1. Long Live Modernism by Massimo Vignelli
-Improve design of everything to make it better, designing its integrity of purpose, materials, and the manufacturing process.

-Sifting through a range of solutions to find the perfect one that fits this specific problem

-Modernism is the search for truth, the search for an enrichment of the mind and the movement away from commercialization and exploitation. The ideal of a Utopian world is what originally back this movement, and though unrealistic, the idea of having a timeless value is what influences individuals.

I thought this article reflected a value that the next two articles seem to have overlooked. Having a timeless quality to work is always important, no matter what the current design fab may be. Also, really focusing on a perfect solution that solves the problem is something that everyone can understand.


2. RETHINKING MODERNISM, REVISING FUNCTIONALISM

-During her undergraduate she worked toward and Industrial Design degree and was inspired by form follows function. Conceptualizing design solutions until you had an 'ah ha' moment was the focus. After graduation, her job lead her to Swiss design and the discipline of the clean, clear grid. She embraced this style and ran with it using it over and over for a few years. However, this style was eventually replaced by a more modern look, the New Wave. No matter what her style, functionalism was the base of every process, including the analysis of the audience and the message.

This concept of functionalism being the bass of every project is instilled in us from day one of freshmen year. No matter what the style or project, it is meeting the needs of the client and the functionality of the product are the greatest concerns. Once idenified, the creative process, or form, begins.


3. On Overcoming Modernism by Lorraine Wild
-As we move away and experiment outside of the principles of Modernism, there is a struggle to identify the basic principles and rules that graphic design stands on. Describing what 'good' design is becomes a difficult question.

-"'Design is communication'. 'Design is problem solving'. One hears these clichés repeated endlessly, the mantra of the graphic designers stuck in the denial and anger phases of mourning for a time when we thought that the values by which we lived and defined ourselves made sense in the larger world."

-We need to detach the notion of functionalism from Modernism, for it is solved by a series of actions, not by a movement.

-The current technology has disrupted the basic identity of graphic design because all the process, type, layout, form, and print, are merged into one.

-Availability of products has allowed anyone to practice graphic design, creating a shift in curriculum. This makes designers nervous because clients may not have the need to hire a designer if they can find a suitable solution with stock images or a team member who is familiar with design programs. Furthermore, the public criticism of design is always a point of dispute


This was my favorite article because it talked about a lot of issues that we have addressed. First, it became evident in Type I during our presentations on different time periods and their influences, that our current era did not have a defined 'look'. This could be due to several reasons, many of which were mentioned in this article. With the availability of design programs reaching almost everyone, there are now more designers than there have been in history. With this and the shift from Modernism comes the confusion of what 'good' design is. With these issues, especially the availability, continuing in the future, I thought the following quote put a bright outlook on the future and makes it less scary to work in this changing time.

"The inability to describe a set of universal formal guidelines for 'good' graphic design should not be seen as a handicap (even if it often feels like one). This condition offers us a 'window of opportunity' in which we may be able to address some of those other issues."