Illustrator, designer and typographer Alex Trochut creates art for some of the world’s best-known brands including Coca-Cola, Nike and the New York Times. Working between Barcelona and Brooklyn, Trochut is…
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Exploring the graphic expertise and vision behind Communist-era posters
The ideological imagery from the height of Communist rule in central and Eastern Europe has become a familiar motif in the west in the decades since its fall. From the illustrations of bourgeois fat cats to the classic “Niet” posters depicting a stern and handsome man refusing alcohol, the political and cultural lines drawn by these materials are clear. What is less recognized on this side of the former Iron Curtain is the technical ability and graphic skill that went into composing posters representing the industrious superiority of the former Communist empire.
Edited by Stefania Carla Duschka and Ciprian Isac of the creative Romanian publishing house Atelierul de Grafica, “Iron Curtain Graphics” explores the graphic qualities and composition of Communist-era posters from Romania, ranging from political propaganda to workplace safety warnings. Looking beyond the geo-political and social purpose of these images, the book gives some insight into the skill, thought and beauty of imagery that is, as the book’s subtitle states, “Eastern European Design Created Without Computers”.
While graphically stunning, many of the book’s images represent Communist ideals without humor or irony, raising the question of artistic value versus technical skill and messaging. The posters cover a dynamic range of topics, in propaganda images that clearly resemble those popularized in modern media and that can be found at trinket stores throughout the former Communist states.
The section on Labor Safety offers a unique look at imagery that was created for completely utilitarian purposes but is composed at the same level as those used to promote core political and social ideas, drawing fascinating parallels between the advanced graphics employed for propaganda and mundane instructions and warnings alike.
The comprehensive collection presented in “Iron Curtain Graphics” is a crucial read for anyone interested in the culture, design and politics of that time period. The bold representation of strength, industry and the symbiotic relationship between man and machine—the depiction of the perfect working mechanism—juxtaposed with highly stylized graphics to inform about safety offers a truly unique vision of the scope of graphic design before the fall of the Berlin wall.
“Iron Curtain Graphics” is available through Gestalten and Amazon.
The most influential concepts in the history of the industry
In the new chronologically ordered book “100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design“, Steven Heller and Véronique Vienne explore the most important moments in an industry they themselves helped to define. Part of publisher Laurence King‘s popular “100 Ideas” series, the combination of symbols, techniques, archetypes, tropes and trends represents some of the major creative explosions that continue to inspire an array of visual mediums today. The scope is broad but intelligently refined, connecting all aspects of graphic design, from the age-old technique of text ornamentation to the relatively nascent appearance of pixelated images and digital type.
Heller, winner of the prestigious AIGA medal and former New York Times art director for 33 years, continues to write the “Visuals” column for the paper’s Book Review, as well as The Daily Heller for Imprint magazine. Vienne also comes from an art direction background and has published a number of books on the subject of graphic design. They draw enlightening and occasionally surprising connections, their observations identifying hidden meanings that inform images, such as the sun ray-inspired Mickey Mouse graphic created for his 80th birthday, which is actually a riff on Maoist propaganda posters.
Analyzing the use of the human body in design, the book regards the pointed finger, the clenched fist and the provocative pose as the most iconic corporeal representations from the past century. While corporate and political influences remain the most common originators of new ideas in design, there are a fair amount of underground sources that influenced the field, such as the cut-out ransom note, which was first discovered by a careless printing staff in the 19th century.
Also accounted for are specific design topics like asymmetry, color blocks and the graphic artist’s never-ending battle with forming the perfectly proportioned rectangle. The duo tackle each idea by breaking down not only how it influences visual communication, but also how it came about, whether through advances in technology or new layout restrictions.
A complete overview of the field, the book’s clean layout—including a cover designed by Pentagram’s Angus Hyland—and wealth of historical context lend insight that is as interesting for designers as it is for any art enthusiast.
Pick up the book from Laurence King or Amazon, and see more images from within its pages in the slideshow below.
Our new font designed by Miles Newlyn
Sponsored content:
We are well underway on a redesign of Cool Hunting that will bring you an extraordinary new interface to even further elevate the quality of the original content we create. Among the various components of this project is a custom display font for our titles and subtitles designed by world renowned British typographer, Miles Newlyn. As part of Diet Coke’s just-launched Shift-X campaign, we’re excited to not only preview this font for you now, but also make it freely available for you to download and use. If you’re reading this on our web page, just press Shift-X on your keyboard right now to get the package (if you’re reading this via RSS or in our iPad app, head over to coolhunting.com in a browser on your Mac or PC before pressing Shift-X).
CH ExtraOrd, as our font has been named, is an evolution of Newlyn’s Rubrik which was designed to “describe a softer and more natural use of technology, and was inspired by the helpful feel of a manual typewriter.” His challenge, to create a typeface that is distinctive without overpowering our content, resulted in a rounding off of the lowercase forms and strengthening of the uppercase ones.
This promotion will run until 18 December 2011 so be sure to Shift-X before then. In addition to CH ExtraOrd your download will include Can-Can, Fizzicist, Ice Machine and Sparkl—a set of Diet Coke inspired fonts. Keep an eye on @DietCokeUS and #shiftx for more hidden gems.
A prolific artist channels global communities and Eastern philosophy
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Brooklyn-based visual artist and musician Hisham Bharoocha blurs the boundaries of artistic medium, creating multi-sensory anthems that deftly move between a daydream quality of images and sound. The skateboarding scenes in LA and San Diego instilled an interwoven sense of creativity and community in Bharoocha at an early age and, melding seemingly divergent influences of punk rock aesthetics with the prevalence of his mother’s homespun folk art, Bharoocha pursued a burgeoning interest in visual art. After attending high school in Tokyo, Bharoocha enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), which introduced Bharoocha to what he fondly refers to as, “a really good balance of kids who made interesting visual work and people who played music.”
While studying photography and video, Bharoocha’s compositional experimentation took a new direction as the inducted drummer of Black Dice, a progressive noisecore ensemble. Inspired by flyers accumulated from years of touring and the art of fellow bandmate, Bjorn Copeland, Bharoocha started to explore the artistry of collage. His art pairs psychedelic imagery with naturalistic elements, assuming an otherworldly quality with undertones of hyperreality that has garnished exhibitions ranging from D’Amelio Terras gallery in New York, to Vleeshal, a state-run space in the Netherlands.
Originally influenced by ’60s street photography, Bharoocha later began documenting nature to contrast the predominance of living in urban environments. Bharoocha explains, “As a person who grew up mostly in big cities like Tokyo and New York I was always seeing nature as something that felt displaced in urban environments. I now see it as an escape where people have to leave technology behind and I love the way people seem relaxed in nature when they are away from the devices that usually cling by their side.”
Informed by his consciousness of space, Bharoocha worked with multi-media artist Doug Aitken to create an atmospheric backdrop to cinematic art installation, Sleepwalkers. Aitken’s Sleepwalkers, projected on eight exterior walls of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, visually interconnects the tale of five New Yorkers over the span of one night. Bharoocha, along with an assembly of other percussionists, provided rhymthmic ambience, drummed out on a customized “sonic table” designed by Aitken known as the K-N-O-C-K-O-U-T. Frequent collaborators Bharoocha and Aitken have fortified a relationship that reflects Bharoocha’s dedicated commitment to the arts. “I’m all about growing the creative community to expand in as many directions as possible,” explains Bharoocha.
Bharoocha continues to expand his work, connecting with Japanese avant-garde group the Boredoms. Inspired by the concept of 77 drummers, Bharoocha and the Boredoms organized a free concert event entitled 77 Boadrum held in Brooklyn to coincide with 7 July 2007. The popularity of the event prompted an encore, entitled 88 Boadrum, facilitated by Bharoocha as musical director, held on 8 August 2008 at the La Brea Tar Pits in LA.
Bharoocha has forged a spiritual relationship between drums and technology with stylings that range from the intensifying surge of his early musical inceptions, Lightning Bolt and Black Dice, to the aural atmosphere of his current project, Soft Circle (with a new release due early next year). Underlying Bharoocha’s musical and artistic work is the meditative philosophy of Vispassana; an introspection that has clearly driven Bharoocha’s diverse talents and communal spirit. Bharoocha muses, “I’m fascinated by the fact that we are all born with a certain path paved for us and depending on the choices we make along the way our lives change and differ drastically. I am fascinated by life and all its avenues.”
Bharoocha and The Boredooms will be performing in Kyoto, Japan at Kyoto at Seika University on 2 November. The Boadrum events continue with the 111 Boadrum event held at Byron Bay Australia on 11 November 11 2011. Bharoocha has also developed a eyewear line entitled “Phosphorescence” through the Phos Project.
This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien.
New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.
Graphic artists modify imagery of the metropolis
Following an event in Hanoi earlier this year, Tiger Beer brought its free art and music series, Tiger Translate, to Beijing. The most recent installment brought together artists from East and West to collaborate on the theme of the metropolis. This time around, however, Tiger Translate tweaked the creative process and came up with “Double Vision,” for which four artists were each given photographs of Beijing to overlay with their graphic designs live during the Tiger Translate showdown.
Michael Paul Young, Mojoko, Marcie Liu and Shadow Chen worked alone and in teams to apply their signature designs to shots of the city’s iconic skyscrapers, landmarks and everyday street scenes. The results were wildly diverse, with some works exuding a comic book feel and others taking inspiration by the free form and colors of street art.
While the artists did get to preview the photos, they had to design on the fly, cut-and-paste-style. Each round lasted 20-30 minutes and audience members could watch the whole process go down on big screens. In all, almost a half-dozen images were produced for the event.
Tiger Translate’s next events will be in Manila on 18 November and Sydney on 23 November 2011. To see more images, check out the slideshow below.
Asia’s first-ever homage to Dieter Rams’ core beliefs by ten graphic designers
Commandments as legendary as the man who created them, Dieter Rams’ ten principles of “good design” provide an essential guide for any creative seeking to produce high-quality work. In an effort to visualize the enduring concepts beyond the many products inspired by them, Singapore-based studio Anonymous asked ten graphic designers each to transform one of the tenets into an expressive poster, interpreting the fundamentals of Rams’ thoughts on design, from minimalism to innovation, in one concise collection.
Dubbed “plusminusten,” the exhibition itself embodies Rams’ philosophy on effective design, with a simple presentation that makes its purpose clear. The clean aesthetic creates an attractive space with an unobtrusive ambiance that allows visitors to contemplate the works without a forced point of view. Curator Felix Ng also emphasizes the principle that “good design is thorough, down to the last detail” by tapping Singapore’s cult music producer Nick Chan (the brains behind experimental group Muon) to create a soundtrack purposely for the exhibition.
Much homage has been paid to the industrial designer’s seminal set of beliefs, such as Bibliotheque‘s poster for Vitsoe or Inksie‘s essay project, but the Anonymous-led exhibition is the first-ever tribute in Asia. Included in the momentous display are graphic designers Edwin Tan, Abdul Basit Khan, Aen Tan, B.A.L.L.S., Daniel Koh, Hanson Ho
Jonathan Yuen, Larry Peh, Roy Poh and Yong, who each offer a distinct perspective on what it means to be true to his craft.
“Plusminusten” is on view at The Gallery (Old School) from the 11-24 November 2011, where you can snag one of 50 lithographic prints or 250 box sets.
Photographs by Caleb Ming
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
