Abstract-The art of design is an 8 part documentary series in which focuses upon different parts of the art world, ranging from shoe design to illustration. Part 6 focuses upon that of Paula Scher, a pronoun graphic designer who has developed the visual language of many iconic brands and institutions globally. I decided to watch this documentary as during my talk with Tim from rabbit hole he referenced it, and the work in which Paula completes.
She talks largely about being part of pentagram a designers co-operative, whereby there are no bosses and everyone gets to have a 'shot' at what they really want to do, in a fun, friendly atmosphere. She also goes on to suggest how she bounces off other creatives. This is also very similar to what Tim said during our interview surrounding Duke studios being a creative network. This therefore positioning myself in a way to belive that in my future career I should work alongside numerous creatives from different disciplines, in order to develop strong, impactful work.
The documentary then goes onto state that she was and still is a large part of popular culture, by bringing design voice to a culture in which it was not previously seen. She altered the ways in which New York perceived style, with her work for 'the public' somewhat being mimicked throughout the city for the following five years. So much so that she completely altered the branding in order to allow it to be perceived completely different to that of its surroundings.
When discussing idea generation she suggested that her best ideas came when in a cab, as this allows the subconscious to take over, in turn developing forms of free associate. She then went on to suggest that if you're not in the skate of play you can't make anything. I felt that this largely related to myself as I often find that design takes over my life somehow and thus less innovative design is developed.
She then goes on to suggest that design exists beyond screens, it has an impact in real life, and thus needs to take human behaviour into account. A key example of this is that of the Palm Beach county voting slip, which is one of the worst pieces of graphic design ever created. The voting slip seemed illogical, and thus a large number of votes were given to the incorrect candidates, in turn messing up an entire system.
Overall the 50 minute documentary was highly engaging and expressed some really powerful visuals. Her relationship to type is also something in which I may investigate further within the future.
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