When researching and analyzing the work of graphic designer, David Carson, I have come to appreciate the creativity and originality behind his artwork. His work is so unique and unusual. The way he incorporates text in his work really makes you wonder what he was thinking, but his work is all intentional, not accidental.
When I was looking through various examples of Carson’s popular work, I came across one design that was very chaotic in due to the way the text was organized. In the picture it says, “Don’t mistake legibility for communication,” and the word legibility is broken up into five sections with enough space in between each section.
In the background of the image there are a few paragraphs of text in which the letters a very close together making it very illegible. He uses a lot of overlapping techniques in this image which reality distorts the text, making it very difficult to read. However, there is message behind this image that he is trying to get across the public. In many of his designs, Carson uses brighter colours and erotic texts and fonts
In this design, he is basically showing the viewer that designs do not have to be spelled out letter by letter. There are numerous ways to communicate your thoughts to the audience without being so straight forward. I believe that his technique is what separates him to other designers. The ability to communicate your ideas using innovation and originality is a great skill to have. Carson is demonstrating that if you can make the viewer think about what message your design is attempting to get across, then you have successfully done your job. I believe he did just that in this particular design because by utilizing some great design techniques, he indirectly proved his point.
Sergio Moctezuma
When I was researching interesting examples of graphic design, I came across an image of the famous singer/dancer James Brown. This James Brown poster by Sergio Moctezuma I haven’t been able to find much on Moctezuma’s background, other than the fact that he is a fellow Texan. The image is a blank, black outline of James Brown’s face as he is belching the lyrics to one of his songs. What makes this picture unique is what his face is outlined with. After first glance, it seems as though there a just a cluster of words outlining his facial structure specifically due to the type of font used and how it is organized. However, if you actually take a closer look and focus on what the words say, you come to discover that it is just a bunch of short phrases wrapped around his face. The phrases are basically short descriptions of who James Brown is and how he is represented in the musical world. The powerful and more meaningful words such as “GODFATHER” and “DYNAMITE,” are written in large font and are located in very noticeable spots, which give strength to the type of image being portrayed by the designer. The curving of the words and the difference in letter sizes makes it an even interesting design. This image of James Brown is almost like an visual illusion to some extent. I say this because it is difficult to clearly visualize the outline of his face when viewing from a normal distance. You almost have to observe it from a distance to understand what the image is supposed to look like. The main part of the design, which is the face of James Brown, is located in the bottom left hand corner. This helps the viewer see the image as a whole and intensifies the significance of the design.
The background of this picture contains more short phrases that are outlining James Brown’s hair. They are so bunched to together (more so than the words on his face) that is gives the image of a speaker playing extremely loud music. As for the use of colour there are only a few different colours used. However, the minimal use of colour works well with this particular style of design. The creativity and originality of this design forces audiences to look at it multiple times. If it was a design that is very similar to what people have already been exposed to, there is a bigger chance of it being ignored. Capturing the attention of viewers can be very difficult when using graphic design; however, if done correctly, you will most likely get a better response.
Takashi Okada
For my final independent analysis I decided to focus on the text and font rather than the actual images and pictures. The graphic design piece I found looks very simple at first glance. However, if you focus on how the word (“creature”) is written out, you realize that there is a lot more to it. This design is quite ironic due to the fact that there is no real font used in the creation of the word “creature.” The designer just used actual creatures and animals to create the letters. Elephants, rhinos, and tigers are just a few of the many animals in this picture.
One of the most fascinating components of this design is the material used to create the letters. Every letter is very intricate and detailed with actual parts of animals, such as the fur, which make it look so realistic. One thing that is missing from this design is colour. I think if the designer used the actual colours of the animals it would have added a lot more to the wilderness component that the design is attempting to emphasize. On the other hand, I do see how the lack of colour compliments the purpose of this design. Using very little or no colour at all makes the image more pure because it adds to the nature aspect of the image.
One other feature that caught my attention was the way he organized the word. The fact that the designer put half of the word on one line and the other half on another line allows the audience to view it in a broader perspective. It is much easier for the audience to compare each letter if the words are on separate lines. If it was written out on one line only it is annoying to have to look back and forth. The originality in this design is something that should be appreciated because it isn’t often that you see nature brought to life effectively in graphic design. Overall, it was a very nice piece of work done by this designer.
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