As I mentioned in yesterday's recap of the "Avant/Garde Diaries" launch event, Peter Saville related that the album art for Kraftwerk's 1974 LP Autobahn was the singular inspiration for his decision to pursue graphic design—a sound decision, considering that his artwork for the likes of Joy Division and New Order has perhaps eclipsed that of their krautrock predecessor. In fact, Autobahn was the first record that he bought with his own money—until that point in his teenage years, he simply borrowed tunes from his older brothers.
The überminimal design gave Saville his first taste of semiotics as an underlying issue in visual communication. To hear him tell it, the abstracted highway represents "time, history [and] travel" even as it resembles everything from a "power station [to a] cathedral." Saville also noted the ideograph's deeper meaning in terms of "history as well as space," where it has taken on a cultural significance in addition to its graphic one.
Any other graphic designers care to share their "Eureka" moments in the comments? (I'm personally a fan of Stanley Donwood's work for Radiohead...)
I'm quite enamored with some of Manasseh Langtimm's branding work. The Black Hand, a series of wine bottles based on the Italian extortion racket, would definitely stand out at a liquor store, with Frank Miller-esque graphics, retro newsprint fonts, embossing and beautiful detailing on the wax seals.Langtimm's proposal for the...
Eric Hu's astonishing 17-foot-tall poster tribute to 1960's architectural group Archigram is built on a custom typeface with elements of Archigram's body of work built on top. Although the final product is not immediately readable, this is perhaps intended to capture the way that buildings themselves are not completely "readable"...
Although we left him off of our list of six comic book cover artist/designers to watch out for, Belgian graphic designer Tom Muller is already a household name in the world of comic cover and logo design. His self-described design work that "mix[es] grid structure with Sci-fi-like style" is stunning...
From L to R: Steven Heller, Bonnie Siegler, Arem Duplessis, Paula Scher, Mark RandallFrom L to R: Steven Heller, Bonnie Siegler, Arem Duplessis, Paula Scher, Mark RandallOver the next two weeks we'll be giving you a 24-hour reminder to set your clocks for the live broadcast of this year's inaugural...
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