CoP - Modernist and Postmodernism within contemporary design

Notes from 'Helvetica' (Gary Hustwitt 2007)

Massimo Vignelli

• There are different perspectives on typography and legibility
• Typefaces give a certain mood or atmosphere
• Popular for convenience 
• 'Helvetica is timeless'
• Graphic design is the framework for communication  
• Designer has massive responsibility
• Life of a designer is a fight against ‘visual disease’
• Typography is white; the space between the black is important 
• American airlines; logo never changed - idea of timelessness 
• Doesn’t think type should be expressive “when you write dog it shouldn’t bark”
• Versatile font; communicates the same idea
• Helvetica considered ‘modern’

Modernism and Helvetica

• 1950s; postwar period caused idealism within design; design was a part of that need to rebuild, social responsibility and democratic 
• Emergence of an international/Swiss typographic style 
• Helvetica emerges in that time; a need for rational typefaces, in a legible way 
• Interested in clarity; typography should be clear, readable, straight forward - created a grid to create order “creating order is typography”
• The 60’s; had to introduce photographs for layers, no computers, time consuming “can do better design with a computer”
• Helvetica more ‘machined’ and more ‘neutral’ - “shouldn’t have a meaning in itself”

Harry Carter

• Originated through cutting letters in steel, engraving them at actual size - physically making type 
• Start with a lower-case ‘h’; are there serifs, are some lines thicker or thinner?
• Lower-case ‘p’ see what the descenders look like; an acid test of how a typeface performs is to gather the words together

Haas Grostek

• Hass Grotesk; the original Helvetica - cleaned up by type foundry (Edward Hoffman)
• The interrelationship between the black and the white; the Swiss focus more on the background, a firm type
• Haas was controlled by the Stempell German art/type foundry; now own Helvetica

• Suggested the name Helvelcia
• Was exactly what designers were looking for
• Michael Bierut; simplified logos, Helvetica cleared away the ‘crap’ e.g. script type popular in the 50’s; contrast between coke adverts using script and sans serif type

Brands using Helvetica

• Leslie swan; 'Helvetica makes brands/ corporations come off more accountable, accessible and transparent' 
• Tax forms in helvetica - look ‘clean and efficient’
• Problems contained and seem like they don't exist 

Erik Spiekermann

• Erik Spiekermann; a ‘typomaniac’ - type comes from handwriting

• Helvetica still popular; ‘ has become a default font, was the default on the apple mac, created arial’ 
• Type is ‘Like a person, needs a certain space to be legible’ 
• Chaotic, no rules when it comes to type; they are never perfect, they have a certain edge - still considered a Modernist
• 'Why do people buy certain things? Because the brand rubs off on them; type is a brand'

Neville Brody

• 'Font goes hand in hand with advertisement'; Helvetica used for things not to stand out 
• Things prompted in subliminal ways 
• Idea of what people go for visually 
• Helvetica is a clock - a mark of membership, well rounded, not going to be damaged 

Lars Muller

• Rejects that Helvetica is the typeface for capitalism “it’s the typeface of socialism as it is available to everyone, it’s everywhere”
• ‘The perfume of the city’

• The more designers use it, the more dull it becomes 
• Overused so much that it’s lost its capacity 

Paula Scher

• Two separate cultures of design - corporate design with Helvetica; opposed to Helvetica as it represented supporters of the Vietnam war
• Interested in counter culture; Pushman studios - fresh and alive
• Type has spirit and can convey mood 
• A broad palette to express all kinds of things

Stefan Sameister

• Helvetica is ‘boring’, doesn’t like modernism 
• Went to art school because of album covers
• Hand drawn type; playful

Postmodernism approach

• Designers wanted to display subjectivity, create meaning, lack of uniform; caused controversy to the 60’s uniform type
• 70’s psychedelic type; against Helvetica 
• Typography 'broken' by the grunge period 
• Some 90's designers went back to the 60’s but with a new set of theories to support it      

David Carson

• Experimenting with type
• People against his work as it threw out the uniform nature out the window 
• Harder to do more subjective stuff well 
• Interpretive design is more exciting 
• Don’t confuse legibility with communication 
• Messages should be valid 
• Type should be expressive 
• Difference between ‘simple, clean and powerful’ and ‘simple, clean and boring’

Danny Van Den Dungen

• Danny Van Den Dungen; not against the experimentation, just used Helvetica in a more exciting way 
• 'Helvetica is a natural mother tongue'  
• You can put your own twist on Helvetica 

Michael C. Place

• Collects things, finds beauty in things people gloss over
• All about an emotional response 
• The idea that something designed stands the test of time 
• Enjoys using Helvetica 
• Likes the challenge of making Helvetica speak in a different way; still as fresh as it was to begin with

Manuel Krebs and Dimitri Bruni

• Wanted to look more back at 60’s Swiss structure and design 
• Always used if possible one typeface and one size
• Don’t like humanistic type; minimal expression 
• Helvetica contains a certain design program; has a certain style that is meant to be used, you do what the typeface wants you to do 

Modernity and Modernism in Type

Modernity arrived in the turn of the 20th century; distinct from what had come before. Amidst the growth of industrialisation, mass production, consumption, technology, capitalism, urbanisation; type adapted to this. 

Modernity is the changing social, cultural circumstances, whereas modernism is the response to these changes in design and culture; embracing a need for progress. 

Early 20th century bauhaus in Germany; the two wars halted progress.

Modernism is all about the legibility of type; embracing functionality and rationality and a focus on communication.

'Function should always dictate form'.

Jan Tschichold (1902-1974)

Tschichold was a calligrapher, typography and book designer that played a massive role in the introduction of modernist typography.

Within his manifesto of modern design 'Die neue Typographie' (1927) condemned all typefaces but sans serif.

He advocated the use of standardised paper sizes for printed matter, and made some of the first clear explanations of the effective use of different sizes and paper weights for mass printing in Germany.

Between 1947-1949, Tschichold oversaw the redesign of 500 paperbacks published by Penguin Books, leaving them with a standardised set of typographic rules; the Penguin Composition Rules. These rules are still mass produced today, and enforced many typographic practices that are often taken for granted today.

Massimo Vignelli (1931-2014)

Vignelli produced many of the iconic modernist designs over the past 50 years, including defining the visual identities for the New York subway, IBM and American Airlines, which continue to withstand the test of time.

Modernist design refined early 20th century movements such as Bauhaus and Constructivism into processes suitable for day-to-day commercial work.; Vignelli recorded his modernist rules of his work in the Vignelli Canon

Vignelli was quoted to say "In the new computer age, the proliferation of typefaces and type manipulations represents a new level of visual pollution threatening our culture. Out of thousands of typefaces, all we need are a few basic ones, and trash the rest."

Vignelli's objective within his designs was not in the pursuit of beauty or self expression; he viewed typography as a 'forensic application' of guiding principles.

A main characteristic of both Vingelli's work and ethos was the timelessness of typography.

"We are for a Design that lasts, that responds to people’s needs and to people's wants. We are for a Design that is committed to a society that demands long lasting values. A society that earns the benefit of commodities and deserves respect and integrity."

Post Modernism in Type 

By the 1970’s modernism was deemed a failure to progress; no longer considered relevant.

Industrialisation becomes commercialisation in the West; caused changes in class relations and class systems. Consumerism grows through the idea of fulfilment through lifestyle; the consumer was the central figure of capitalisation.

Decolonisation and globalisation; capitalism spreading around the globe. 

Mass communication and easy and efficient travel; things much more accessible.

The digital age.

Postmodernism introduced a certain skepticism towards previous beliefs e.g. the success of Helvetica.   

Type much more expressive and energised; questions whether legibility is that important, more of a focus on expression and subjective communication. 

David Carson

David Carson took a much more self expressive approach to typography, which rebelled against the 'rules' of Modernist values.

Carson featured chaotic, abstract collage typography with a complete lack of minimalism; amidst the grunge trend.