Sunday, November 23, 2008

Contemporary Design and Mass Culture, A

The 60's and 70's were a time of great innovation all around the world.  New materials, new products, new processes, and new ways of advertising were all introduced during this time period.  While many are impressed with the discovery of new ways of making things with new materials they often overlook a very important aspect: Advertising.  Without a way of advertising for their products companies would find it harder to get their product on the market and sell it with great success.  While televisions and radios were being invented around this time actual paper advertisement remained extremely important.  As a result graphic design became very prevalent.  Artists were commissioned to create logos for large companies.  Creating these logos entailed creating a graphic as well as a unified text style to be associated with a particular brand.  For example, Paul Rand was hired to design the logos for IBM, the Westinghouse Corporation, and ABC (Raizman, p. 328).  When developing logos and advertisements it was important for the designer to be sure that it pertained to the audience he or she was trying to reach for instance in terms of age and nationality.  It was also important for graphic designers to create universal symbols so that someone of a different nationality could still understand what was trying to be said.  For example, symbols for men's and women's restrooms, telephones, airports, trains, smoking or non-smoking, etc.  (Raizman, p. 330).  Graphics can also be used for the power of suggestion.  Artists may use a particular font, texture, or graphic in order to imply a certain feeling that he or she may want the viewer to acquire when viewing the ad.  As you can see graphic design has more of an impact than one might consider.  In what ways will you incorporate graphic design into your career as an interior designer.  Do you think it will have an effect on your success as a designer and your ability to acquire clients?  Why or why not?

16 comments:

olivia said...

Advertising is a crucial aspect of any form of business. Its the only way to inform the public about your goods and/or services. When talking about incorporating graphic designs into an interior design career, I think it is a very important part. Graphics can not only tell a potential client about what kind of design work that one does, it also lets them know what direction your designs normally take. Depending on what kind of interior design I want to persue, my graphic design needs to adequately reflect that. The style of my designs has to show in my graphic representations. This way, clients are clear on what direction my ideas are going to take. I dont know if a graphic design would have a huge impact on my success as an interior designer. I think that my designs would speak for themselves. However, a strong visual representation wouldn't hurt in attracting potential clients.

nicoLe said...

Advertising for an interior designer is in a sense a portfolio. It is a way for potential clients to see the type of work the designer does and their abilities. Graphics are used in design in the form of a parti. To me, graphics would serve this same purpose. It should speak to my style as a designer. Graphic design works with all types of business but is ultimately a marketing device. It brings in sales. Though freelance work is often best advertised through word of mouth, in a firm it is important to have a recognizable symbol that triggers sales to the public.

Carrie.Marcum said...

I feel that graphic design was maybe overlooked during that time and not giving as much thought as it does today. Just like Paul Rand was hired to design the logos for IBM, the Westinghouse Corporation, and ABC, companies today hire designers to make flashy logos and ads. I feel that one of the best ads of today would have to be Target commercials. From that very second that they come on I know it’s a Target ad and they don’t even have to show a name or logo. As an interior designer I will incorporate graphic design in many ways by, making a logo for myself that clients or potential clients will be able to recognize my by, make logos for my different designs and/or clients, and maybe for my own firm. The graphic design may have an effect on my success because if more clients see my logo it might catch on and more people will be hiring me.

maggie clines said...

As students studying to be designers, it is important to develop our skills now; skills that include creating an overall design. When a customer comes to you for a design it is very important to keep in mind the overall design. Creating signage for a costumer is also extremely important. This can be done by taking a logo and expanding on its design for the greater design, or even creating a logo if a company doesn’t already have one. By keeping in mind the overall design, it can make you a very successful designer. Also when it comes to your own company or even your own business card, it is important to represent yourself in a positive way through not just the font but also the style. In general it is always very important to keep in mind the graphic design of things including logos and signage.

Molly Rowland said...

Logos and graphic design were used to give an identity to different companies of this time period. I already have my own identity, and therefore, my graphic design details will reflect it. I do not have to recreate myself, rather i have to successfully represent all I have to offer.
Graphic design does not consist of long strands of text depicting my ideals and design philosophies. Graphic design portrays an idea with abstract visuals. Visual design does not have a chance to explain itself and you simply get what you see in front of you.
So, graphic design is like a first impression. It must be straight forward and it must reflect me as a whole. Although graphic design may not have a large affect on my entire career, it does, in a way, introduce my style and ideas to the clients before I am able to do so in person.

Meaghan Boenig said...

I think that graphic design will be very important in our future careers. Graphic design is important to us even now as interior design students. When presenting a project, our teachers have always stressed the importance of putting together a presentation that is neat and organized, looks professional, and captures of audience's attention. The same ideas apply to projects and presentations in the future. Graphic design is important because it's really the first look a client will have a design or product. And who doesn't want to make a good first impression?

Jessica Brake said...

Advertising is a very important part of business. It is how a company gets their name out and in turn gets business. Graphic design is a portion of advertising that is attractive to the audience and is the “attention getter”. Graphic design is used to create an identity, as in the examples mentioned in the blog. It gives the company a logo that is recognized by any one of any age or nationality. As a designer I would plan to use graphic design to create an identity or logo for my designs. I would want someone to see my logo and know that that’s a design by Jessica Brake. I think that this is very important in your success as a designer because it makes you designs recognizable among many people and cultures. It also gives a name or reputation to your designs that way when clients see your logo they would already have an idea of what you designs are like and what you’re all about.

Katie Bluhm said...

Graphic design is the new era of advertising, and is important in all forms of business. How are we to promote our businessess without advertising? And since graphic design is the way of the future, interior designers will use this form for not only their design projects, but for business cards and marketing. When I graduate, I hope to get into some kind of set display or become a buyer for a company. I will have to use graphic design up until graduation and afterwards to achieve this goal. As technology advances, we must advance with it and graphic design is the way of the future.

Moore13 said...

Everyone knows our generation is the "computer generation", because of this graphic design will be even more important to our futures than has been. As interior design students we are currently witnessing the transitions of new up to date technology, for example revit will replace autocad. When we were visiting OWP/P suzanne (Im pretty sure that was her name) told us there company was also in transition between the two programs. As the new technologies develop the faster they they will continue to develop, for us this means we will constantly need to learn and update our graphic presentations. I think it's important to stay up to date because by the time we are designers our clients will be the "computer generation" as well. For the most part they will prefer to see up to date graphic presentations, because if the presentation is up to date they will think the design is up to date as well. Whether i like it or not the computer programs we're learning are vital for our future success.

Meredith Jones said...

I have always loved graphic design and the things that you can do and manipulate to make things tell a story graphically. I believe that I will definitely exploit the graphic design field and what it all has to offer. I would definitely be able to use it in terms of advertising for myself or whatever client I may have. Graphics help anyone express things, and can be used in many different forms.

Shannon S said...

As an interior designer we will incorporate graphic design. As we go through each year here at UK we are developing a design style all our own. For example, some of us perfer curvilinear designs over straight. We each are developing a logo for ourselves in order to aquire clients. Clients will be able to determine our personal design style (the kind of work that we do) by looking at our logo. Advertisement is key in this business. We must make connections in order to make it in this industry. Graphic design is a way for us, as artists, to make a name for ourselves.

Anonymous said...

Interior designers have to sell themselves and make people want to hire them. I can incorporate graphic design into my career as an interior designer through my companies logo or even my own business cards. Also as an interior designer i might have to design a logo for one of my clients. Apart from logos, a huge part of interior design is signage. Graphic design is key in this because people from all different backgrounds and education levels have to be able to understand it. The message must be communicated graphically and in a very successful way. One a completely different aspect than this, our designs are basically graphics that a potential client looks at sees if they think they would like the designs i would make for them.

Elizabeth Chaffin said...

Its easy to say that advertising sells, because quite literally, advertising a product does just that---gets a products name out into the world. Graphics and graphic design is an important aspect of this because it shapes the advertisement or an object into whatever the producers feel the market would react best to. Strong visual representations seen through graphic design may have an impact on my career as interior design through the selling (getting the idea across) to the client. However, I feel as if it wont be a major one. The area in which it would affect most would be the branding, the signage of which one would refer the designer to. That graphic symbol would relate the market to that particular designer so they would then know that work was the work of such a designer.

Sabrina said...

Graphic Design and

Sabrina said...

Graphic Design and advertising have a humungous effect on my future career as an interior desiger. The only way to sell my designs and ideas to clients and prospective clients is through an appealing product. Thus, I must carefully create the correct appeal for my design or my "product" in order to have success in the design business.

As an interior designer, I will use graphic design to create a logo for myself that visually expresses my design philosophy. A logo or slogan like item will continue to make my designs more appealing to clients. Also, I will use graphic design to create a parti and esquisse for the project just as we do in school now. I will use this tool to inspire myself in the creation of the design and make sure that all parts are related back to the topic/programming requirements.

Carrie R. said...

As a designer, graphic design can be used in many different ways. It can be used in anything that you present to your client, and I think that it makes it a more interesting experience for the client, as this element makes presentation boards much more aesthetically pleasing. Not only can advertising & graphic design be used in presentations, they can also be used in the sense of a portfolio. Graphics have the ability to add so much more to your design. Graphics can also be used to create your own identity as a designer in the sense of parti, as well as personal logo. I think that there is a definite difference of those who use graphic design and those who don’t in terms of acquiring clients. I think that graphics used in a presentation board can highly effect the client’s impression of the design, as it is very much part of it.

This blog is intended for the interior design students in the college of design at the University of Kentucky. It was created with the intent to present students with information, providing them with a channel for contemplation and discussion.