basic designing theory

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Graphic Design: Structure and Experiment

Book proposal

Ellen LuptonDirector, Graphic Design MFA ProgramMaryland Institute College o Art

!anuary ", #$$%



Manifesto for a new formalism

The literary theorist Stanley Fish recently published an Op Ed piece in the&e' (ork )imes last spring describing his freshman composition course, inwhich students have to invent a new language, complete with vocabularyand grammar. Fish’s course focuses on how language functions, not what itmeans. Students are forced to analyze the mechanics and architecture oflanguage, while ignoring its topical content.

! ! ! ! ! !

Steven "ohnson’s controversial *ook E+erything Bad is Good or (ou #$%%&'as(s readers to ignore the banal content of video games and loo( instead atthe comple) tas(s and nested thin(ing these games as( us to carry out.*omparing television dramas of the + %s with those of the ++%s, "ohnsonattends not to their content but to their structure- T has become more

comple), with multiple simultaneous plots and elaborately wired charactersystems. $

! ! ! ! ! !

Consider this e+ery'here you look, orm is coming *ack- E+ery'here, thatis, *ut the ield o graphic design, 'here rom the academy to the street, Popart appropriations ha+e *ecome standard practice- .hether it is called +isualscratch mi/ing, stylistic appropriation, cultural re erencing, or 0the+ernacular,1 Pop is the esta*lished design ideology o our time- Pop has*ecome an e/ample o 'hat Antonio Gramsci called 0hegemony1 a

normati+e idea that is accepted and e+en en orced *y those 'ho li+e 'ithinits grip-

/raphic 0esign- Structure and E)periment 'ill ocus on the study o orm'ithin the conte/t o *asic design studies- )he intellectual mo+ements opost2modern historicism and multiculturalism sidelined the study o orm inthe 344$s, 'hile at the same time, the digital re+olution 'as generating ane' and rapidly e/panding *ody o re5uired technical kno'ledge- Classicte/t*ooks such as Armin 6o mann7s /raphic 0esign 1anual or Donis A-Dondis7s 2rimer of isual 3iteracy 'ere struck do'n *y the dou*le *lo' oculture and technology- &o *ook o su icient stature, authority, andoriginality has emerged in their 'ake- Fe' o the current *ooks on *asicdesign takes an e/perimental and critical +ie' o the medium8 instead, thecurrent literature emphasi9es practical applications-

1 Stanley Fish, “Devoid of Content,” The New York Times , May 31, 2005.2 Steven Johnson. Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture is

Actually Making Us Smarter. New York: Penguin. 2005.



/raphic 0esign- Structure and E)periment 'ill distinguish itsel rom thepack in the ollo'ing 'ays

: *y taking a strong position in a period go+erned *y relati+ism8: *y promoting intellectual thought in an era go+erned *y populism8: *y creating a *ridge *et'een old and ne' media8: *y em*racing ormal e/periment in an era o*sessed 'ith content andthe applications o kno'ledge-

)he idea to create a *ook on *asic design arose 'hen a aculty mem*er romanother school asked me to recommend an introductory design *ook;nota*out typography or applied communication pro*lems <logos and so orth=,*ut a*out *asic t'o2dimensional design- I could not, honestly, ind any such*ook to endorse- Around the same time I 'as looking at MICA student 'ork<graduate and undergraduate= and 'as struck *y the need to e/pose mystudents <and mysel = to a more e/perimental, systematic, open2endede/ploration o the design language- Although 'e had ac5uired a solidunderstanding o design rom a cultural point o +ie', I 'as seeing a lack o

in+ention and con idence regarding design as a*stract structure, aphenomenon that is occurring not >ust at MICA *ut across the design ieldtoday-

)ogether 'ith some colleagues at MICA, I ha+e *een de+ising orm2*aseddesign pro*lems or use in courses at MICA and else'here- At *oth thegraduate and undergraduate le+els, 'e are implementing pro*lems that arede ined in terms o such structural ideas as transparency, pattern, and

raming- ?ther aculty at MICA 'ho ha+e *een in+ited to participate includeBernard Canni e, &adra @e*aili, A**ott Miller, !enni er Cole Phillips, and Mike.eikert- In addition, 'e may in+ite a e' colleagues rom other schools to

contri*ute pro*lems and student 'ork in speci ic areas- A team o graduatestudents at MICA 'ill design and produce the *ook-

/raphic 0esign- Structure and E)periment 'ill thus ill a +oid in the currentliterature- Design students and educators need a *ook that discusses the+isual language o graphic design in a critical, rigorous 'ay, in ormed *ycontemporary media, theory, and so t'are systems- )hey need a *ook thatallo's the relationship *et'een design and production, theory and so t'are,thinking and making, to illuminate one another, rather than holding themapart as opposing agendas or irreconcila*le pedagogical areas- /raphic0esign- Structure and E)periment aims to reintegrate our understanding odigital so t'are 'ith physical tools, materials, and processes, and to look atthe ormal +oca*ulary o design rom the changed perspecti+e o the t'enty2

irst2century 'orld-

A systematic +ie' o *asic design is more +alua*le than e+er in an agede ined *y code, net'orked communities, time2*ased arts, and trans2mediapu*lishing- In an age 'hen it has *ecome second nature to mi/ and matchimagery and to endlessly 5uote and recycle popular media, young artists anddesigners should *e e/posed to +isually intensi+e, orm2*ased thinking in a



manner in tune 'ith contemporary art, li e, and technology-

.hat *asics 'ould pro+ide an appropriate oundation or artists anddesigners in the glo*al, net'orked +isual 'orld o the t'enty2 irst century.hat situations 'ould encourage students to acti+ely and critically e/plorethe ormal, cultural, and technical aspects o +isual communication .hatreadings and discussion topics 'ould help students understand the conte/tand meaning o *asic design /raphic 0esign- Structure and E)periment 'illans'er those 5uestions in a color ul, compact, clearly 'ritten +olumeillustrated 'ith inspiring e/amples o student 'ork-

My pre+ious *ook, Thin(ing with Type- 4 *ritical /uide for 0esigners,5riters, Editors, and Students , addressed a similar +oid in the area o *asictypography, pro+iding a theoretical and practical o+er+ie' o this

undamental design discipline- Pu*lished in ?cto*er, #$$ , Thin(ing withType has *een met enthusiastically *y educators and designers around the'orld- /raphic 0esign- Structure and E)periment 'ill ser+e as a companion

and complement to Thin(ing with Type -

The S word

)he digital trans ormation o design processes helped seal the dominance othe Pop ideology *y acilitating the endless circulation o e/isting material-)he digital re+olution also orced educators to spend energy teachingso t'are, a act that is o ten met 'ith resentment8 so t'are is seen as anecessary e+il along the path to achie+ing a pro essional education, *ut itappears to ro* time rom the more high2minded goals o design education;

to study the meaning, content, and social rele+ance o communication-(et during the 344$s, 'hen educators 'ere turning a'ay rom ormalanalysis to'ards a more culturally *ased, re erential approach to designpedagogy, the creators o so t'are programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator,Flash, and Final Cut 'ere systematically organi9ing image2processing andimage2making into menus o properties, parameters, ilters, and so on,con+erting the Bauhaus theory o +isual language;once a distant ideal;intocomprehensi+e +isual tools-

)hese tools ha+e cast a net around our ield o practice, iltering our dailyproduction o typography, sym*ols, images, page layouts, and in ormationsystems- )o 'hat degree do 'e understand the ormal constraints andpossi*ilities implied *y these tools &o theory or pedagogical practice hasappeared to address the role o digital technologies in shaping and descri*ingthe ormal language o design-

Basic background



.hat is *asic design trategies or approaching design as an a*stractlanguage ha+e *een around since the Bauhaus, 'hen the creators o the

orkurs or Basic Course approached t'o2dimensional orm as a 0language o+ision1 'hose +oca*ulary and synta/ could *e descri*ed in geometrical,perceptual, and technological terms- Artist teachers including !ohannes Itten,Paul @lee, .assily @andinsky, and Las9lo Moholy2&agy *elie+ed that thislanguage o +ision transcended culture through the uni+ersal unctionality othe eye- )hey analy9ed +isual orm according to a set o ormal parameters

rom point, line, and plane to color, te/ture, pattern, scale, and contrast-

)his po'er ul approach, 'hich looked at t'o2dimensional design as auni+ersal, perceptually *ased language o +ision, had a lasting impact ondesign education around the 'orld- ince the 34"$s, numerous educatorsha+e re ined and e/panded on this systematic approach, rom Las9lo Moholy2&agy at the &e' Bauhaus to Gui Bonsieppe at the lm chool- In post2'ar

'it9erland, designers including Emil Huder, Armin 6o mann, and !osephM ller2Brockman created a total design methodology *ased on ideas o

modularity, grid systems, and minimal, rigorously de ined typographichierarchies-

In the late 34%$s, .ol gang .eingart, a student o Armin 6o mann, re*elledagainst the uni ormity and anonymity o the 'iss style 'hile em*racing itsa*stract +oca*ulary- .eingart turned the 'iss methodology inside out,creating a typographic re+olution that inspired designers around the 'orld inthe 34J$s and K$s- Generations o American designers 'ent to graduateschool in 'it9erland and returned to the - - to *ecome prominenteducators- At Cran*rook Academy o Art, @atherine McCoy led a contro+ersialMFA program in the 34J$s, K$s, and early 4$s that encouraged students to

di+ert the modernist design +oca*ulary a'ay rom pro*lem2sol+ing andneutrality to'ards sel 2e/pression and ormal e/periment-

Art schools today continue to implement oundation programs that claim tode ine a common ground across a range o disciplines- (et there is no longera consensus as to 'hat a oundation in t'o2dimensional design should *e-For some educators, a relati+i9ed +isual studies approach has replaced

ormal analysis and construction- E/ercises in parody, appropriation, andreadings o popular culture are taking the place o the seemingly outmodedapproaches inherited rom the Bauhaus, 'hile a ocus on the needs,interests, and a*ilities o particular audiences has supplanted the ideal ouni+ersal orms-



Intellectual goals

)o analy9e the language o graphic design in light o the cultural andtechnological trans ormations that ha+e taken place since 34K , the point at'hich modernist pedagogies *egan to disintegrate and digital technologies*egan rede ining design practice-

)o acti+ely e/plore the le/icon o +isual technical operations that are *uiltinto the tools that 'e use-

)o per orm ormal operations on cultural materials i-e- to shape themeaning o an image, te/t, or *ody o in ormation *y implementing preciselydescri*ed de+ices strategies techni5ues-

)o e/plore the interconnected languages o print, typography, ilm,animation, interaction design, and architecture-

)o articulate a set o conceptual tools- Although our students are *ecomingadept at understanding conceptual thinking rom a cultural point o +ie',they o ten do not understand ho' to *uild a concept a*stractly or e/ample,ho' to manipulate scale, contrast, timing se5uence, editing <in *oth the

ilmic and literary senses=, hierarchy, grids, systems, and so on-

)o *etter understand ho' so t'are *oth ena*les and limits 'hat 'e do-

• )o identi y <and produce= rele+ant theoretical te/ts to in orm contemporarydesign practice-

Logistics

Maryland Institute College o Art <MICA= seeks to co2pu*lish the *ook 'ithPrinceton Architectural Press- .e seek a partnership analogous to 'hat 'ede+eloped or the title 0.6.7.- 0esign 6t 7ourself 8 ho'e+er, 'e 'ould like to

ormali9e the school7s role *y listing MICA as co2pu*lisher 'ith PAP on thetitle page and *ack co+er-

MICA 'ill *e responsi*le or de+eloping all content and designing andproducing the *ook8 PAP 'ill *e responsi*le or editing pages in layout orm8and producing, distri*uting, and promoting the *ook-

All ees and royalties 'ill *e paid to MICA, to support programs andopportunities or our graduate students-

)he *ook 'ill *e authored *y Ellen Lupton, 'ith contri*utions *y aculty andstudents rom MICA and other schools-



Table of contents

# % pages" color throughoutJ / K- inches

Foreword 5hy this boo( now8 )he *ook *egins 'ith a one2page statement de ining its goals and intendedaudiences-

Introduction 9istorical overview )he opening essay 'ill talk a*out the structural tradition in graphic design,

rom the Bauhaus to the present situation-

Essay Theories of visual languageA second essay 'ill present theoretical ideas rele+ant to the contemporarypractice, dra'n rom theories o deconstruction, ne' media, architecture,and ilm

Principles and Problems

*onstraintsetting the limits o a design pro*lem

2oint, 3ine, 2lane)he meaning o marks8 the structure o sur aces

Figure:ground Positi+e and negati+e space

ScaleMaking meaning *y changing si9e8 scala*ility and distortion

*ropping and framingBorders and edges8 'indo's and *o/es

*olor Di erent systems and ho' to use them

9ierarchyystems o di erence

3ayering)he physical metaphor *ehind digital space



Transparency )he phenomenal metaphor *ehind digital space

/rids?rgani9ing space and time

2attern geometries)he grammar o ornament

2an, tilt, trac(, ;umpCamera mo+es and the graphic image

4rtificial lifeDesigning systems that design themsel+es

2utting it all together Ad+anced pro*lems in *asic design



The Basic esign literature

)he ollo'ing te/ts make up the conte/t in 'hich /raphic 0esign- Structureand E)periment 'ill *e pu*lished-

!ompeting works

Carter, Ho* and Ben Day and Phillip Meggs- Typographic 0esign- Form and *ommunication -.iley, #$$#- First pu*lished 34K - )his te/t*ook o design <emphasi9ing typography= ispresented rom a modernist point o +ie'- It is a classic 'ork 'ith continued rele+ance- Itincludes a compilation o design pro*lems gathered rom educators around the 'orld, 'ithe/amples o student 'ork8 included are 0*asic theoretical e/ercises1 and applied pro*lems-Ama9on ranking on !uly 3, #$$ 3,"J4-

Graham, Lisa- <asics of 0esign- 3ayout and Typography for <eginners - )homson DelmarLearning, #$$3- Aimed at *eginners and amateurs, this *ook does not aim to lay a critical ortheoretical oundation8 the emphasis is on applying design principles to practical situationssuch as *usiness cards and a/ co+er sheets- Ama9on ranking on !uly 3, #$$ 3K,#4$-

@oren, Leonard and H- .ippo Meckler- The /raphic 0esign *oo(boo(- 1i) and 1atch =ecipesfor Faster, <etter 3ayouts - an Francisco Chronicle Books, 34K4, #$$3- )his *ook ser+es as a+isual guide <'ith +ery little te/t= to prototypical or schematic layouts, sho'n not leshed out'ith actual content *ut as 'ire rame diagrams- According to its authors, the *oo(boo( 0o ersand stimulating and economical route through hundreds o archetypal graphic design de+ices,thinking styles, and spatial solutions-1 )he *oo(boo( 'as greeted as a ne' kind o design*ook 'hen it 'as irst issued in 34K4- Ama9on ranking on !uly 3, #$$ 334,""%-

@rause, !im- 3ayout 6nde) - &orthlight Books, #$$3- Like @oren and Meckler7s /raphic 0esign*oo(boo( , this *ook o ers a primarily +isual o+er+ie' to hundreds o schematic layouts- It is

rom a popular series o small2scale hand*ooks <%/ inches= 'ith distincti+e plastic co+ers-)he ethos o the *ook is all a*out practicality and 5uick solutions- Ama9on ranking on !uly 3,#$$ 3",#$"-

Landa, Ho*in- /raphic 0esign Solutions, $E - ?n.ord Press, #$$$- )his general introduction,concei+ed as a step2*y2step ho'2to *ook- ocuses on applied communication- Ama9on rankingon !uly 3, #$$ % ,$$J- Hesnick, Eli9a*eth- 0esign for *ommunication- *onceptual /raphic 0esign <asics - .iley#$$ - )his *ook is a compilation o graphic design assignments contri*uted rom designeducators around the - - )he *ook is attracti+e *ecause it o ers a +ariety o points o +ie'rather than a single philosophy8 this strength may also *e one o the *ook7s 'eaknesses, inthat it re5uires a teacher or student to pick and choose among methodologies- )he *ook isillustrated 'ith many e/amples o student 'ork, primarily in *lack and 'hite- Ama9on rankingon !uly 3, #$$ #K,%K3-

.hite, Ale/- The Elements of /raphic 0esign- Space, >nity, 2age 4rchitecture, and Type -

All'orth Press, #$$#- )his *ook is handy in si9e and packed 'ith in ormation and anecdote-6is principle argument concerns the use o 'hite space on the printed page8 emphasis is onpractical application o graphic design- )he *ook itsel is a rather unlo+ely e/ample o graphicdesign- Ama9on ranking on !uly 3, #$$ 3,K#$-

.ilde, Hichard and !udith- isual 3iteracy- 4 *onceptual 4pproach to /raphic 2roblem?Solving -

.atson2Guptill, #$$ - )his *ook is *ased on the authors7 o'n teaching, 'ith e/amples ostudent 'ork- .ritten in the tradition o 0*ig idea1 design, the emphasis is on de+elopingcontent2*ased concepts or applied communication as opposed to *asic ormal principles oranalysis- Ama9on ranking on !uly 3, #$$ J,"" -



.illiams, Ho*in- The @on?0esigners 0esign <oo( - Peachpit Press, #$$ - )his *ook alls intothe 0design or dummies1 category, speaking to its audience in a chatty, condescending 'ay-Book is geared e/clusi+ely to'ards applied pro*lems rather than e/perimental thinking- hepresents our 0*asic principles 1 contrast, repetition, alignment, and pro/imity- A nice thingtechni5ue in the *ook is to sho' poorly and e ecti+ely organi9ed e/amples o the samein ormation un ortunately, the 0good1 e/amples are almost as *ad as the *ad ones- Althoughthis *ook is +ery success ul, it is not a high25uality 'ork- Ama9on ranking on !uly 3, #$$3, 3J-

"istoric works

Arnheim, Hudol - 4rt and isual 2erception - Berkeley ni+ersity o Cali ornia Press, 34 "8re+ised 34J"- )his is the classic 'ork applying principles o Gestalt psychology to art anddesign, arguing or the uni+ersal perceptual *asis *ehind +isual communication-

Booth2Cli**orn, Ed'ard and Daniele Baroni- The 3anguage of /raphics - &e' (ork 6arry &-A*rams, 34J4- )his lush compendium uses inspiring e/amples o commercial graphic design toillustrate design principles- )he ocus is cultural conceptual rather than ormal8 the *ook is not

a modernist mani esto *ut a post2modernist anthology that dra's on 'ildly eclectic sources-)he *ook ocuses on messages rather than media-

Dondis, Donis- 4 2rimer of isual 3iteracy - Cam*ridge MI) Press, 34J - )his *ook usesprinciples rom Gestalt psychology as 'ell as the Bauhaus idea o geometric analysis <pointand line to plane= to promote the idea o 0+isual literacy,1 or the understanding o a*stract

ormal principles *ehind the construction o images-

D'iggins, .- A- 3ayout in 4dvertising - &e' (ork 6arper and Brothers, 34#K- )his Americanguide to modern ad+ertising 'as pu*lished the same year as !an )schichold7s amourmani esto, The @ew Typography - D'iggins 'as America7s master typographer, 'hose 'ork'as in ormed *y tradition and pragmatics rather than *y ideology or progressi+ism- )he *ookis not arranged according to a theory o +isual language, *ut according to practical designgenres-

Garland, @en- /raphics 9andboo( - &e' (ork Heinhold, 34%%- )his *rilliant *ook 'as 'ritten*y a British designer kno'n as one o the critical thinkers o his day, a modernist 'ho 'as+ery much committed to the social li e o design- ections on 0Concept and use o net'orks1anticipates the 'ork o Christopher Ale/ander <0A City Is &ot a )ree1=, and 'ould *e use ul toe/plore in our proposed *ook- Also use ul are the sections on photography and typographicconstraints-

Franciscono, Marcel- 5alter /ropius and the *reation of the <auhaus - r*ana ni+ersity oIllinois Press, 34J3- )his is the most comprehensi+e historical account in English o Bauhauspedagogy-

6o mann, Armin- /raphic 0esign 1anual- 2rinciples and 2ractice - &e' (ork Heinhold, 34%%-6o mann is one o the great 'iss design educators, 'ho in luenced generations o designers

and design teachers- )his *ook documents his pedagogical method, 'hich stems or ananalysis o the *asic elements o design <point, line, plane, te/ture, and so on=, and claimsthat +isual orms ha+e an innate a*ility to trigger an emotional response-

6url*urt, Allen- 3ayout- The 0esign of the 2rinted 2age - &e' (ork .atson2Guptill, 34JJ-6url*urt 'as an American maga9ine and ne'spaper designer, 'ho applied rational designsystems 'ithin the pragmatic en+ironment o American media- )his intelligent *ook is no mereguide to layout, *ut a rich o+er+ie' o *asic design, illustrated throughout 'ith e/amples opu*lished <not student= 'ork- Co+ers o*+ious areas such as *alance, contrast, andsymmetry asymmetry, as 'ell as grids and Gestalt psychology-



@andinsky, .assily- 2oint and 3ine to 2lane - &e' (ork Do+er, 34J4- )his classic 'ork, irstpu*lished *y the Bauhaus in 34#%, descri*es the construction o an image rom point to line toplane- 6is *ook descri*ed the graphical +oca*ulary o pictures as the *asis o a uni+ersalscript, not *ound to the con+entions o language and con+ention *ut communicating directly tothe eye-

@epes, Gyorgy- 3anguage of ision - Chicago Paul )heo*old, 34"", 34"J- @epes taught at the&e' Bauhaus in Chicago and later at MI)- )his classic 'ork applies ideas rom Gestaltpsychology to the construction o images, arguing or the *asis o a uni+ersal 0language o+ision-1

Gerstner, @arl- 0esigining 2rogrammes - Nurich ABC erlag, 34% - )his classic mani esto o'iss modernism argues that a set o rules can unction or a designer as a decision2making

machine that su*mits a +ast series o choices to the designer7s inal act o >udgment;theprocess is rational, *ut only until this decisi+e moment o personal intuition-

@lee, Paul- 2edagogical S(etchboo( - London Fa*er and Fa*er, 34 - )his classic 'ork *y theBauhaus instructor and great modern painter is a poetic +isual guide to the 0language o+ision-1 @lee taught Basic Form at the Bauhaus a ter 34#"- )his 'ork, together 'ith@andinksy7s 2oint and 3ine to 2lane , in luenced all su*se5uent te/t*ooks that analy9e graphic

orm as a progression o geometric elements- )he *ook 'as originally pu*lished *y theBauhaus in 34# -

Moholy2&agy, Las9lo- ision in 1otion - Chicago Paul )heo*old, 34"J, 34%4- Moholy2&agytaught at the Bauhaus *eginning in 34# , and ounded the &e' Bauhaus in Chicago in 34 J-)his *ook presents ideas he de+eloped at the &e' Bauhaus, 'here Gestalt psychology 'asapplied to image2making and the relationship *et'een ne' technologies and the a*stractimage 'ere acti+ely e/plored-

Huder, Emil- Typography - &e' (ork 6astings 6ouse, 34J3- )his classic mani esto o 'issdesign and typography promotes the systematic analysis o orm and presents classictypographic pro*lems that issue rom settting constraints on a pro*lem-

.eingart, .ol gang- 06o' Can ?ne Make 'iss )ypography 1 Octavo KJ-" <34KJ=- .eingart*egan teaching at the Basel chool o Design <'ith his ormer pro essor Armin 6o mann= in34%K- 6e turned the rational systems o 'iss typography to'ards e/pressi+e ande/perimental means-

basic designing theory

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