Thursday, February 14, 2013

Cramsie 10 + 11

(Reading this early while I have the time, but here are some notes of things that stuck out and sparked my interest - so I don't forget when we discuss in class in a week.)

Chapter 10
The Style of the Street

"The previous ad hoc process of sticking posters to an available flat surface was replaced by a more organized and systematic approach, with special hoardings being erected by contractors who, in some instances, provided framed areas almost as though the posters were paintings." 149

"By making the edges of his [Chèret] posters diffuse or bare, viewers were in no doubt as to where they should focus their attention." 150

Re: Coca Cola logo - It was interesting how Cramsie talks about the breakdown of the way the letters are written and how we don't notice that the two c's in 'coca' are written differently than the c and the l in 'cola' because we are so use to it and it is so engrained in our culture. I had never noticed that myself.

"[European] prints were collected and discussed with a seriousness that had previously been the preserve of paintings, and this elevated status was carried over to posters created by home-grown designers." 156

"Posters were signed by their designers for the same reason that a painting was marked by the artist, not just to show who made them, but also to increase the picture's appeal and thus its commercial value." 157

"The potential this [hand made] gave designers to construct highly personal and idiosyncratic style allowed some of the very best of them to acquire a level of fame and recognition that exceeded that of even the best-known painters. The gallery of the street provided the former with an audience that was denied to the latter." 157

"By applying a concertedly unified graphic style in this way Hoffmann created one of the very earliest examples of corporate identity design or branding." 161
- This whole concept and how he came up with it using squares to influence everything is very interesting, especially the logos for their own names (Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser).




Chapter 11
The Simple Art of War

"Instead of using swirling and decorative patterns to surprise and delight the viewer, the posters displayed stark arrangements of simple graphic images and minimal typography."163

Interesting that many of these posters are so opposite of the Art Nouveau, using bold graphic colors in large shapes with little detail and mostly cut out of paper.
 -"In an era when mechanized, street-bound forms of transport were becoming popular - the bicycle, the tram and the car - a less elaborate poster could be decoded more quickly. It was possible for the more mobile masses to 'read' the pictures and texts at a glance." 163

"...a maximum effect can often be achieved by an economy of means." 166
 -Re: Prieseter poster

Fig 11.11 Flags and roundels

"dazzle" 171
"It seems to have favoured only certain vessels in particular situations rather than all ships equally."







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