Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Design As Art Practice or Social Science - Design Issues-Vol. V, Number 1 Fall 1988 - Frascara
Design As Art Practice or Social Science - Design Issues-Vol. V, Number 1 Fall 1988 - Frascara
Fig. 1) Symbols for safety, an area left Toward a theoretical backbone for graphic design
aside when graphic design is only
viewed as an esthetic activity.
Graphic design has existed long enough for its role in society to be
easily understood. However, unlike architecture, literature, or the
fine arts, it has developed without much theoretical reflection. It
has evolved into a sophisticated practice in a piecemeal fashion,
with scattered efforts aimed at the development of subareas, such
as posters or books, but without either the critical apparatus in
literature or the discussion present in architecture.
The aspect of graphic design that has attracted some discussion
is visual style. But this discussion of style has several flaws:
* It overemphasizes the importance of the visual structure
within an esthetic context.
* It omits problems of appropriateness.
* It leaves out certain areasof graphic design, such as signage,
forms, timetables, maps, and educational material (Figs. 1, 2,
human factors has been shown to
3).
designers trained
designers in art
trained in art schools
schools had
had * It omits the importance of ideas in the communication
not achieved before applied
psychologists took the lead. A user- process, not distinguishing between visual creation and
performance-based approach where the visual manipulation.
analysis of the communication process * It avoids problems of performance related to visual per-
is at the
is at center.
the center.
ception.
* It omits problems related to the impact that graphic
ested, it has proved to ot
perform communication has on the public's attitudes and ideas.
These flaws have led to several distortions, the most important
ylearningtool. brought about by the praise of modern avant-garde typography.
How long will the praise of El Lissitzky continue? True, he made a
strong impact on a few typographic designers whose work in
graphic design was closely related to the practice of art and looked
Fig. 3) Design beyond esthetics:
alphabet for the learning disabled by J.
very similar to their paintings or the paintings of avant-garde
Frascara and
Frascara and T.
T. M.
M. Nelson.
Nelson. Widely
Widely artists of the time. However, was Lissitzky's contribution really
tested, it has proved to out perform
other initial
other initial reading alphabets as
reading alphabets as a
positive? His visual languagewas tremendously abstract (Fig. 4), as
learning tool. inappropriate to mass communication as Schwitters's graphics
18
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Fig. 4) El Lissitzky, Of Two Squares,
1920. Abstract language directed at
children.
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20
Fig. 9) Joan Miro:GalerieMaeght.
Anotherexampleof appropriateness
of style. GALE
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typographic design that combined Prl . I ,
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esthetics with a strong concern for
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the organization of information.
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24
concerned with other elements in the performanceof their
designs:namely,sales.At least as farbackas the 1950s,it became
clearthat clients'accountsdependedon clients'successand that
advertisingdesign was a contributingfactor to the successof a
business.The concernfor salesandpersuasionin the advertising
field led to the constitution of multidisciplinaryteamsof mana-
gers, writers, sociologists, psychologists, and designers who
contributedto the establishmentof marketingasanindispensable
componentof the advertisingfield.
Although understandingthe importanceof changesin public
attitudes as a consequenceof design has so far been limited to
advertising,a closerlook at the wholefieldof graphicdesignmight
suggestthat specificchangesin attitudesandconductare,indeed,
the finalaimof graphicdesignin most areas.It hasbeensaidmany
times that the designeris a problem solver of visual communi-
cationsandof clients'needs.But thesolutionto a client'sneedisnot
theproductionof thevisualcommunication; it is themodificationof
people's attitudes or abilitiesin one way another.This modifi-
or
cationcanbe a change,asin switchingfromoneproductto another
or in quittingsmoking;a reinforcement, asin the caseof exercising
more,givingmoremoneyto charities,or drinkingmoremilk;or a
facilitation,as in the caseof reducingthe complexityof reading,
operatinga machine,or orientingoneselfin a new place.
The quality of the designsproducedin relationto the above
exampleswill be determinedby the numberof peoplewho switch
to the desiredproduct,who quit smoking,and so forth. Clarity
and beautydo not necessarilydetermineobjectiveachievement,
whereasthey usuallycontributeto success.If graphicdesigners
wish to be recognizedas problemsolvers,it is indispensablethat
they concernthemselveswith the resultsof theirworkmeasured
by achievementof the objectivesthat generatedthe need for the
productionof the visualcommunicationin question.
I amnot advocatingthe demiseof esthetics.Estheticappropri-
ateness and quality are certainly of high importance,both as
factors that affect performanceand as responsibilitiesdesigners
haveto the community.Mypropositionis to placethe conceptof
qualityin context andto establishits relativity,aswellasto clarify
that the estheticqualityof a designdoes not determineits overall
quality.
This thesis has wide implicationsboth in termsof the practice
of the professionand of educationfor it. In the case of practice,
specialistsother than graphicdesignersarerequiredto interpret
public responses,to evaluatedesignperformance,and to advise
regardingappropriatemodificationof the communicationstra-
tegies when better resultsare desired.The experts requiredfor
this task mayvaryfromone professionalareato another,but, in
general,they should presumablycome from the fields of mar-
26
every area of professional practice. Advertising, information, illus-
tration, editorial, signage, and education design are areas that
demand different backgrounds,training, and aptitudes and require
both specialized instructors and motivated students for each.
Reducing the scope of a program to include only some of the
professional areaswould be admissible.A school might choose not
to deal with three-dimensionaldesign, that is, packaging, signage,
and exhibitions; another might concentrate on advertising,which
might be excluded by still another.
Whereas,makingthe above choices would be desirable,removing
any of the concerns that should be present in all graphicdesign work
would not be advisable.The teaching should represent all levels of
the activity, that is, the emotional and the rational, the communi-
cative, the technological, and the awarenessof the social context.
In most cases, emphasis has been placed on the visual aspect in
education. There has also been a focus on education as a process of
transmissionof information and the development of personal skills
and style. This trend has led to a reduction of the concerns
appropriateto graphicdesign.
In this context, an important distinction can be made between
undergraduateand graduate education in graphic design. Under-
graduate education must be centered on developing individual
student's skills; graduateeducation should do the same at a higher
and more conceptual level, while also contributing to the ad-
vancement of knowledge in the field.
Researchand advancementof knowledgein graphicdesignrequire
the support of senior educationalinstitutions. Professionalpractice
does not usually allow for research time, and, when research is
developed, practitioners do not share information with others.
Marketresearchin advertisingis very common, but it is case specific
and difficult to apply to different situations. Perception psycho-
logists develop basic and applied researchof wider application,but
many times psychological researchis so removed from reality that
placing its results in applied contexts requires additional research
efforts.
I am not supportingthe ideathat universitiesshould directlyserve
industry,but that those interestedin the advancementof knowledge
cannot expect from industryinquiriesother than those connected to
its immediatebenefit. It thereforefollows that visualcommunication
problems that relate to noncommercialhuman needs have only the
university as a resourcefor developing solutions. There is a need to
work on severalfronts:
* Reference centers where existing information can be stored
and retrieved should be developed.
* More information should be generatedthrough two kinds of
research activities: experimental, and critical discussion of
both present and past work.
28
takesplace.
My emphasison this aspect shifts the designer'scenter of
attention from the interrelationof visual componentsto that
betweenthe audienceand the design,recognizingthe receiveras
activeparticipantin the constructionof the message.It followsthat
decisionsrelatingto visualaspectsof the designshouldbe basednot
only on compositionalconcerns,but also,andchiefly,on the study
of humancommunication. This emphasison the receiverwithinthe
conventionalscheme of transmitter-receiveropposition places
visualcommunicationdesignoppositeto the romanticconception
of art as self-expression,thus avoiding one of the distorting
conceptionsof the profession.
Given the above, the time has come to understandthat the
educationdesignerscannotbe satisfiedbytheresourcesof traditional
art schools and that several branchesof psychology, verbal
communication, sociology,computingscience,marketing, andother
disciplinesshould be called to
upon develop in studentsthe required
awareness.This seems to be the only choice if a theoretical
understanding of graphicdesignis to developandif the fieldis to
take on the responsibilityfor the conceptionand productionof
effectiveandconscientiouscommunications andfortheeducationof
graphicdesigners.This specificoperationaldimensionmust be
qualifiedby a concernforprofessionalandsocialresponsibility that
includesethicsandesthetics.