Modernist & Post-modernist Graph Design

Modernist Graphic Design

 

The first piece of modernist graphic design I collected was this piece entitled The Dot by Armin Hofmann, designed in 1965.  This piece displays all the fundamental modernist design - structure, grids, information, uniformity, geometry, use of negative space and layout. The images are aligned in a grid, with the text information also being aligned into columns. The information and shapes are emphasized through the layout and specifically the use of negative space, drawing focus to certain elements.

The next modernist work is by Josef Müller-Brockmann and is a poster for an art exhibition in Zurich. The overall design of the poster is very simple and informative. Again, in keeping with modernist design, the layout is very structured and grid based. There is also a lot of negative space, focusing the views eyes on the information. The font used is sans serif, which is very common within modernist design. Another modernist design feature is the function of the hierarchy, where the most important text is larger and bolder and the less important information is smaller and not as bold.

Another piece by Armin Hofmann, shows the elemental features of modernist design. The layout is very structured, use of negative space focuses on the information, the hierarchy illustrates the most important elements within the design and again the typeface is sans serif.

This work, again by Armin Hofmann, combines another major part of modernist design – photography - with the elements seen previously. As with the other works the poster’s layout is very structured and simple. The text fits well with the photograph, neither is detracting from the other and the hierarchy highlights the most important information.

 

The final modernist work is by Josef Müller-Brockmann and follows the other works by having a very structured layout and uses a gridded system to present the information. Again a sans serif font is used and all the headers and titles are made obvious through their boldness and scale.

Post-modernist Graphic Design

Post-modernist graphic design is very different, almost the complete opposite, to modernist graphic design. As demonstrated by this work of post-modernist graphic design, the layout is extremely random, with very little structure at all. The type is almost illegible and is overlapped in a collage-type way. The angles at which the text is laid out clashes with each other and some is upside down. There is no grid structure and the appearance is fairly complex and there is no uniformity, geometry to the work.

This work is by graphic designer Jamie Reid, the same designer who produced the God Save The Queen and Never Mind The Bollocks… album artwork for the sex pistols. This work is again contrasting the regulations and limitations of modernism. Although more legible than the previous work, there is no formation or structure to the work. The text is positioned at odd and different angles to each other and there are no clean-cut lines or edges.

This piece of post-modernist graphic design is an album sleeve designed by Human Empire. The work has elements seen in both the previous two examples, elements that are common within post-modernist design. There is no structure to the image, everything is seemingly placed where it fits and there is no grid format as nothing is aligned. As with both of the previous works, this has a collage feel to it. This feeling is created through the use of various different processes and mediums all combined to produce the album sleeve. Juxtaposed with the modernist style there is very little accuracy seen in these post-modernist works, elements do not fit, have rough edges and do not look right next to each other.

 

This post-modernist flyer/poster has no resemblance to modernist design, and where most modernist design does not age and still looks good today, post-modernist design appears dated. In keeping with the post-modernist design, this work has a very hand made quality to it. None of the text is aligned and is mostly all the same size and weight. The image on the poster/flyer has a very rough feel to it, none of the edges are accurate and the background does not fit the image and the texted is just positioned where it fits.

 

This final post-modernist work of graphic design is a front cover of Ray Gun magazine. Ray Gun is run by founder David Carson, whose work radically breaks modernist constraints, through experimental layout, typography and imagery. This cover has more structure than many of the other edition but still has a very kitsch, post-modernist feel to it. The title of the magazine itself is only partially visible with the ‘G’ arranged back to front. The other text is partially obscured by the barcode as well as having two types of font layered on top of each other and slightly offset so they are both visible. The photograph also does not fit the page and elements stretched to fit the publication. As with a lot of post-modernist design, the publication has a very hand-made feel to it, emulating the collage effect seen in the other works I have researched.