Ambition/FearBy Zuzana Licko and Rudy VanderLans
This article was first published in 1989 in
Emigre 11.
Visions of bold-italic-outline-shadow Helvetica
"Mac" tricks have sent many graphic designers running back to
their T-squares and rubber cement. Knowing how and when to use computers is
difficult, since we have only begun to witness their capabilities. Some
designers have found computers a creative salvation from the boredom of
familiar methodologies, while others have utilized this new technology to
expedite traditional production processes. For this eleventh issue of Emigre we interviewed fifteen
graphic designers from around the world, and talked about how they work
their way through the sometimes frustrating task of integrating this new
technology into their daily practices.
Computer technology provides opportunities for more
specialization as well as integration. Today, less peripheral knowledge and
skills are required to master a particular niche. For instance, a type
designer is no longer required to be a creative mind as well as a skilled
punch cutter. There is also the possibility of better communication,
allowing for increased crossover between disciplines. Designers can control
all aspects of production and design, no longer requiring an outside
typesetter or color separator. Text, image and layout all exist as
manifestations of the same medium and the capability of simultaneously
editing text and composing the layout will influence both design and
writing styles. It is now possible for one individual to take on all
functions required in publishing, including writer, editor, designer, and
illustrator, thus bringing together a variety of disciplines and
consequently streamlining production.
The integration of previously isolated disciplines
makes computer-aided design a seamless continuum of activity similar to
that experienced by children. In fact, computer technology has advanced the
state of graphic art by such a quantum leap into the future that it has
brought the designer back to the most primitive of graphic ideas and
methods. It's no wonder that our first computer-generated art usually
resembles that of naive cave paintings! This return to our primeval ideas
allows us to reconsider the basic assumptions made in the creative design
process, bringing excitement and creativity to aspects of design that have
been forgotten since the days of letterpress. We are once again faced with
evaluating the basic rules of design that we formerly took for granted.
With computers many options of type combinations, sizes
and spacings can be quickly and economically reviewed. However, the time
saved in the production stage is often spent viewing more design solutions.
Thus today's designers must learn to discriminate intelligently among
all of the choices, a task requiring a solid understanding of fundamentals.
Computer use also brings about a new breed of designers
who possess the ability to integrate various media. Those individuals
previously hinged between disciplines will find that digital technology
allows them that crossover necessary for their personal expression. One
such new area is that of digital type design. Custom typefaces can now be
produced letter, by letter, as called for in day-by-day applications. This
increases the potential for more personalized typefaces as it becomes
economically feasible to create letter forms for specific uses.
By making publishing and dissemination of information
faster and less expensive, computer technology has made it feasible to
reach a smaller audience more effectively. It is no longer necessary to
market for the lowest common denominator. There is already a growth in the
birthrate of small circulation magazines and journals. Although this
increases diversity and subsequently the chances of tailoring the product
to the consumer, we can only hope that such abundance will not obliterate
our choices by overwhelming us with options. Computers are phenomenally
adept at storing information, but the current rate of its amassment is
making a frightening task out of distilling knowledge from these huge data
banks. Raw information becomes meaningful only when we can access it in a
comprehensive manner.
The storage and transmission of text and images is also
becoming progressively less physical as data is sent over phone lines and
accessed through computer terminals. Digital data is easily modifiable and
it is difficult to draw the lines of ownership and copyrights. Problems of
piracy are already evident in areas of program development, type design,
and illustration. For example, some illustrators using digital media now
opt to submit hard copy artwork to clients rather than disk versions
fearing that their illustrations could be copied and manipulated into a
misrepresentation of their work, without deserved royalties. This brings up
numerous previously unaddressed questions over ownership of data and our
rights to use or even alter it.
But what separates digital art from its analog
counterparts aesthetically? Mostly it is our perception. There is nothing
intrinsically "computer-like" about digitally generated images.
Low-end devices such as the Macintosh do not yield a stronger inherent
style than do the high-end Scitex systems, which are often perceived as
functioning invisibly and seamlessly. This merely shows what computer
virgins we are. High-end computers have been painstakingly programmed to
mimic traditional techniques such as airbrushing or calligraphy, whereas
the low-end machines force us to deal with more original, sometimes alien,
manifestations. Coarse bitmaps are no more visibly obtrusive than the
texture of oil paint on a canvas, but our unfamiliarity with bitmaps causes
us to confuse the medium with the message. Creating a graphic language with
today's tools will mean forgetting the styles of archaic technologies
and remembering the very basic of design principles.
This is perhaps the most exciting of times for
designers. Digital technology is a great big unknown, and after all, a
mystery is the most stimulating force in unleashing the imagination.
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A Selection of Essays from Emigre Magazine
Ambition/Fear
By Zuzana Licko and Rudy VanderLans. Published in Emigre 11.
Neomania
By Anne Burdick. Published in Emigre 24.
Fallout
By Rudy VanderLans. Published in Emigre 30.
An Interview with Steven Heller
By Michael Dooley. Published in Emigre 30.
An Interview with David Shields
By Michael Dooley. Published in Emigre 30.
An Interview with Edward Fella
By Michael Dooley. Published in Emigre 30.
An Interview with Mr. Keedy
By Michael Dooley. Published in Emigre 30.
In and Around: Cultures of Design and the Design of Cultures
Part I
By Andrew Blauvelt. Published in Emigre 32.
Discovery by Design
By Zuzana Licko. Published in Emigre 32.
In and Around: Cultures of Design and the Design of Cultures
Part II
By Andrew Blauvelt. Published in Emigre 33.
An Interview with Rick Poynor
By Mr. Keedy. Published in Emigre 33.
Radical Commodities
By Rudy VanderLans. Published in Emigre 34.
Copping an Attitude
By Rudy VanderLans. Published in Emigre 38.
Graphic Design and the Next Big Thing
By Rudy VanderLans. Published in Emigre 39.
That was then, and this is now: but what is next?
By Lorraine Wild. Published in Emigre 39.
Graphic Design in the Postmodern Era
By Mr. Keedy. Published in Emigre 47.
Skilling Saws and Absorbent Catalogues
By Kenneth FitzGerald. Published in Emigre 48.
First Things First Revisited
By Rick Poynor. Published in Emigre 51.
First Things First Manifesto 2000
Various authors. Published in Emigre 51.
Saving Advertising
By Jelly Helm. Published in Emigre 53.
The Emigre Legacy
By Rudy VanderLans. Published in Emigre 56.
Sustainable Consumerism
By Chris Riley. Published in Emigre 59.
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