Here are the completed Modernism and Post-Modernism posters. Personally, I like Modernism much more than Post-Modernism, so I worked on that poster first.
The quote by David Winer reads, “the easier you make it for people to go, the more likely they are to stay.” This quote perfectly sums up some of the principles of Modernist design: clear organization (so that it is honest in its intentions), efficiency, modern age, etc.
Geometry is a huge component of Modernism, so I was sure to include various geometric shapes. Layering was a difficult look to execute during the Modernist era, so I had to be careful not to do too many overlapping shapes. However, I did not want to simply put some two dimensional shapes on the picture plane and hope that that would be interesting enough to look at; so I layered the circle behind the triangular shape, and using the square, created negative space on the long edge of the triangle. Another way combatted the flatness was by making all of the shapes slightly dimensional through adding a shadow to the edges of the shapes.
The most common colors used were red, white, and black. My color scheme reflects the understanding of the popularity of these colors for the time period. However, to make my design more dynamic (and my own) I used more dark colors, and used very little light colors.
Lastly, I didn’t exactly use a grid for the poster, but I was sure to align the text and some of the shapes to the edges of the picture plane. The quote itself is aligned flush left, rag right with a hanging quotation mark.
The poster design I created to demonstrate through research that I understand and can emulate the style of Modernism.
The quote by Albert Camus reads, “every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for the innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.” After watching the film, Helvetica, in class, and researching Post-Modernism there was one thing that really stuck out in my mind: the influence of the Vietnam War on that generation of artists. Paula Scher explained that due to the prominence of Helvetica in the corporate world, and the corporate support of the war, artists (such as Scher) “protested” by not using the font all together. In conjunction with the anti-Helvetica sentiment, art and graphic design of the time was changing drastically through the rejection of Modernism; once again due to another war-affected generation. Instead of creating order after the chaos of war was over, artists were imitating the chaos of war.
I chose this quote because I think it not only describes Post-Modernism, but more specifically earlier Post-Modernism and the influence of the Vietnam War on graphic design. The Napalm Girl is one of the most famous images of the Vietnam War. I find it particularly provocative and fits the quote well because in war-torn Vietnam the innocence of these kids is forever lost.
Also occurring during this time was the growing popularity of the computer. (This might be laughable for some of the older folks reading this who actually used one of the older computers) but when I think of old computers and early digital-age works I think of the stereotypical, large pixels on a grid, sharp turns — sort of like Pac Man. With the dawn of the computer, the ability to create layers became a snap, so I wanted to create a layer of random “pixels.” However, they looked boring, so I changed the color, scale, and orientation for some of them.
The font I used also reflects the sort of new technological approach to graphic design (and it’s definitely not Helvetica). To keep with the lack of clear organization, I spread the quote around the poster in a trail with each word (or a few words) on differing axis, scales, colors, and opacities.
The poster design I created to demonstrate through research that I understand and can emulate the style of Post-Modernism.
Lindsey L. Johnson 