OUGD401 - Draft Essay 1

OUGD401 - Draft Essay 1

Editorial Design: Where Has it Been and Where is it Going?

Editorial design is a graphic design discipline focused on the creation and production of books, magazines, newspapers and any other publication. As a discipline, the core elements of design that it focuses on are layout, composition and the relationship between typography and imagery. 

While the earliest examples of editorial design can be traced all the way back to medieval illuminated manuscripts, one of the most significant events of editorial design was in 1450, when Johannes Gutenberg introduced the moveable type printing press to the world. Cramsie (2010) highlights how although Gutenberg did not invent printing nor moveable type, by employing the use of previously unrelated technologies, he refined printing type as a system and this increase in efficiency proved historic in the development of visual communication - 'With Gutenberg's inaugural pull of the press, newly printed texts cut right across this literacy hierarchy. The quantity and variety of newly printed material soon allowed readers to choose their own reading matter and then interpret it as they wished.'

Over time these technologies were refined and as graphic design developed as a profession, it was only until the late 19th century and the start of the 20th century that the next notable breakthroughs can be seen in editorial design.

Designers, artists, architects and creatives alike started visually pushing the boundaries of the pre-existing social and academic normalities seen in publication design. Art movements such as constructivism, futurism and de stijl started heavily influencing design, for example, Russian designer El Lissitzky's 'masterpiece of modern technology' - Mayakovsky's 'Dlya Golosa' in 1923 - responds to these movements by utilizing asymmetry, simple geometric shapes, negative space and a limited red colour palette. This seminal publication by the two Russian creatives exemplifies the idea that the visual expression of the poetry should appropriately represent but also enhance the reading experience, a sentiment shared by Meggs (2016) 'The title spread for each poem is constructed into a dynamic visual composition, with geometric elements having symbolic meaning.'

As the 20th century progressed, editorial design very much contextually reflected social, political and cultural events such as both of the world wars. However, heavily influential design trends and movements did emerge, one of the most important being the Swiss Design movement. This ordered and rational approach to design, led by designers such as Josef Müller-Brockman originated in Switzerland and employed the use of grids, sans serif typography and asymmetrical layouts. Herbert Matter was one designer in this movement who applied these processes to editorial design with great success; combining photomontage, typography and photography to create dynamic and stylish posters and magazine spreads. Examples of this can be seen in his work for the Swiss Tourist Board.

Editorial design become increasingly more experimental post war from the 1950's in western culture. American designers such as Bradbury Thompson pushed the boundaries of typography and layout. In his art, design and architecture publication - 'Westvaco Inspirations' - Thompson utilizes typographical letterforms as a key component in layouts, printing bold sans serif letterforms in vibrant 'CMYK' colours. 

In the latter half of the 20th century, cultural influences such as music, fashion and art had a big impact on editorial design, creating niche styles to directly appeal to specific target audiences and to visually communicate different styles and genres of music. This can be seen in the psychedelic era of the 60's through designers such as Victor Moscoso and Milton Glaser. Tafoya, R C (2012) effectively analyses and summarises this visual style - 'The visual motifs of psychedelic art include Art Nouveau-inspired curvilinear shapes, illegible hand-drawn type, and intense optical colour vibration inspired by the pop art movement.' In the 70's, the punk scene in the UK is a perfect example of a creative subculture adapting its own style of design. This D.I.Y aesthetic was created by cheap means such as cut up newspaper headlines and stencils. Posters, magazines and album covers all adopted this style because it was so easy and affordable to replicate, and as a response to this popularity, Graphic Designers started creating bespoke versions of this style, British designer Jamie Reid did just this when designing posters, logotypes and album covers for the Sex Pistols. 

In the mid 1990's, digital software become more advanced than ever and practical handicraft processes were substituted for graphics programs from companies like Apple and Adobe. This opened up an enormous range of possibilities for design and editorial design in relation to layout, typefaces and layering images. A lot of graphic designers experimented thoroughly with this new technology but the most noteworthy of them was David Carson. Directing publications such as 'Raygun' and 'Surfer', Carson created his signature 'grunge' design style; using typography and imagery in random and unpredictable layouts, bordering on abstraction, he created dynamic and incredibly expressive magazines and publications. While the illegibility and chaos of this style was questioned at first, it soon became incredibly sought after and admired, making Carson one of the biggest designers in the world, as he touches upon in his interview with Layers Magazine (2007) - 'It was [a] bit funny, maybe, that at Ray Gun some of the writers complained early that their articles were hard to read. But then by the 30th issue, the same writers would complain if they thought their articles were too easy to read!'

A number of authors have considered the transition of editorial design between printed and digital media. Foges, (1999), Randle, (2001) and Franchi & Rocca, (2016) have all commented upon the fact that editorial design is becoming increasingly more digital, however that doesn't make the production of printed media obsolete. For example; Foges imparts his opinion on this digital transition by saying - 'While it is true that the web is a unique medium, presenting problems that cannot be tackled in the same way as either print magazines or television, it is also demonstrably true that many of the lessons learnt in design for print, can, and should, make the transition to the digital interface'. Foges presents an insightful view on the topic here where he acknowledges the benefits of digital based media and fully accepts its increasing importance, however also states that everything up until that point in editorial design shouldn't be disregarded, more so applied to this new format. I think this is an important principle, because although the information is being presented on a screen and not paper, the same rules of design still apply.

Now, in the 21st century the digital age is in full force, design software becomes more refined by the day and the possibilities are practically limitless. While printing physical publications has not become obsolete, more and more publications are being presented in digital formats and applications. Magazines such as 'Dazed' and 'I-D' utilize digital software to create clean and sophisticated editorial work. In 2015, when young designer, Jamie Reid, assumed the role of Art Director at Dazed, he took the magazine in a completely new direction, with more focus on the printed publication, as he tells It's Nice That (2015) - 'Because Dazed has such a strong digital platform the structure of the mag had to change... You have to be clever now with print, and make sure what you’re producing is worth producing.' 

Bibliography

Cramsie, P (2010). The Story of Graphic Design. London: The British Library. p70-77.

Meggs, Philip B.. (2016). Graphic Design. Available: https://www.britannica.com/art/graphic-design. Last accessed 4th December 2017

Tafoya, R. (2012). Graphic Design History: Psychedelic 60's. Available: https://visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com/psychedelic-60s/. Last accessed 5th December 2017.

Gosling, E. (2015). “Everything has changed”: new Dazed art director Jamie Reid talks us through the mag’s redesign. Available: https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/dazed-magazine-redesign-jamie-reid. Last accessed 5th December 2017.

Westgate, A. (2007). An Interview with David Carson. Available: https://layersmagazine.com/an-interview-with-david-carson.html. Last accessed 5th December 2017.

Randle, Q. (2001). A Historical Overview of the Effects of New Mass Media Introductions on Magazine Publishing in the 20th Century. First Monday. 6

Foges, C (1999). Magazine Design. Sussex: Rotovision.

Franchi, F & Rocca, C (2016). Intelligent Lifestyle Magazine: smart editorial design, ideas and journalism. Berlin: Gestalten.