For our first session in the second section of this Module, we are to complete a preparatory task. We must analyse all of our previous posts on our context of practice blog and find 10 points that interest us. We will then use this in Friday's session with Jo.
I will begin by re-evaluating my previous investigation and content in which i have collected for the design context sessions and lectures in the semester. I will then Identify 10 significant pieces of source material that i find the most interesting, so that i can then revisit and research further. These are some of the terms in which i may want to consider
- Critical analysis - good questions, challenges.
- Aesthetics - what satisfies you & why?
- Designers - taste, inspiration, interpretation.
- Audience - stereotyping, identity, appropriate inquiry.
- Manifestos - passion for a subject, making decisions, taking control.
- Chronologies - what happened when and what was its effect?
1). Rob Ryan
- Modernism is often associated with experimentation, innovation, individualism, progression, purity, originality, seriousness (pushing the world forward). Modernism in which, form follows function, was standardized and generally followed by all designers at the time. The major failing of modernism is that individuals were leading the world forward.
- Postmodernism is the direct opposite of modernist ideas. Postmodernism questions, what is the point of experimenting? It's all been done before. Nothing is new and so why be an individual? Postmodernism combines working styles, seriousness is contrasted by elements of humor found in postmodern work.
- The postmodern condition is characterised by exhaustion, pluralism, pessimism and dillusionment with all absolute knowledge.
- Modernism was an expression of technology at the time.
- Postmodernism is a reaction to the conditions of modernism.
- Although postmodernism and modernism are very different things, some factors of the two overlay; modern life, technology, new materials and communication.
Rob Ryan is a British visual artist who specialises in papercutting and screen-printing. He is now most famous for his detailed paper cut outs.
Ryan was born in Cyprus in 1962 to Irish parents. He is the youngest of three brothers and his father was an RAF mess hall officer. He studied at Trent Polytechnic and has a Master of Arts in printmaking from the Royal College of Art/ He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1987.
His artwork has featured in Vogue, Elle, and Stylist. He has also collaborated with fashion designer Paul Smith.
He has illustrated book and album covers, including John Connolly's novel The Book of Lost Things, Erasure's album Nightbird, Chambers Lost Crafts by Una McGovern and Dara Horn's novel The World to Come.
Ryan's first book, This Is for You, was published on October 4, 2007 by Hodder & Stoughton; it consists of a fairy tale told through his paper cut-out art and explores themes of love and loneliness. Ryan also creates the Global Gift greeting cards for the charity Trocaire.
He currently lives in London with his wife and two daughters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Ryan_(artist)
http://www.misterrob.co.uk/
http://rob-ryan.blogspot.com/
I love hand crafted designs, especially paper-cut. The use of detail and the elegant appearance is really capturing. I don't feel that I've had the opportunity to create something like this so far and would really like to learn how to develop my idea's into a really aspiration piece like this.
I like Rob Ryan's work as well as other artists who produce a similar style including Juliene Harrison, however Rob Ryan had a wide range of clients who are well known, and so his work is immediately recognised in the industry.
2). Postmodernism Lecture
- Postmodernism is a response to modernism and considered much less serious. There is a strong combination of low and high, mixing some seriousness with some jokiness to create a happy medium. - Modernism is often associated with experimentation, innovation, individualism, progression, purity, originality, seriousness (pushing the world forward). Modernism in which, form follows function, was standardized and generally followed by all designers at the time. The major failing of modernism is that individuals were leading the world forward.
- Postmodernism is the direct opposite of modernist ideas. Postmodernism questions, what is the point of experimenting? It's all been done before. Nothing is new and so why be an individual? Postmodernism combines working styles, seriousness is contrasted by elements of humor found in postmodern work.
- The postmodern condition is characterised by exhaustion, pluralism, pessimism and dillusionment with all absolute knowledge.
- Modernism was an expression of technology at the time.
- Postmodernism is a reaction to the conditions of modernism.
- Although postmodernism and modernism are very different things, some factors of the two overlay; modern life, technology, new materials and communication.
I have chosen the 'postmodernism lecture' as one of my significant source materials because I really enjoyed the lecture with Richard, and learnt a lot that I didn't already know. I am not overly interesting in architecture, however I do always take note of buildings and their designs. I really liked the ones present to us in this lecture including: - Guggenheim museum, Bilbao (1997) Designed by architect Frank Gehry, and - Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany Designed by James Stirling (1977-1983).
3). Typographic Verses
High quality typographic designs of verses from the Bible. Made by Jonathan Ogden, with designs from Jonathan and other guest designers.
I have chosen typographic verses as one of my significant source materials because I feel that Jonathan Ogden's sole use of 'type' gives the piece's an element of depth that is really capturing. The colours he uses are very complimentary and calming giving an impression which well suits the bible.
4). Tadanori Yokoo
Whilst at the 'Postmodernism' Exhibition in London I learnt about Tadanori Yokoo, the Japanese Graphic Designer born in 1936. He reflects on postmodernist elements within his designs and he was a pioneer of post modern appropriation and bricolage. He became famous for his poster designs created for tatsumi hijikata and the garumella dance company. The two posters were created three years apart and show how he encircles back on own tracks, the second design cannibalises the first. He uses the same images throughout tweaking minor parts of his work which allows use to see how he uses his past reflection and use of postmodernist aspects to inspire his more modern pieces. The sun is taken from the Japanese flag and the pair of nudes from 16th century French painting. These two features appear in both his designs. His work was created in 1965 and then re-designed in 1968. He used a screen print techniques to produce both his designs.
Tadanori's designs reflect many aspects of postmodern art. His pieces show a contrast with one another reflecting his 'humour' by using two nude women touching one another's nipples as the main focal piece. He creates a very contraversial feel within his designs by placing the Sun taken from the Japanese flag (a very serious element) and placing two nude women in front of it. He has also coloured over their faces giving this 'hideen' identity approach to the design. Because of his use of colour and postmodern characteristics he is often described as the 'Japanese Andy Warhol'.
I have chosen Tadanori Yokoo because I find his work really inspirational. I think that my in depth research I took into his working practice and style enabled me to understand postmodernism and guided me through my essay. His use of bright colours and controversial imagery is capturing.
5). Jason Munn
Jason Munn is an American Graphic and Poster Artist. He is best known for creating posters for many Indie-Rock bands. His posters can be found online and at many music festivals around the United States, in modern art museums, and as well as the covers of CD albums. In 2010, Chronicle Books published a book called "The Small Stakes" that focuses on Munn's poster work form 2002-2009.Jason Munn was born in Neenah, Wisconsin. At a young age, Jason Munn was drawing all the time. As a teenager Munn began skateboarding, and started noticing his love for art and design. He was influenced by skateboard graphics, and the covers of CD cases. Jason Munn went to school at University of Wisconsin-Madison for graphic design. In 2002, Jason Munn moved to Oakland, California. He started as an amateur designer making collage-based flyers for the small Berkeley club The Ramp, when he first moved to California. Jason Munn's artwork started getting recognized after the band Death Cab For Cutie, asked him to create posters and t-shirts for them. He went on to create striking pieces that have become a part of the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Denver Art Museum.
Jason Munn's style is silk-screen poster art. He uses bold, geometric designs to create images that in a way represent the band, or the festival he is creating it for. His early work used a lot of found imagery or combined multiple pieces of abstract imagery to create something new. Munn rarely use abstract imagery now, but he does work with a lot of common objects, changing them in some way to get a different meaning from the objects and to relate them to the bands. His work usually consist of the same objects; records, cameo-style profiles/heads,nature images, television, telephones. Munn uses these same objects to create continuity in his artwork.
Jason Munn now lives in Oakland, California. He designs under the pseudonym "The Small Stakes", which is also the name of his design studio. He continues to do create poster work for bands and festivals. In the near future he will begin collaborating with the graphic artis Dirk Fowler.
http://jasonmunn.com/posters.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Munn
http://grainedit.com/2007/11/01/jason-munn-interview/
I have chosen Jason Munn as one of my significant source materials because I think his work is simplistic yet effective. I immediately liked his style, his use of colour is very complimentary and I hope I can in the future experiment with illustration using Jason Munn as my inspiration for my designs.
6). History of Graffiti (Graffiti Lecture)
- Graffiti became popular in the 20th and 21st century and primarily derived from the italian word 'Grafiato' which means 'scratched', or more specifically means images which have been scratched into stone surfaces and often natural pigments are also used to add more detail and colour to the image.
- Early graffiti styles date back to cave times when this specific type of art was used to translate stories of everyday life to different communities. Some of the first ever graffiti was discovered in the caves at Lascaux, France. These were discovered in 1940 by 4 teenagers. Graffiti in these times was not considered an act of rebellion but more of a way of communication. Originally these caves were open to the public to go in and see the first ever discovered graffiti, however they began to decay and have now been closed down in the hope of preserving these ancient designs.
- Graffiti has since been found in Ancient Rome, during the destruction of the city of Pompeii. Pompeii was destroyed and completely demolished during a large volcanic eruption revealing large walls of 'vandal-like' graffiti more closely related to the common graffiti we see today, with links to anti political messaging.
- Kilroy/Chad was an engraving which first appeared on the walls of the World War 2 memorial in WAshington DC. The graffiti was not signed by one person and was sued to create light and humour around a very negative period of time and related back to food shortage in this era.
- Paris, May '68 Riots; The largest strike in history and mass rioting across France, still often referred to today. The riots lasted for two weeks and almost led to the collapse of the government in France at that time. The DIY posters were designed to represent riots and raleigh's.
- Civil unrest inspirations > cultural/creative materials.
- Movement in DIY posters.
- Used nowadays to represent the May '68 riots.
Urban Graffiti
- In 1970's New York urban graffiti developed alongside the evolution of the hip hop culture and started a battle between rioters. The graffiti was commonly seen painted onto railway carriages, buses and subways which allowed it to 'literally' travel around, spreading the voices and messages of citizens to other cities and places. The main purpose was to announce a presence as people feel they are invisible an want to be seen and heard. This graffiti phase was all about making the language of the streets visible. John Naar a famous photographer, was sympathetic towards this type of artwork and in 1973 documented the graffiti style through photography.
- Early graffiti styles date back to cave times when this specific type of art was used to translate stories of everyday life to different communities. Some of the first ever graffiti was discovered in the caves at Lascaux, France. These were discovered in 1940 by 4 teenagers. Graffiti in these times was not considered an act of rebellion but more of a way of communication. Originally these caves were open to the public to go in and see the first ever discovered graffiti, however they began to decay and have now been closed down in the hope of preserving these ancient designs.
- Graffiti has since been found in Ancient Rome, during the destruction of the city of Pompeii. Pompeii was destroyed and completely demolished during a large volcanic eruption revealing large walls of 'vandal-like' graffiti more closely related to the common graffiti we see today, with links to anti political messaging.
- Kilroy/Chad was an engraving which first appeared on the walls of the World War 2 memorial in WAshington DC. The graffiti was not signed by one person and was sued to create light and humour around a very negative period of time and related back to food shortage in this era.
- Paris, May '68 Riots; The largest strike in history and mass rioting across France, still often referred to today. The riots lasted for two weeks and almost led to the collapse of the government in France at that time. The DIY posters were designed to represent riots and raleigh's.
- Civil unrest inspirations > cultural/creative materials.
- Movement in DIY posters.
- Used nowadays to represent the May '68 riots.
Urban Graffiti
- In 1970's New York urban graffiti developed alongside the evolution of the hip hop culture and started a battle between rioters. The graffiti was commonly seen painted onto railway carriages, buses and subways which allowed it to 'literally' travel around, spreading the voices and messages of citizens to other cities and places. The main purpose was to announce a presence as people feel they are invisible an want to be seen and heard. This graffiti phase was all about making the language of the streets visible. John Naar a famous photographer, was sympathetic towards this type of artwork and in 1973 documented the graffiti style through photography.
I really enjoyed learning about the history of graffiti, and although I really don't like the styles used within graffiti and strongly dislike the aesthetics of it, I do feel that it is an interesting and educational topic which is why I have decided to choose this as one of my significant source materials.
7). Russian Revolution and Propaganda
- Russian revolution and the Bolshevik party was led by Vladimir Lenin in 1917. Russian revolution led to the creation of the Soviet Union.
- "Peace, Bread and Land"
- Battleship "Aurora" (Dawn)
- 1917-1921 was when civil war erupted between the Reds (revolutionary bolsheviks) and the whites (anti-revolutionary imperialists). This battle continues for many years until the Red's eventually became victorious.
- "Peace, Bread and Land"
- Battleship "Aurora" (Dawn)
- 1917-1921 was when civil war erupted between the Reds (revolutionary bolsheviks) and the whites (anti-revolutionary imperialists). This battle continues for many years until the Red's eventually became victorious.
Propaganda.
- 1917-mid1920's: intense artistic experimentation (80% illiteracy)
- The russian constructivists - leading Avant-Garde Artistic group.
Photomontage.
1. Superimposition eg. Rodchenko portrait, Klutsis 'Electrification' and with text Rodchenko's portrait of Osip Brik.
2. Cropping eg. Redchenko's cover for 'Mess Mend'.
3. Juxtaposition eg. Rodchenko's cover for 'Novy L.E.F'.
- The aim of the constructivists was 'of achieving the communistic expression of material structures'. ( The programme of the first working group of constructivists' 1921 quoted in Lodder (1983) Russian Constructivism, London&Yale, p.94).
- 1921 Lenin's New Economics Policy = consumer goods needed
- Stepanova & Popova: First state textile factory, Moscow
- 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Decoratifs
- "For many artists on the left in the 1920's, including Moholy-Nagy, the single most significant reference point was no longer the parisian avant-garde but the revolutionary connotations of construction, with revolutionary Russia as the new symbol of advanced culture" Fer, B (1993) Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism, Yale, p.88
- VKHUTEMAS (higher state artistic and technical workshops)
"voile and prints have not just become artistically acceptable, they have reached the level of real art, and have brought the rich colours and intense ornamentation of contemporary art to the cities of our immense republic" D. Aranovich 1929 (quoted in: Lavrentiev,A (1988) Stepanova, London. P.83)
- 1917-mid1920's: intense artistic experimentation (80% illiteracy)
- The russian constructivists - leading Avant-Garde Artistic group.
Photomontage.
1. Superimposition eg. Rodchenko portrait, Klutsis 'Electrification' and with text Rodchenko's portrait of Osip Brik.
2. Cropping eg. Redchenko's cover for 'Mess Mend'.
3. Juxtaposition eg. Rodchenko's cover for 'Novy L.E.F'.
- The aim of the constructivists was 'of achieving the communistic expression of material structures'. ( The programme of the first working group of constructivists' 1921 quoted in Lodder (1983) Russian Constructivism, London&Yale, p.94).
- 1921 Lenin's New Economics Policy = consumer goods needed
- Stepanova & Popova: First state textile factory, Moscow
- 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Decoratifs
- "For many artists on the left in the 1920's, including Moholy-Nagy, the single most significant reference point was no longer the parisian avant-garde but the revolutionary connotations of construction, with revolutionary Russia as the new symbol of advanced culture" Fer, B (1993) Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism, Yale, p.88
- VKHUTEMAS (higher state artistic and technical workshops)
"voile and prints have not just become artistically acceptable, they have reached the level of real art, and have brought the rich colours and intense ornamentation of contemporary art to the cities of our immense republic" D. Aranovich 1929 (quoted in: Lavrentiev,A (1988) Stepanova, London. P.83)
In the sessions with Richard on a Tuesday morning I have been fascinated by the history of the russian revolution and how propaganda functions. I would like to learn more about this from a historical point of view in the future and so i have chosen to use this as on of my significant source materials for Friday's session with Jo.
8.) Data Collecting (facts and figures)
Here are 100 facts relating to information Graphics;
- Information Graphics is more commonly understood as 'Infographics'.
- Infographics are visual representations of data, statistics and other quantitative information.
- Information graphics presents complex information quickly and easily
- Infographics can be found in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing and education
- People like mathematicians, computer scientists and statisticians commonly use symbols to develop and communicate concepts in order to process information clearly
- Information Graphics illustrates information that would usually be in a text format
- Information Graphics bridges the gap between different cultures and language barriers allowing us to understand the same piece of design through symbols
- Infographics acts as a visual shorthand for everyday concepts such as 'STOP' and 'GO'
- In newspapers we all read and communicate with infographics in order to understand the weather (this is a common form of information graphics)
- David Macaulay's 'the way things work' is a book almost entirely made up of information graphics
- Information graphics is now more commonly used to help educate children as they often understand symbols and images before they are able to read complex words and sentences
- Despite being used heavily in children's books; they are commonly used in scientific literature demonstrating processes and systems that can not always be photographed
- In 1931 Harry Beck designed the London underground map communicating a complex transportation system simply for all to understand
- It was around the 1930's that information graphics really took off after Harry Beck's London underground design
- Traffic signs and other public signs rely heavily on infographics to communicate their information
- In pre history (the span of time before historic recordings) early humans created the first information graphics of cave paintings.
- After cave paintings they became more advanced and created maps to show surrounding environments
- Map making began several millennia before writing began
- The map at 'Catalhoyuk' (an ancient town) is one of the oldest on record and dates form around 7500 BCE
- As information graphics advanced they then began to use symbols as a way of recording the number of cattle and stock
- The Indians of Mesoamerica used imagery and symbols to depict the journeys of past generations
- In 1926, Christopher Scheiner published the Rosa Ursina Sive Sol which demonstrated a a variety of symbols and icons which expressed his astronomical research undertaken on the sun
- Christopher Scheiner, in the early 1900's, used a series of images to explain the rotation of the sun over time
- In 1786; William Playfair published the first official data graphs in his book 'The commercial and political atlas'
- William Playfair introduced bar charts, line graphics and histograms.
- In 1801 Playfair introduced the first pie chart in Statistical Breviary.
- In 1857 Florence Nightingale used an information graphical format to persuade Queen Victoria to improve conditions in military hospitals.
- 1861 saw the release of Seminal information graphics.
- Charles Joseph Minard had a break through demonstrating Napoleon's invasion on Russia in a single two dimensional image. It demonstrated four different changing variables all in one diagram.
- In 1878 James Joseph Sylvester introduced the first mathematical graphics.
- James Sylvester introduced the term 'graph' in the late 1870's.
- In 1936, Otto Neurath, introduced the pictogram for the first time.
- The pictogram was intended to function as an international visual language.
- In 1942 Isidore Isou published the letterist manifesto
- Letterism was a french avant-guarde movement established in Paris in the mid 1940's by Isidore Isou.
- Stephen Toulmin proposed a graphical argument model that became influential in argumentation theory; in 1958
- Toulmin's graphical argument model was based around there being a visual purpose behind arguments and not purely theoretical
- A new set of pictograms were released at the Munich olympics in 1972
- Otl Aicher's new pictogram design proved very popular and became the influence for the modern 'stick figures' used in public signs today
- in 1972 the pioneer plaque was launched into space with an infographic inscribed on the inside.This was intended as a kind of interstellar message in a bottle
- The pioneer plaque was unique in that it was intended to be understood by extraterrestrial beings on another planet. This was advances in history showing how we can used infographics to communicate not only with other languages and nationalities but also with other beings in outer space.
- Since Harry Beck's London underground design infographics has develops and become more popular, however modern infographics are more research centric.
- The three most common devices are horizontal bar charts, vertical column charts and oval/circular pie charts.
- Illustrated graphics use images to related data.
- Modern interactive maps are also known as information graphic devices.
- Work done by Peter Sullivan for the Sunday Times throughout the late 1900's became a key factor in encouraging newspapers to use information graphics to visually represent information
- USA today, the US newspaper, firmly established the understanding of information graphics to make information easier to comprehend in 1982.
- Nigel Holmes was the creator in "explanation graphics" His work does not only deal with visual displays and graphics etc. but looks at 'how to do things' and instructs the audience in a similar visual format
- The basic material of infographics is the data or facts that it includes
- The art form of information graphics has it's root in print from 2000 it had started to advance in a digital format
- Amazingly the first recognized visual communication supported with pictograms and symbols was found between 15,000–10,000 BC, in the Lascaux caves in southern France
- Information designers may cater to very broad audiences: for example, public signs in airports are for everybody
- 'Information design' is the skill and practice of preparing information so people can use it with efficiency and effectiveness
- The term 'information design' emerged as a multidisciplinary area of study in the 1970s
- Some graphic designers started to use the term 'information graphics', and it was consolidated with the publication of the Information Design Journal in 1979
- During the 1980s, the role of graphic information design broadened to include responsibility for message content and language
- The term information graphics tends to be used by those primarily concerned with diagramming and display of quantitative information
- Form follows Data
- Successful infographics display information clearly and quickly in an eye-catching manner
- In the past couple of years there has been a dramatic increase in the awareness and number of designers working in the field
- Statistical graphics, also known as graphical techniques, are information graphics in the field of statistics used to visualize quantitative data
- In recent years the creation of information graphics has sky rocketed and joined the ranks of social media.
- Information design is the skill and practice of preparing information so people can use it with efficiency and effectiveness.
- Where the data is complex or unstructured, a visual representation can express its meaning more clearly to the viewer.
- An infographic is, by definition, a visual display of facts and data. Therefore, no infographic can be produced in the absence of reliable information.
- No infographic should include elements that are not based on known facts and available evidence
- Colour themes are a common use with information graphics as it catches the eye of the audience
- No infographic should be published without crediting its source(s) of information
- Information graphics professionals should refuse to produce any visual presentation that includes imaginary components designed to make it more “appealing”
- Infographics are neither illustrations nor “art”. Infographics are visual journalism.
- Information graphics often uses hierarchies
- An infographic should mix text, data and images in order to create one single message
- Infographics should be a message that is considerably stronger than it would otherwise be if it had have been left to text, data or images alone
- A good infographic can therefore consist of anything from graphs, charts, maps and diagrams to pictures, symbols and designs
- It should be able to be identified with one glance and the viewer drawn to looking closer
- Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience
- The ancient Egyptians and Romans were known to use signs
- Traffic signs or Road signs are signs erected at the side of roads to provide information to road users.
- Many countries have adopted pictorial signs or otherwise simplified their signs to facilitate international travel where language differences would create barriers
- Pictorial signs use symbols in place of words and are usually based on international protocols
- Road signs were first developed in Europe
- The phase rapidly spread through the world and have now been adopted by most countries to varying degrees.
- The earliest road signs were milestone, used to give direction or distance
- Multidirectional signs became popular in the middle ages
- The modern road signs were first erected in the late 1870's and early 1880's
- Infographics symbols are often functionalist and anonymous
- The UK adopted a version of the European road signs in 1964
- he intensive work on international road signs that took place between 1926 and 1949 eventually led to the development of the European road sign system
- One of the first modern-day road sign systems was devised by the Italian Touring Club in 1895
- Infographics take advantage of innate visual language that is largely universal
- The use of the rabbit and tortoise symbols to represent fast and slow have now become world widely recognised
- In order to understand information graphics successfully the viewer requires a certain level of 'graphicacy'
- The purpose of information graphics is to simplify data
- No infographic should be presented as being factual when it is fictional or based on unverified assumptions
- Information graphics is used to communicate and translate information effectively
- Information Graphics is more commonly understood as 'Infographics'.
- Infographics are visual representations of data, statistics and other quantitative information.
- Information graphics presents complex information quickly and easily
- Infographics can be found in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing and education
- People like mathematicians, computer scientists and statisticians commonly use symbols to develop and communicate concepts in order to process information clearly
- Information Graphics illustrates information that would usually be in a text format
- Information Graphics bridges the gap between different cultures and language barriers allowing us to understand the same piece of design through symbols
- Infographics acts as a visual shorthand for everyday concepts such as 'STOP' and 'GO'
- In newspapers we all read and communicate with infographics in order to understand the weather (this is a common form of information graphics)
- David Macaulay's 'the way things work' is a book almost entirely made up of information graphics
- Information graphics is now more commonly used to help educate children as they often understand symbols and images before they are able to read complex words and sentences
- Despite being used heavily in children's books; they are commonly used in scientific literature demonstrating processes and systems that can not always be photographed
- In 1931 Harry Beck designed the London underground map communicating a complex transportation system simply for all to understand
- It was around the 1930's that information graphics really took off after Harry Beck's London underground design
- Traffic signs and other public signs rely heavily on infographics to communicate their information
- In pre history (the span of time before historic recordings) early humans created the first information graphics of cave paintings.
- After cave paintings they became more advanced and created maps to show surrounding environments
- Map making began several millennia before writing began
- The map at 'Catalhoyuk' (an ancient town) is one of the oldest on record and dates form around 7500 BCE
- As information graphics advanced they then began to use symbols as a way of recording the number of cattle and stock
- The Indians of Mesoamerica used imagery and symbols to depict the journeys of past generations
- In 1926, Christopher Scheiner published the Rosa Ursina Sive Sol which demonstrated a a variety of symbols and icons which expressed his astronomical research undertaken on the sun
- Christopher Scheiner, in the early 1900's, used a series of images to explain the rotation of the sun over time
- In 1786; William Playfair published the first official data graphs in his book 'The commercial and political atlas'
- William Playfair introduced bar charts, line graphics and histograms.
- In 1801 Playfair introduced the first pie chart in Statistical Breviary.
- In 1857 Florence Nightingale used an information graphical format to persuade Queen Victoria to improve conditions in military hospitals.
- 1861 saw the release of Seminal information graphics.
- Charles Joseph Minard had a break through demonstrating Napoleon's invasion on Russia in a single two dimensional image. It demonstrated four different changing variables all in one diagram.
- In 1878 James Joseph Sylvester introduced the first mathematical graphics.
- James Sylvester introduced the term 'graph' in the late 1870's.
- In 1936, Otto Neurath, introduced the pictogram for the first time.
- The pictogram was intended to function as an international visual language.
- In 1942 Isidore Isou published the letterist manifesto
- Letterism was a french avant-guarde movement established in Paris in the mid 1940's by Isidore Isou.
- Stephen Toulmin proposed a graphical argument model that became influential in argumentation theory; in 1958
- Toulmin's graphical argument model was based around there being a visual purpose behind arguments and not purely theoretical
- A new set of pictograms were released at the Munich olympics in 1972
- Otl Aicher's new pictogram design proved very popular and became the influence for the modern 'stick figures' used in public signs today
- in 1972 the pioneer plaque was launched into space with an infographic inscribed on the inside.This was intended as a kind of interstellar message in a bottle
- The pioneer plaque was unique in that it was intended to be understood by extraterrestrial beings on another planet. This was advances in history showing how we can used infographics to communicate not only with other languages and nationalities but also with other beings in outer space.
- Since Harry Beck's London underground design infographics has develops and become more popular, however modern infographics are more research centric.
- The three most common devices are horizontal bar charts, vertical column charts and oval/circular pie charts.
- Illustrated graphics use images to related data.
- Modern interactive maps are also known as information graphic devices.
- Work done by Peter Sullivan for the Sunday Times throughout the late 1900's became a key factor in encouraging newspapers to use information graphics to visually represent information
- USA today, the US newspaper, firmly established the understanding of information graphics to make information easier to comprehend in 1982.
- Nigel Holmes was the creator in "explanation graphics" His work does not only deal with visual displays and graphics etc. but looks at 'how to do things' and instructs the audience in a similar visual format
- The basic material of infographics is the data or facts that it includes
- The art form of information graphics has it's root in print from 2000 it had started to advance in a digital format
- Amazingly the first recognized visual communication supported with pictograms and symbols was found between 15,000–10,000 BC, in the Lascaux caves in southern France
- Information designers may cater to very broad audiences: for example, public signs in airports are for everybody
- 'Information design' is the skill and practice of preparing information so people can use it with efficiency and effectiveness
- The term 'information design' emerged as a multidisciplinary area of study in the 1970s
- Some graphic designers started to use the term 'information graphics', and it was consolidated with the publication of the Information Design Journal in 1979
- During the 1980s, the role of graphic information design broadened to include responsibility for message content and language
- The term information graphics tends to be used by those primarily concerned with diagramming and display of quantitative information
- Form follows Data
- Successful infographics display information clearly and quickly in an eye-catching manner
- In the past couple of years there has been a dramatic increase in the awareness and number of designers working in the field
- Statistical graphics, also known as graphical techniques, are information graphics in the field of statistics used to visualize quantitative data
- In recent years the creation of information graphics has sky rocketed and joined the ranks of social media.
- Information design is the skill and practice of preparing information so people can use it with efficiency and effectiveness.
- Where the data is complex or unstructured, a visual representation can express its meaning more clearly to the viewer.
- An infographic is, by definition, a visual display of facts and data. Therefore, no infographic can be produced in the absence of reliable information.
- No infographic should include elements that are not based on known facts and available evidence
- Colour themes are a common use with information graphics as it catches the eye of the audience
- No infographic should be published without crediting its source(s) of information
- Information graphics professionals should refuse to produce any visual presentation that includes imaginary components designed to make it more “appealing”
- Infographics are neither illustrations nor “art”. Infographics are visual journalism.
- Information graphics often uses hierarchies
- An infographic should mix text, data and images in order to create one single message
- Infographics should be a message that is considerably stronger than it would otherwise be if it had have been left to text, data or images alone
- A good infographic can therefore consist of anything from graphs, charts, maps and diagrams to pictures, symbols and designs
- It should be able to be identified with one glance and the viewer drawn to looking closer
- Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience
- The ancient Egyptians and Romans were known to use signs
- Traffic signs or Road signs are signs erected at the side of roads to provide information to road users.
- Many countries have adopted pictorial signs or otherwise simplified their signs to facilitate international travel where language differences would create barriers
- Pictorial signs use symbols in place of words and are usually based on international protocols
- Road signs were first developed in Europe
- The phase rapidly spread through the world and have now been adopted by most countries to varying degrees.
- The earliest road signs were milestone, used to give direction or distance
- Multidirectional signs became popular in the middle ages
- The modern road signs were first erected in the late 1870's and early 1880's
- Infographics symbols are often functionalist and anonymous
- Graphic Design and Infographics first originated from the caves of Lascaux
- In 1849, Henry Cole became one of the major forces in design education in Great Britain, informing the government of the importance of design
- The signage in the London Underground is a classic design example
- From road signs to technical schematics, graphic design enhances transfer of knowledge and visual messages
- In 1909, nine European governments agreed on the use of four pictorial symbols, indicating "bump", "curve", "intersection", and "grade-level railroad crossing"- The UK adopted a version of the European road signs in 1964
- he intensive work on international road signs that took place between 1926 and 1949 eventually led to the development of the European road sign system
- One of the first modern-day road sign systems was devised by the Italian Touring Club in 1895
- Infographics take advantage of innate visual language that is largely universal
- The use of the rabbit and tortoise symbols to represent fast and slow have now become world widely recognised
- In order to understand information graphics successfully the viewer requires a certain level of 'graphicacy'
- The purpose of information graphics is to simplify data
- No infographic should be presented as being factual when it is fictional or based on unverified assumptions
- Information graphics is used to communicate and translate information effectively
I thoroughly enjoyed collecting vast amounts of information to use as research for my '100 things...' brief earlier this year. It was a good way of preparing myself with the knowledge for a new brief. I have chosen to use this as on of my significant source materials for Friday's session with Jo.
9). Typography
Unfortunately I don't have a source for this artist, as I took it from a blog I was looking at a while ago of a student who I used to study with a Penwortham Girls High School. However I love the use of letterforms here and find it really inspirational, hoping to use this technique in my designs in the near future.
These letterforms used within design are so simplistic yet I never bore of this piece of work. Therefore I have decided to include this in my list of 10 things I find interesting ready for the session with Jo on Friday.
10). Love/Hate
For the Context of Practice module, OUGD401, we have been asked to express some of the things we love and some of the things we hate, here are a few examples of pieces that I feel very strongly about.
1. First of all I really like the work of Kyle Bean, an Illustrator from Brighton. He uses paper to create the beautifully crated scenes, which capture their audiences. His work is unique and inspiring, and the rich colours compliment one another within the design.
2. I love Collage. I found a collage artist in one of my books recently, whilst researching different designers. His work is very intricate and has a distinctive 'vintage' appearance. He began sketchbooking in 1990 and for twelve years his work was a very private art before 2002 when his work became more public and he is a renowned collage artist in New York, America.
3. A pet hate of mine is 'multicoloured' designs, with no colour themes and swirly vector graphics. This has a very cheap(tacky) appearance. I think the designs are overused, and often misconstrued as 'Graphic Design' when in fact the design is very 'immature'.
4. I love simplicity. Bold colours, minimal text and clean imagery is really effective. The combination works well together and communicates a message clearly to the target audience. The fewer words the more noticeable the advert/design becomes and the more striking it is in appearance. This also links in to my love of type, over the coming months and years I hope to expand my understanding and knowledge of typography within design.
5. Finally, I end on a hate. I can't stand messy things. I am a very organised person and I keep everything neat and in order. I can't work in a disorganised environment where there is no structure. This is a personal pet hate of mine, and some people would consider it 'OCD', however if things aren't neat and organised I just get stressed out and can't focus.
2. I love Collage. I found a collage artist in one of my books recently, whilst researching different designers. His work is very intricate and has a distinctive 'vintage' appearance. He began sketchbooking in 1990 and for twelve years his work was a very private art before 2002 when his work became more public and he is a renowned collage artist in New York, America.
3. A pet hate of mine is 'multicoloured' designs, with no colour themes and swirly vector graphics. This has a very cheap(tacky) appearance. I think the designs are overused, and often misconstrued as 'Graphic Design' when in fact the design is very 'immature'.
4. I love simplicity. Bold colours, minimal text and clean imagery is really effective. The combination works well together and communicates a message clearly to the target audience. The fewer words the more noticeable the advert/design becomes and the more striking it is in appearance. This also links in to my love of type, over the coming months and years I hope to expand my understanding and knowledge of typography within design.
5. Finally, I end on a hate. I can't stand messy things. I am a very organised person and I keep everything neat and in order. I can't work in a disorganised environment where there is no structure. This is a personal pet hate of mine, and some people would consider it 'OCD', however if things aren't neat and organised I just get stressed out and can't focus.
I have chosen to include my Love/Hate task because this was the first real research task that we completed for the OUGD401 module. Looking back I can see how I have changed and developed as as designer and how my opinions vary now compared to when I started the course. Therefore I have decided to include this in my list of 10 things I find interesting ready for the session with Jo on Friday.
