Design in the 80’s - Digital Revolution

How the computer changed the industry.

Until the late 20th century, the graphic design discipline had been based on hand crafted processes.
In the 70’s graphic designers used rubber cement, kneadable erasers, x-acto knives, proportion wheels, border tape and illustration boards to create advertisments, brochures, logos and other products.
Over the course of the 1980’s and early 90’s, rapid advances in digital computer hardware and software radically altered the graphic design industry. This started a revolution in graphic design by drastically changing the process. Software for Apple’s 1984 Macintosh computer, such as MacPaint had a revolutionary interface. Tool icons controlled be mouse or graphic tablet enabled designers and artists to use computer graphic in an intuitive manner. Programs from Adobe Systems enabled pages of type and images to be assembled into designs on screen.
When desktop publishing was born, many aspects of traditional graphic design had now become obsolete. This change in tools also brought along a change in daily tasks of a designer.

A day in the life of a 70’s designer.

As a graphic designer in the 70’s you would start out by sketching your ideas in accordance with the client’s directions. Then you would create a mock up showing what the finished product would look like, complete with dimensions, colours and professional appearance. The goal was to make this mock up look as much like the finished product as possible so that the clients could verify whether it matched the idea and message they were looking for the project.
Once the designer received the clients approval, they moved forward with the project by preparing the illustration board. Crop marks would be drawn to keep track of the margins and then mapping out the final draft begins. Using rubber cement or wax, the designer would paste on paper or photography plates as place holders for the designs images. Then the designer would have to calculate how big the type and leading needed to be. Text specifications would then be sent to the typesetter and the project would go to the printers.

Computers and In-House Production.

Computers greatly simplified the process, because more of the work could be completed in-house. Computer programs included different fonts, font sizes and leading option, eliminating the need for a for a typesetter. Rapid advances in onscreen software also allowed the designer the ability to stretch, scale and bend elements. Type and images could be layered together.
The process became simpler because the designer could begin working on the final project immediately. The flexibility of the computer programs made it easily to make changes. All these changes streamlined the process and made it more economical. Computers allowed one person to do all of the tasks that used to require a n entire team of designers.

Red Ink and Safety Hazards - Melbourne Museum of Print

Last week our class ventured out to the badlands of Western Footscray for an excursion to the Melbourne Museum of Printing. The museum is run by it curator and owner Michael and his Thai bride. He was very knowledgable about the history of print, going over the history of moveable type right back to the time of Johannes Gutenberg.
Apon entering the museum we where lead straight through to a health and safety sign which we all had to individually read and take note of.. and one glance around the place could tell you why.. the place was a mess.

Michael showed us the steps that a type setter would have gone through back in the day when they were sitting out a publication.
Mid morning we went up stairs and had morning tea, consisting of a cup of tea and anzac cookie which where so packed with sugar they make your teeth hurt.

After morning tea we headed back down stair and through to the work shop.. or as I like to call it Safety Hazard Central. Some of these hazards include; bubbling molten metal with no saftey guards, metal filing stroon all over the floor, deadly planks of wood in walk ways, gas line easily openable by small children and enough dust and soot to give an asthmatic nightmares.
The work shop contained working (some not working) printing machines. Here we were taught to select the letters of our name from aset of type and place then in a clip, the letters were then molded using metal slub.
We then took a lunch break after all the strenuous work.. so I travel down the road and purchased myself a Kebab. On a scale of 1 to 10 I give the Kebab a solid 7 out of 10.

After lunch we reconviened in the workshop where our names were place together in one of the printers. We each individually got to add paper to the machine and roll it through creating a print of our names in red ink of yellow paper.

After we all got our chance to print our fantastic journey to the Printing Museum had come to a close. And with that may the battle of peak hour commence....

Josh Keyes - My Inspiration

Josh Keyes is an American contemporary artist who makes paintings and prints. He currently works out of Portland, Oregon. His work has been described as "a satirical look at the impact urban sprawl has on the environment and surmises, with the aid of scientific slices and core samples, what could happen if we continue to infiltrate and encroach on our rural surroundings."

 

His use of animals and urban environments is stunning and visually impacting, some times bordering on the surreal. The scenes he sets are decaying human environments, but without human impact. Almost as if it is portraying a world where humans have died off and animals once again rule
the world.

Josh's work really shows his admiration for the plant and the wilderness, whilst being deeply satirical about or human impact of the world around us. His work often touches on environmental and animal welfare issues such of pollution, big oil, circuses, zoos and global warming.

Josh Keyes' work is fascinating and truly inspirational.

Stanley Kubrick - My Inspiration

Ever since I first discovered the film A Clockwork Orange at the age of 14, I have been obsessed with Stanley Kubrick. Each of his films is a highly crafted masterpiece, with an almost OCD level of attention to detail. Every shot and camera angle was meticulously framed giving a real beauty to every scene.  One thing that makes Kubrick's movies so unusual is his heavy use of one-point perspective and symmerty, to focus in on a single character or object, and often to create a sense that we are trapped within the scene rather than merely watching it.

Scene from 2001 A Space Odyssey

A short list of Kubricks films which resonate with me and inspire me are: A Clockwork Orange (my number 1 movie of all time), 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Dr Strangelove and Barry Lyndon.

Scene from A Clockwork Orange

Before Kubrick entry in to film he was a photographer. Starting from an early age, young Stanley was rarely seen without a camera in his hands. Some of his best work is his collection of photography portraying a 1940's New York.

Some examples of Kubrick early photography

Kubrick will for ever go down as one of the greatest film makers to ever live, and his films will continue to amaze and inspire for many generations to come.

Nude Shots, black and white, and a bloke named Flappers - Carol Jerrems

Carol Jerrems was an Australian ohotographer. She documented the counter-culture spirit of Melbourne in the 1970s. Jerrems was born on 14 March 1949 at Ivanhoe, Melbourne and died in Melbourne at the unfortunate age of 30.
Last week our class went on an excursion to the Monash Art Gallery in Wheelers Hill to see and exhibition on Carol Jerrems photography. My first impressions of the exhibition were underwhelmed to be honest. I found nothing in to be awe inspiring or particular interesting. The one thing I can say about the collection is that they do give you a great feel for the time (1970s Australia).

To sum up the exhibition in a few words: nude shots, black and white, and a bloke named Flappers.