For our second project we were asked to create a Specimen Screen for one of the thirty articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We must design this screen and present it in a way that fits the text appropriately.
After the tragedies of the First and Second World War, everyone around the globe agreed that something must be done. The UDHR is so important to humans as it protects their freedom and equality. Allowing individuals to live in dignity and safety.
Before making any designs I decided to do some research. I will be looking at Postmodernism.
Post modernism is a climate of cultural change. It challenges the order and clarity of modernism. It was the spirit of the decade. Post- modernism began in the early 1970’s, which impacted a wide range of concepts, it changed how we see things and changed how we live our lives. Postmodernism started during the 1970s, this type of design rejected traditional forms and idealism, used geometric shapes and vivid colour such as primary colours.
I found this to be very fascinating as this style broke any sort of “rules” there was in the industry, which did not please everyone. The style provided room for designers to express themselves and gave them freedom to go beyond the authority.
This movement effected everything and everyone, its most influenced genres were architecture, music, fashion, film and art. With the rise of post modernism, graphic design started to be introduced, other designers were influenced to take the approach of being bold.
April Gredman is a graphic designer who was taught by one of the most renowned designers of all time, Wolfgang Weingart. April liked to experiment with her designs, she used bold colour, obscure typography, layout and weights, she also used texture and liked to use 2D and 3D shapes to create dimension. Her use everything such as the images she uses may seem odd but I believe she captures post modernism very well.
Below is one of her most famous pieces of work which may seen all over the place and messy but her idea for this poster was just that. The post-modernism era was a reaction to modernism, which was very minimalist and simple, however post-modern art is to push the boundaries and make me uncomfortable as its beyond the “rules” of design.
Paula Scher is an American Graphic Designer, she is one of the most influential female designers on the 20th century. Scher is known for her bold use colour and layout. She likes to use typography and experiment in the range of fonts, weights, sizes and position of the text. She also likes to use unconventional spacing. One her most famous pieces of work is ‘Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk’ for the Public Theatre. The style of her designs are very much present with the post modern style. Below is the posters she designed.
