type3kcad

This blog was established for the Typography 3 students of Kendall College of Art + Design.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Lets Get Dirty

Hi all! I decided for this post i'd get grunge text out of the way.  I think all of us have noticed the growing insurgence of "distressed" design over the past 5-6 years, which has evolved into more of the hand drawn text and graphics that are so prevalent as of late. One of the things that first attracted me to graphic design was the opportunity to synthesize so many other mediums into a piece with technology.  I could paint, draw, sculpt, collage, shred, scan, and photograph, and pull it all together into something aesthetically beautiful.  I've also noticed that the style has been closely related to the emergence of the hardcore/metal genres in music, which is where I first noticed distressed looking type being used. Later I started to get interested in designers such as David Carson.  I'm sure we're all familiar with the work from Eduardo Recife available on his site misprinted type, even if we're not aware of it. And since most of the fonts are available for free, well it only makes sense that it would show up all over the place.  Most free font sites also offer copious amounts of grungy text, most of them poorly crafted and relatively useless. I've also noticed this style gaining popularity on the web as well. A somewhat lengthy article on low-fi grunge text on the web can be found here.  And here is an article/tutorial that was rather in depth.

So what am I getting at with all this? Since these fonts and brushes are easily available, and easy to create, and considering the over saturation as of late, does this de-value grunge as a design style? Does it detract from our craft as graphic artists, or is there still a valid artistic expression (commercially viable or not), and a degree of technical proficiency required, or has it made it possible for anyone to instantly create something dirty looking? 

Another question that came to mind is: What does this sort of design, typography say to the viewer? What kind of appeal does t really have, if any? It is definitely reactionary, but has it become so watered down that it has lost its rebellious edge?

I'm curious to learn what everyone thinks about his, or if anyone has any other info about it. 

(Jason, I can feel your clean geometric blood boil from here)


Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Welcome Type 3 Fall 2007!

Thought I would get the (b)log rolling by stating that the movie "Helvetica" was a great pleasure. I saw it at the AIGA Design Educators Conference in June. I would recommend that you see it if you get a chance.

I have pre-ordered a copy (arriving in November) that I plan on showing to the AIGA student group, so if you're not a member, perhaps something you should think about.

See you tomorrow.