Camel, himself a habitual user of nicotine, has been accused of being way too cool, in much the way that Joseph K. was once accused by the authorities of being way too guilty. The very president of the United States has put the case in these terms--Joe Camel, declares Bill Clinton, tells minors that "smoking is cool." Now, this is a charge of considerable interest. For it to stick, "cool" must be perceived to be good, or else associating it with smoking wouldn't be so dangerous that the ads have to be banned. And Joe Camel must make smoking seem cool because of the life he leads, as suggested in the ads that feature him. So what does he do in these ads? Among other things, he plays in a blues band, shoots pool with his buddy camels, rides a big hoggish motorcycle (without a helmet), drives a flashy convertible (without fastening his seat belt), and otherwise does a whole lot of hanging out in graphically interesting settings. Mr. Camel is never seen doing any productive work of any kind, is never portrayed wearing bourgeois clothing of even the Casual Friday variety (he usually wears a leather jacket), and is never seen in the company of middle-class camels who have to work for a living.
For years, hundreds and maybe thousands of smokers in cigarette ads have been lighting up at picnics, on hiking trails, or on horseback. Yet the first commercial smoker to get hauled into court is the first one to have stepped into a pool hall, to have shrugged off respectability. While the FTC is not consciously playing the prude here, there is a logic to cultural control to which regulators are heir.
Personally I think this really hurt camel, due to the fact that using this cartoon, fun looking camel helped them sell more product. Although I can see how this fun character would entice younger kids to want to smoke. The advertising and imagery for this product really has a large impact on its buyers. I also think that camels old advertising method was much more effective then the new generic camel logo.

Sources: www.slate.com
www.giveupcigs.worldpress.com
www.scoop.co.nz

Apple Today

When we talked about Apple in class, we only discussed the Mac and how it influenced society by introducing a new technology. I wanted to address Apple's advertisements and the graphic design that they use. Just about everyone has seen an Apple commercial, whether it be for a Mac, iPod, iPhone, etc. As far as I can remember, Apple has some of the most memorable commercials and ads. The company shows you the product, but more importantly they show you how it is used. Each commercial shows the different features of the product by actually using it. Cleaning products and toys often show the product in use, but Apple does it for electronics in a very successful way.

Other companies have latched on to style and visual properties that Apple commercials have. The new Touchsmart Pc by HP shows a person using the product. All of the new phones from LG, Samsung, and Blackberry do the same thing. I remember older Blackberry commercials that were visually pleasing but were only concepts that represented the "essence" of the product (the phone being built out of people or places, etc).

Apple's website, commercials, ads, product packaging, and products are all very clean and sharp. They only show the necessary information, so viewers are not overloaded with images or information. This is smart because typical viewers tend to be put off from sensory overload. Neutral colors and sans-serif fonts are used so that the products really shine. Apple uses simplicity and classic visual elements in such a way that it is copied by many.

LB

Sources: apple.com, flickr.com

Pop Art

So I was thinking about the Modernism and Postmodernism movements and the transitioning between them, and it made me remember how much I actually like Pop Art.  To me, Pop Art not only shows popular culture at the time, but it also seems to be a time in art history where artists show the transitioning between the two movements and experimenting with art.  My ultimate favorite Pop Art Piece is Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? by Richard Hamilton.  The piece has a big muscle man and pin up girl with them showing the newest and best products you can buy for the time, the 1950s.  It tells so much about what popular culture was doing at the time in history.

But most people know this movement best by Andy Warhol.  His most known work would that of the Campbell's soup cans, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and the Velvet Underground.   The majority of his is done by monoprint and  silk screening, while he also did work with films.  He fits perfectly into the Pop Art because he was taking advantage of the popular culture of the 1960s, which led to him becoming a pop icon.

ma

sources: wikipedia.com; warhol.org

"The Meaning of Type"

There were a few things I found interesting in the article, The Meaning of Type by Steven Heller. Most notably, Hitler's campaign posters.  His posters were deemed as modern with the use of the silhouette and sans serif font, yet just a couple years later modern art and typography was considered "Kulturbolchevismus."  I think Hitler should have done his research before he criticized Bernhard, seeing he wasn't actually Jewish.  Then what got me again, was the how Hitler banned the use of blackletter typeface.

Another thing I found interesting was the paragraph on Helvetica.  I know that it was created by a Swiss designer, but I never thought that it's origins would help promote neutrality and cleanliness so much.  The waste management company wanting to use Helvetica to clean up their image, and the Soviet Union using it label for it's export items.  What I found most intriguing about the use of Helvetica is the how an inner city civil rights group used it to appeal to middle class, white Americans.  Who decided that that specific group of people were attracted to Helvetica?

When looking at Avant Garde's alphabet a capital ligatures, I was almost amused.  Some of them are actually interesting to look at, while other letters seem to bulky.  I can see why the typeface would have been widely used in the 1970's, but it's also sad to see it overused and abused.

ma

sources: eyemagazine.com; issue 50

Moscow Olympics in 1980

In 1980, the United States led a 61-nation boycott of the summer Olympics held in Moscow that year. U.S. President Jimmy Carter called for the boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. But well before the invasion of Afghanistan, before the Iranian hostage crisis involving 52 American hostages, before the oil shock that sent oil prices to historic highs in 1979-80, Carter’s presidency was in shambles.

How the Boycott of the Olympics Came to Be: Neville Trotter, an extreme right-wing conservative in Britain’s Parliament, asked Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to lead a worldwide boycott of the Moscow Olympics.“Another venue should be found,” he said, “and if necessary the games should be postponed for a year. This is the one lever we have to show outrage at this naked aggression by Russia. We should do all we can to reduce the Moscow Olympics to a shambles.”In fact, Saudi Arabia was first to pull out, in protest over Soviet aggression on Islamic land. On Jan. 17, 1980, the Muhammad Ali Amateur Sports Club, funded and supported by Muhammad Ali, announced that its 32 member boxers and athletes—several of whom were favored to win medals—would boycott the games.In his State of the Union message on Jan. 23, Carter announced the boycott: “I have notified the Olympic Committee that with Soviet invading forces in Afghanistan, neither the American people nor I will support sending an Olympic team to Moscow.” The next day, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 386-12 to support Carter’s call. Among those opposed to the boycott were Phil Gramm of Texas and John Conyers Jr. of Michigan.

The Boycotting Nations: In all, 61 nations boycotted the Moscow summer Olympics — but less than half the nations of the Middle East did. The nations that boycotted are as follows: Albania Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belize Bermuda Bolivia Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile People's Republic of China[4] [5] Côte d'Ivoire Egypt El Salvador Fiji Gabon Gambia West Germany Ghana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Indonesia Israel Japan Kenya South Korea Liberia Liechtenstein Malawi Malaysia Mauritania Monaco Morocco Netherlands Antilles Niger Norway Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Philippines Saudi Arabia Singapore Somalia Sudan Swaziland Thailand Togo Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates United States Uruguay U.S. Virgin Islands Zaire

I thought the posters for the Olympics were very interesting. They look nothing like posters for the Olympics today.

Sources: www.middleeast.about.com

www.bornintheussr.com

www.olympicpostcards.com

www.currybet.net

Target

We discussed the international style and its effect on corporate identity. I thought that I would explore corporate identity today and how important it is for businesses. The importance of graphic designers and corporations is growing more important because of the economic state of the times. Graphic design has proved to be a very powerful tool in influencing the public. I looked over Target's website and below are some of my observations.

1. Target's website utilizes white space, grid and sans serif typefaces. This is a direct result of how work from the International Style looked.

2. The website has contrast themes within the color and advertisements. They emphasize red and white as well as products of all kinds that wouldn't normally go together being put together in their advertisements. This also goes along with the Swiss and the stylistic elements that they used in their work.

3. One of Target's main slogan is "Design for All"
This is the most telling. The Swiss International Style first emerged because of a need for clarity and versatility as well as a need to be understood by all different types of people. Target focuses their products to everyone of everyone background and nationality. They even have line of products call Global Bazaar which highlights the products of countries all over the world.

I have included images directly from Target's website to show specific examples of their corporate identity and how linked it is to the International Style. Target even put the following information on their site, "96%: The percentage of people who recognize the Bullseye, even nudging out Apple and the Nike swoosh." This shows the true power of a company's identity and how it can improve their business.

Please go to target.com and look around. The entire site is clean, professional, and reminiscent of the International Style.

LB

Sources: Target.com