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Theory at Work | 137
EllEn lupton Spread from
Design Writing Research: Writing
on Graphic Design (New York: Kiosk,
1996). Written and designed by
Lupton and J. Abbott Miller, this
influential book presents an early
example of the contemporary
move toward graphic designers
as authors.
EllEn lupton Spread from
Graphic Design: The New Basics
(New York: Princeton Architectural
Press, 2008), written and designed
by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole
Phillips. Through this book Lupton
explores emerging universals within
the practice of graphic design,
including newly relevant concepts
like transparency and layering.
GDTS3TAW_4C.indd 137 8/7/08 11:21:17 AM
138 | Graphic Design Theory
KEnya Hara Paper and Design,
2000. Book project for an exhibition
to commemorate the centennial
of the Takeo Paper Company. This
project exemplifies Hara’s reframing
of books as “information sculpture.”
As he notes in Designing Design,
“If electronic media is reckoned
a practical tool for information
conveyance, books are information
sculpture; from now on, books will
probably be judged according to
how well they awaken that material-
ity, because the decision to create
a book will be based on a definite
choice of paper as the medium.”
Kenya Hara, Designing Design, trans. Maggie Kinser Hohle and Yukiko Naito (Baden: Lars Müller, 2007), 201.
Theory aT Work
Contemporary Design
GDTS3TAW_4C.indd 138 8/7/08 11:21:17 AM
Theory at Work | 139
KEnya Hara MUJI advertise-
ments, 2003 (above) and 2004
(below). As creative director and
advisory board member of MUJI,
Hara does not advocate a philosophy
of business and design meant to
stir up individual desire. Instead, he
embraces what he terms, “‘global
rational value,’ a philosophy that
advocates the use of resources and
objects according to an exceedingly
rational perspective.” MUJI advertising
images suggest “moderation” and
“detached reason,” speaking not to the
egotistical mind but the rational one.
Kenya Hara, Designing Design, trans. Maggie Kinser Hohle and Yukiko Naito (Baden: Lars Müller, 2007), 240.
GDTS3TAW_4C.indd 139 8/7/08 11:21:18 AM
140 | Graphic Design Theory
Jan van toorn Spreads
from the visual essay “Panorama
of Habits—Ten Everyday Land-
scapes” in van Thorn’s book,
Design’s Delight (Rotterdam: 010,
2006). Each spread is meant to
be closely read and interpreted
by the reader. Through such work
van Toorn suggests that designs
are never neutral. The designer
should expose the manipulation
of the message inherent in the
work and encourage readers to
do the same.
GDTS3TAW_4C.indd 140 8/7/08 11:21:18 AM
Theory at Work | 141
Dmitri SiEgEl Design for
Nicholas Herman et al., Russian
Art in Translation, 2007. This book
is a catalog of emerging and
established artists whose practice
engages Russian identity and its
complex legacy as a (failed) radical
utopian state. Siegel produced this
book through his publishing venture
Ante Projects, which he founded
with Herman in 2002 while they
were students at the Yale University
School of Art.
CHECK rES CHECK rES
GDTS3TAW_4C.indd 141 8/7/08 11:21:18 AM
142 | Graphic Design Theory
miCHaEl roCK Identity for
the Brooklyn Museum, 2004. Rock’s
Brooklyn identity, designed by his
firm 2x4, is an early example of
flexible logo systems that have
since become popular. Such vari-
able systems take full advantage
of the multiple digital media now
at play. Although some core visual
remains consistent in such systems,
the identity itself includes variable
elements. The sharp contrast
between the static controlled logos
of twentieth-century designers
like Paul Rand and new dynamic
identities reflect the changing
aesthetic emphasized by media
theorist Lev Manovich.
Dmitri SiEgEl Urban Outfitters
Blog, 2008. The UO blog is the
first horizontal scrolling blog in the
history of the internet. It compiles
brand inspiration from around the
world that can be easily filtered by
city or keyword. Siegel designed the
site to emphasize the uniqueness of
authentic local “scenes,” attempt-
ing to subvert the homogenizing
tendency of many digital social
networking sites. Blog formats like
this illustrate what Siegel terms
“postsumerism—the simultaneous
production and consumption
of content.”
GDTS3TAW_4C.indd 142 8/7/08 11:21:18 AM
Theory at Work | 143
miCHaEl roCK Poster from
Waist Down, a traveling exhibit
originally sited in the Prada Tokyo
Epicenter, 2004. Rock’s firm, 2x4,
worked with exhibition designers
at OMA-AMO to develop the exhibit
and all collateral materials. Simul-
taneously working in Rotterdam,
Milan, New York, and Tokyo, 2x4
took full advantage of the current
global working climate. Such work
demonstrates the kind of collabora-
tion for which Rock is known.
GDTS3TAW_4C.indd 143 8/7/08 11:21:19 AM
144 | Graphic Design Theory
top. JESSiCa HElfanD,
William DrEnttEl, anD gEoff
HalbEr. Spread from Below the Fold,
Danger Issue, fall 2005, published
by the Winterhouse Institute. This
self-initiated journal exemplifies
the shift toward design authorship
taking place within the graphic
design industry, as well as within
larger society. Each issue critically
investigates a single topic through
word and image.
right.JESSiCa HElfanD,
William DrEnttEl, anD bEtSy
varDEll. The New Yorker website
(redesign), 2007.
GDTS3TAW_4C.indd 144 8/7/08 11:21:19 AM
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