Walker Art Center “Ordinary Pictures” Exhibition: Steven Baldi’s “Branded Light” photographs

Steven Baldi (American, b. 1983)
Branded Light (Canon) 2014 (second piece in the series)
gelatin silver print; ed. 2/3 + 2 AP
Courtesy the artist and Thomas Duncan Gallery, Los Angeles
photoraph by versluis 2016
From the Walker Art Center exhibition: Ordinary Pictures is on view until October 9, 2016.

The following is taken from the label that accompanies this piece:

Steven Baldi’s series of Branded Light photographs reveal the familiar yet distorted logos of camera manufacturers and imaging corporations such as Fuji, Kodak, Canon, and Sony. Though his fractured compositions may suggest digital manipulation, the artist creates his pictures entirely in-camera. Abstract as they may seem, the images nevertheless trigger our recognition of these ever-present global brands.

Baldi’s works often address the materials and systems that support both art and imaging. This series in particular draws attention to ways that corporate conglomerates exert invisible control over the images we make and consume. Baldi reminds us of the branded character of the medium's most fundamental aspects: the materials-film and a camera-required to produce an image.

Read More......

Siebren Versteeg: The History Channel’s mark/letterform parody with three-dimensional “Latin” triangular serifs

Siebren Versteeg
(American, b. 1971)
History, 2003
Silicon, bronze, velvet, and wood
photograph by versluis

MCA didactics state:

The History Channel 

Siebren Versteeg's sculpture History greets visitors at the entrance to (Museum of Contemporary Art | Chicago) MCA Screen, with an ironic nod to the culture of infotainment that spins mainstream narrations of history into pulp fiction.

Read More......

Pattern of Relationships: What’s in a Brand Name

This is a nicely arranged section from the Walker Art Center’s Graphic Design: Now in Production exhibition. Pictured, starting at left and moving clockwise are: Trevor Paglen’s, “Symbology” (United States Army Heraldry Embroidered Insignias); Dexter Sinister’s, “(We Would Like to Share) Some Thoughts on a Possible School Badge,” Neon Sign; partial collection of Christophe Szpajdel’s hand-drawn “Death Metal” logos.

This is copy from the wall documentation:

—Branding
Brands identify everything, helping to distinguish one thing from another in an otherwise crowded marketplace. Although branding is most often associated with businesses and corporations, it can also be found throughout society—from secret military groups to black metal band. More than just a logo, a brand also consists of a larger visual and verbal identity as well as the perceived values that both define and set apart an organization, a community, or even an individual.

Graphic designers not only help create brands, but also have taken on the subject of branding in self-initiated projects that document lost logos of the past, turn themselves into brands, or scrutinize the latest corporate makeovers in online forums. Innovative branding programs, particularly for cultural organizations, have pushed the boundaries of traditional identity design by creating flexible and variable systems and new tools for implementation.

Blogs and social media have stimulated public conversations about new branding campaigns, bringing individual consumers closer to companies and organizations. Facebook, the largest social media community, has emerged as a new kind of branded transnational agent, with more than 800 million users worldwide.

Read More......

Maureen Mooren: “The Walker Art Center’s Graphic Design: Now in Production”

On exhibit at the Walker Art Center in Minneopolis is the Marres Identity System designed by Maureen Mooren. Marres is the name of the Centre for Contemporary Culture in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Also included in the Walker installation are Mooren’s 2008 poster designs for “Marres in Between: This is Not a Damien Hirst.”

It’s interesting how the dexterity of graphic identity systems has changed over the last 60 years to become more agile and flexible, particularly in the digital age. For many years graphic identity in the form of standard and consistent logo use followed the adage, “repetition makes reputation.” Obviously, the Marres identity is for a cultural organization; cultural institutions at times can be less stiff compared to “big brand” graphic identities.

In the Graphic Design: Now in Production exhibition, catalog co-curator Ellen Lupton writes: “Graphic designer Maureen Mooren designed an identity for Marres, … that consists of multiple renditions of the center’s name. Presented in black and white most of the logo variants employ drawn or constructed letterforms rather than existing typefaces. Mooren aimed to express the open curatorial program of Marres, countering the fixed institutional voice.” [1]

“This is Not a Damien Hirst” promotional posters indicate the Marres identity in promotional pieces. The Marres’ posters advertise the event, which focused on the work “For the Love of God” by Damien Hirst that was presented simultaneously at both the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and Maastrict. The event highlighted the devotional objects and art from the collection of the St-Servaes Church in Maastricht.

1. Blauvelt, Andrew, and Ellen Lupton, eds. Graphic Design: Now in Production. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2011. 201. Print.

Read More......

Henk Krijger: designer of the Trinity Christian College Logo

The Trinity Christian College Symbol was designed by Henk Krijger in ca.1970. Above left: Krijger’s two-color original logo for TCC (courtesy of Peter Enneson). Right: The TCC logo in subsequent years redrawn as a one-color “blue” version.

Today, 19 November, is the anniversary of the birth of Henk Krijger, a Dutch artist and graphic designer. He was born in 1914 and died in 1979 at age 65. [1]

Trinity Christian College is located in the south Chicago suburb of Palos Heights, IL. When Dayton Castleman, a current art professor, came to Trinity he was very enthusiastic about the art of the Trinity logo. The astute Castleman saw the correlation of Krijger’s design with that of minimalist modern art. In 2008, Dayton said this about Trinity’s mark:

Regarding the logo’s uniqueness among Christian colleges, there was a recent college president that apparently disliked the logo, and added a more traditional college seal to the school’s graphic representations, but the three-bar logo is the most common, and seems to be the most easily identifiable with the school… the artist of the logo is unknown… [2]

Here’s part of the story about the origin of the logo from a pretty good authority, Dr. Calvin Seerveld:

Yes, David. Trinity still uses it, and Henk Krijger designed it in 1970-71. There is probably a faculty minute on it. It was not the result of a ‘competition’ for a logo, since Krijger was our art prof (part-time) at the time. [There were efforts] to get others to produce designs (quite cluttered and old-fashioned), but failed to stop what Krijger produced at the faculty request. [3]

The three rectangles within a “classical” golden section square indicates an essence of form that is usually associated with a modernist graphic design 20th century international style. The square format contrasts with the geometric triangle, which is the traditional Trinitarian symbol — perhaps Krijger’s Trinity symbol of the three-in-one concept is more theologically accurate than the triangle configuration. When a logo design has to go through a group and variety of opinions in the selection process, not always is the best design chosen. The uniqueness of Trinity’s mark is the result of great trust in the work of Krijger and the apparent distinctiveness of Trinity’s faculty and students in 1970-71. The Trinity mark is still fresh and memorable even after over forty years of use. That’s remarkable.

1. de Bree, Jan, ed. Hommage à Senggih: A Retrospective of Henk Krijger in North America. Toronto: Patmos Gallery, the Henk Krijger Estate, 1988. 67. Print.
2. Castleman, Dayton. “Trinity Logo – Painter Edition.” Dayton is Not in Ohio. n.p., 3 July 2008. Web. 19 Nov. 2011.
3. Seerveld, Dr. Calvin. “Henk Krijger and the Trinity Christian College Logo,” Message to the author. 11 Nov. 2011. Web.

Read More......

sliced, uppercase typography = a noisy rebelliousness—a hint of disrespect

photograph by versluis, 2011

This framed piece was photographed at the recent Art in the Streets exhibition in Los Angeles and indicates the upper portion of a Polish poster for “Beautiful Losers: Sztuka współczesna i kultura ulicy.” This poster was a promotional piece when the “Beautiful Losers” exhibition was displayed at the Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz, Poland during May–August 2007.

As an identity “Beautiful Losers” uses a striking logotype, which was initially developed by Iconoclast Editions in 2004 for a multimedia project about “skateboarder/gang/graffiti art.” The design of the logotype fittingly utilizes sliced, uppercase typography that connotes a noisy rebelliousness with a hint of disrespect. The project, “Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture” became a global touring exhibition along with an art book catalog and seems to have been the prototype for MOCA’s Art in the Streets show this year. An acclaimed documentary film, titled Beautiful Losers was produced in 2008, which featured many of the participating artists. Here’s The New York Times review of the movie (the comments are interesting too). And another movie review from the Guardian UK.

Here is a description about “Beautiful Losers” from Iconoclast, which collaborated with the artists to produce the traveling exhibition and catalog:

Beautiful Losers is an exhibition of multi-media art and design that explores the recent work of a diverse group of visual artists that have emerged from the subcultures of skateboarding, graffiti, punk, and hip hop in U.S. urban centers. The core of the project involves painting, sculpture, and photography, as well as film, video, performance, and product design by more than thirty individuals who have emerged in the last decade—some now established figures in the art world, but many receiving their first broad exposure here. [1]

1. Beautiful Losers: “Press Release.” Iconoclast Editions. Iconoclast, 2004. Web. 11 Aug. 2011.

Read More......

Steve Frykholm: Herman Miller Summer Picnic Posters (1970-1989)—Dordt College Campus Center Art Gallery

above: Steve Frykholm, courtesy of Herman Miller, used with permission
below: Show installation photograph by versluis, 2011

The Dordt College Campus Center Art Gallery (the department of art and design) proudly presents the exhibition:

Steve Frykholm, serigraphs
Herman Miller Summer Picnic Posters, 1970–1989
August 1 – October 2
On display are 20 posters from the Roger and Jeanne Knop collection, Muskegon, Michigan.

Herman Miller (located in Zeeland, Michigan) is known for their innovative furniture designs. Each year a poster is designed to promote the Herman Miller annual company picnic. This exhibition features, chronologically, the first twenty posters, which were designed by Steve Frykholm. The first poster, designed in 1970, started this wonderful series of serigraphs (silkscreen prints) and graphic design. The posters feature super-sized items like ice cream cones, cake, and fruit to illustrate the summer picnic theme. Several of Frykholm’s Summer Picnic posters are in the permanent collections of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Smithsonian, Washington DC.

Steve Frykholm has worked for Herman Miller for over 40 years. He is the creative director and vice president of design for the National Design Award-winning furniture company. In an illustrious career he has worn many hats: designer, art director, artist and client. His work has been widely published and has been included in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and Danish Museum of Decorative Art. In 2010 he was awarded the AIGA Medal, which is the AIGA’s highest award.

Read More......

The Paris Book Fair at the Porte de Versailles

Upper right, clockwise: 2011 brochure cover design with the new “typographic” logo signifying the new Fair format. Below the brochure cover is the “mascot” symbol/logo that was used on the 2010 Salon du Livre de Paris street banners, which lined both sides of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Book publishing still lives. Street banners photograph © versluis 2010.

Read More......

Nuances of a logotype: a case study of the Steelcase logotype

The logotype form of the trademark, Steelcase Inc. “Logotype means the special typographic treatment of the word.” Select the graphic for a larger view of details (image above is from a photocopy).

“Steelcase, the primary mark for all [their] products and services, is registered in block form (unstylized) and in at least two logotype forms. Vance Jonson or (Johnson), a New York-based graphic designer, designed the current version, shown here, in the early 1970s. It was intended for use in one color, blind embossing, or in the spectrum of colors as seen on [their] trucks today.”

“Mr. Johnson started this design with the Helvetica medium typeface; the modifications that make it unique are highlighted in the captions.” (1)

1. Ross, Robert W., design director; David M. Versluis, graphic designer, and Donald Wheeler, writer. Steelcase Inc., Corporate Communications Standards and Guidelines. Grand Rapids: Steelcase, Inc., 1993. Section 1, pgs 1-4. Print.

Read More......

Some notes on John Vander Stelt: A Renaissance Man

Mr. John Vander Stelt was our guest designer and presenter for our AIGA Student Group event held on Wednesday, March 30. John works as a creative director, graphic designer, illustrator, artist, husband, and father. We invite you to check out John's blog. Colleague Matt Van Rys is again our fine purveyor of meeting notes, which are as follows:

John has lived in Sioux County his whole life and has been a part of the art community in Northwest Iowa for a long time. Coming from a creative family, it was no surprise that as a child John was drawing a recognizable as a Blue Jay before kindergarten. John continued as an artist by attending Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa as an Art Education major and enjoyed his student teaching experience, but didn’t feel it was his passion.

After college, John applied at K-Products and started as a Graphic Designer. Early on, he worked primarily designing and preparing artwork for promotional products, such as t-shirt screen printing and embroidery for hats.

After about two years, John moved to the catalog and creative department. This allowed for additional creative freedom and more direct client interaction. On many catalogs, John and his team would do up to six ideas for the client; often changing yearly due to evolving corporate tastes. A suggestion John has for students is to listen to your clients and design to best meet their objectives for the project; designing within their limitations while maintaining your creative freedom. John often uses Typography to express creativity through font choices, color, texture and such. Using type, while understanding the relationship between letters and utilizing positive versus negative space can exhibit the difference between a designer and an amateur.

About three and a half years ago, John left K-Products and began working as the Creative Director for Pizza Ranch, moving from a large corporate department to being the sole creative force behind a brand. While at K-Products, John worked with a variety of brands and had some concerns that working with just one brand would eventually get stale. However, just the opposite is true, and working with rebranding and branding has been very rewarding. John expressed that his job at Pizza Ranch was really an answered prayer.

John has developed the general direction for the Pizza Ranch brand and uses subtle techniques such as photo edges, distressing textures and textured typography to carry the brand through various pieces. This isn’t a change on a dime approach, but updating stuff as needed while continuing to re-evaluate whom Pizza Ranch is marketing to. For example, John has been adding more photos of people to help the customer relate better to the pizza product and the restaurant experience.

As the key creative person, John has a lot of creative control and also has to wear many “hats”, including writing the copy for his work, working on marketing plans, designing graphics for a Nascar stock car, directing photo shoots and even assisting with art direction on a TV commercial and an upcoming website update.

Read More......

Simplicity and Boldness: Paul Rand

A Look at Architecture Columbus Indiana
Columbus Indiana Visitors Center
Identity Program, 1973
Cover, layout design, and logo by Paul Rand (1914–1996)

Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, Inc., copyright 1991.
Published by Visitors Center, Columbus, Indiana
Sixth edition Softcover. From the collection of David Versluis.

Book description:

Black-and-white photos throughout with text that explores the architecture of the town. Graphic designer Paul Rand strongly influenced contemporary twentieth century graphic design with clever forms that were deceptively simple and perceptively bold. Also, Columbus, Indiana is a very fine destination trip.

From the Introduction of A Look at Architecture Columbus Indiana:

Columbus architecture has been the subject of feature articles in national and international publications, and each year thousands of people visit the city to view the buildings. In 1970 Columbus received the “Total Design” award from the national society of interior design for exemplifying “environmental rebirth.” Many individual buildings have been recognized by national organizations.

This guidebook is produced by the Visitors Center, a division of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, to enable visitors to learn more about Columbus architecture.… p. 9

Read More......

“Persuader” Images on the Champs-Élysés in Paris

“What makes some brands inspirational while others struggle?” This is the question posed by ad executive Kevin Roberts in the website Lovemarks. Mr. Roberts is Chief Executive Officer Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi.

Awhile back, Roberts was featured in FRONTLINE’s report, The Persuaders. During the interview he responded to the question, “What is a Lovemark?” Although his response mentions Adidas, the same perhaps could be said about Nike or some other compelling brand. Roberts answers this way:

A Lovemark is a brand that has created loyalty beyond reason; it’s infused with mystery, sensuality and intimacy, and that you recognize immediately as having some kind of iconic place in your heart. And I’ll give you two personal stories of mine. Maybe eight weeks ago now, I was in Seattle talking to 3,000 college professors — not a very stimulating kind of way to spend the day. And I went to the Adidas concept store in Seattle. I didn't need anything, nothing. $880 later and four bags later, I staggered out of the Adidas store, and I felt great, because I love Adidas and I always have. There’s no reason for it. It's beyond reason. I didn't need anything in these bags. I bought stuff for my wife, for my kids, for me. I had no guilt, and I had no sense of “You stupid whatever, you just dropped 880 bucks.” I didn’t care; I felt great. I have loyalty beyond reason to Adidas, largely because of their heritage, their authenticity. If I try to rationalize how I’ve developed this — as I was growing up playing rugby, Adidas were the best rugby boots — but there's no reason really. I don’t know why. They commune with me.

Read More......

Dordt students win state graphic design contest

The following piece is from a Dordt College News Release written by Sarah Groneck.

A team of Dordt College graphic design students won an Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) design contest on November 19, edging out one of Iowa’s top graphic design schools in the process.

The Iowa e-Health website project and logo design contest is an initiative by the IDPH to provide Iowa residents with health information technology and encourage website use in addressing health issues.

Iowa colleges and universities were invited by the council to develop and propose a brand name and logo for the Iowa e-Health Project. Dordt was one of three colleges participating in the project. Iowa State University of Ames, which is highly ranked for its graphic design program, and Simpson College of Indianola, also took part.

Two Dordt groups—the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) student group and another graphic design group—presented the brand name “Iowa HealthLink” and three separate logotypes to the committee.

The council deliberated on eleven submitted designs, and selected Scott Vande Kraats’s design, with a design by Iowa State placing second. With a final vote, four out of six council members selected Vande Kraats’s logotype as the official chosen design.

The Dordt design team earned $500 dollars, and their brand name and logotype will be featured in health care facilities across the state of Iowa.

Students Amanda Brouwer (Escondido, CA) Sarah Groneck (Godfrey, IL), Katherine Gorter (Holland, MI), Piper Kroeze (Sioux Center, IA), Scott Vande Kraats (Sioux Center, IA), and Mark Veldkamp (Escondido, CA) traveled with graphic design professor David Versluis to Des Moines to present their brand name and logotypes to over 25 onlookers.

Versluis first learned about the opportunity through a business department professor, Brian Hoekstra. Versluis incorporated the logotype/brand name project into his Graphic Design III class curriculum and also requested that the Dordt AIGA student group take part in the competition.

“I wanted the project to give design students the experience of approaching a project in a classic way from analysis to design to implementation,” said Versluis.

“I knew that the graphic design class had some excellent designers, writers, and video producers,” said Versluis, also knowing that Iowa State University has a highly-rated art and design program. “If we organized as a cohesive group and did our best we could provide a highly professional presentation.”

Even if the team had not won, Versluis thought Dordt’s presentation went well.

“The Dordt student proposals were outstanding and very impressive,” said Versluis, “The decision to present with art mounted to large black boards was helpful and the presenters said just the right things about their design to the panel.”

The AIGA student group and graphic design group came together through the presentation.

“I was proud that it was my design that got the prize in the end,” said Scott Vande Kraats. “But it was truly a team effort, and if it hadn't been for everyone's hard work and Professor Versluis's keen sense of professionalism we wouldn't have had such a strong showing.”

IDHP will likely implement the logotype and brand name into the health care system by April 2010.

Read More......

Classic

I think it’d be most accurate to say that the designers at Coca Cola “got it right” the first time through. Also, their team should be credited, through the years, for having made the decision to stick with the original design. It’s legible and perhaps a bit dated but (I hate to say it) unmistakably that cold, fizzy beverage for a hot summer day... we all turned 21 and drank beer instead, but that’s a different discussion. I remember the Pepsi logos from ’91 and on and feel like they’ve been getting worse with each new design. The 1905 Pepsi looks like a fun bike ride, which is great, but far more ‘old-timey’ than anything else on the chart, and they only kept it for a year before pandering to some cheap, mindless and grammatically incorrect gimmick. (“Drink Pepsi: Cola Delicious” Really?)

There aren’t many traces of when my dad was a student of graphic design — a few charcoal sketches of my oldest brother as a baby, the plans we draw out for home projects and some studies of the timeless Coca-Cola bottle (glass).

Read More......