Figure. 1 Analyzing content

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on the subject of graphic design Saws.
point to the fact that this model of TT

writing stems from the fact that
“graphic design history is modeled
on the earliest approaches to art
history” (Wilkins, 2001). Conseq-
uently many of the historic sur-
veys that currently exist on graphic
design resemble art _ history
books in both form and analysis.
Arguably this limits the scope
of analysis in design as it tends
to follow a linear path marked by
stages of design’s own history
thereby isolating it from the =
social and political context. As Stephen J. Eskilson says in
Graphic Design: A New History: “It is my belief that graphic
design history has too often been presented through a parade
of styles and individual achievements devoid of social con-
(Ekilson, 2007). The challenge for this project was to
take the same information provided in other design books

text”

and remodel it in way that established a new path through the
subject’s history and provided a context that looks outside of
design itself.

Analyzing Content// As aspiring designers, it was initially difficult
to look at images from all of design’s greats and see beyond the
compositions, colours and typographic choices. However, reading
through the text generated collectively by our classes revealed the
social and political landscapes in which the pieces were produced.
This also facilitated a more relational view of the images (Fig. 1). It
became apparent that the images marked not just distinct points
in design history but moreover that they represented a kind of
visual social history. With this new found perspective, the images
began to reveal both the good and bad side of design as well as
the good and bad side of human history. This was to become the
catalyst for an extensive ideation process.

Figure 2. Analyzing form and prototyping

In this project there was not
the scope for an exhaustive
anthology of either human cul-
ture or design. Constraints and
boundaries within the ideation
process were important in deci-
ding content and images while
presenting them in a way that
adequately revealed their relati-
onship.

Relating Content to Users: An
Engagement//
tial research into precedents

Emotional Ini-

4

and content analysis promoted
a more critical view of design. This was to be the area of focus
while relating content to users. In the search for universal para-
digms on which to peg design history, an effort was made to look
for concepts which would afford a critical lens. Although there
was not enough time to conduct extensive primary research or
user surveys, a large portion of the ideation process was focused
on identifying the possible preconceptions of non-specialists. One
of the key issues discussed was the fact that design is perceived
by the general public as a primarily commercial and/or artistic
practice. Therefore, a secondary goal became to challenge this per-
ception by showing the variety of roles and social functions design
has played.

The framework chosen to explore the history of graphic design
was something personal but universal: human emotion. In order
to show the “design in humanity” and the “humanity in design”
it seemed pertinent to show both its good and bad sides (Gerber,
2007). As an example, propaganda can be employed as a weapon
for a despotic regime or to promote cultural values for the com-
mon good. This concept developed into grouping images into two
typically polar opposites of human emotion: pleasure and pain.

BRANDING + IDENTITY 13