List of Illustrations

Introduction

After World War II all around the world, but especially in America began an increase of mass production and consumption, which affected many areas, such as policy, economy, and social life.It is also had influence on graphic design and design as a whole.

Background

Thought 20th century Graphic design has changed and improved considerably.It went through technical progress, influence of mass media, and endless production of enormous torrent of goods.

Graphic design is a true companion to sociocultural life. It is a way to communicate culture, business and political contexts, to provide information and comment. The great changes in international society during the 20th century have demanded and created a real avalanche of visual communication. With it has come a great variety of often entirely new media. (Bos, B., Bos, E., 2007,p. 359)

Main Body

The post-War period was a period of big changes.The World needed unification. In that period of time graphic design underwent some worldwide modifications,especially in typography, which was used as one of the basic instruments in communication of information.

The 1950s is an interesting period in the development of graphic design.There was a real feeling of idealism among some designers.The design is part of that need to rebuild, to reconstruct. To make things more open. Be more democratic. There was this real sense of social responsibility among designers.And this is the period when the early experiments of the high modernist period start to be broken down. Rationalized, codified. You get the emergence of this so called international typographic style.(Helvetica, 2007)

Figure 1: Companies that used Helvetica in their logos.

of the most significant things was creation of Helvetica(See figure 1).It is worth taking into account that Helvetica is sans-serif typeface,which gives the look of smooth and neutral but quite bold font.That is why this ‘no face’ type that could be used everywhere.Subsequently Helvetica became a universal font that played a huge role in creation many logos of world-famous companies.

This is where Helvetica comes in.Where there's felt to be a need for rational typefaces. Which can be applied to all kinds of contemporary information. Whether it's sign systems or corporate identity. And present those visual expressions of the modern world to the public, in an intelligible, legible way.(Helvetica, 2007)

The overall situation in the US was totally different from the rest of the World.America came out of the War with not big losses and was ready to build the new and strong economy, where production of goods and their mass consumption took up the biggest place.

The United States came out of World War II deeply determined to prolong and enhance the economic recovery brought on by the war, lest the crippling depression of the 1930s return.The mass media, advertisers conveyed the message that mass consumption was not a personal indulgence. Rather, it was a civic responsibility designed to improve the living standards of all Americans, a critical part of a prosperity-producing cycle of expanded consumer demand fueling greater production.(Cohen, Lizabeth, 2004, pp 236-239)

Essentially this country built the biggest area of consuming goods that created competition of brands.Which gave a rise to Improvement and expansion of graphic design.‘A booming post-World War II American economy established a greater need for graphic design, mainly advertising and packaging’.(The History of Visual Communication,n. d.)

In the 20th century graphic design became a valued tool for corporate America.Designers were generally seen as tools of capitalism.Graphic designers became an integral part of the free market system by contributing to the creation of wealth in society.(Ethics in Graphic Design,n. d.)

The importance of packaging and graphic design never was as influential and important as at that time.It was a time of Brand development.The identity of brand,its’ personality and qualities.And the package design played the main role in this.Companies tried to create their design as bright and memorable as possible.

The first emerging function was the communication of visual brand equity.This went hand in hand with the rise of consumerism in the 1950s. The package became an independent communicator of its own brand personality.

The second function was simply to attract attention. In the post-war decade large grocery retailers increased their share of market and the average number of items in the store virtually doubled. As a result, package designers began to use a much bolder more graphic style, and approach able to quickly communicate in national TV advertising and the larger retail stores. (The Package Unseen,2009)

Speaking about reduction, posters took a back seat.Probably in was mass automobile consumption is fault.There were no more need in small sized posters.People simply could not see them anymore as they drove their cars.As Stefan Sagmeister says about USA that ‘posters simply don't work in that car-driven country’.As well as Pierre Bernard said that ‘the character of 'the street' has changed so much that there is no more space left for the poster.’(Bos, B., Bos,E., 2007, p. 612)

The revolution that took place in the mass media has also dramatically changed the possibilities and position of the poster. In advertising, the ordinary poster has often outgrown its old printing press sizes. Many commercial messages are nowadays be found on billboards.(Bos, B., Bos, E., 2007, p. 612)

Thanks to mass consumption, the development of technology has grown dramatically, what affected design and graphic design as well.It opened the world of new capabilities and resources.But it did not mean the easier process of idea creating, it only helped to improve the quality and reduce the time spending on an actual realization of work.Appeared new fields in graphic design.‘The internet is a source of new work:designing for websites has become an important new branch.’ (Bos, B., Bos, E., 2007, p. 361).It was time to improve the appearance of brand and packaging design which could lead to even better consumption.

Computers have caused an unrivaled revolution in design. The new equipment speeded up the design process tremendously.Clients with their own computers for office work wanted quicker results and more alternatives.The stunning technological innovations have also dramatically affected the entire graphic industry.(Bos, B., Bos, E.,2007, p. 361)

But with good things always comes some negative factors.So with digital development of graphic design came absolute freedom of creating and making choices,which brought some bad design that clutter up this industry in common.

The computer strongly facilitated the development of what I referred to as ‘dyslexic’ typography. There was no longer any idealism, no higher objective to be served. We had left behind all the constraints of the old typographical tools. The computer assured total freedom. That also explains why that same computer serves as the perfect tool for enabling hordes of people to instantly develop useless alphabets. (Bos, B., Bos, E., 2007, p. 362)

Helvetica became an international typeface.But through this popularity it lost its’ ‘face’

it doesn’t have its’ own character anymore. People stopped to notice this type with time.So here is the question of basic role of type face in brands.

Why do people buy certain things?As Erik Spiekermann said that ‘The brand rubs off on them. And typefaces are a brand. You're telling an audience, 'This is for you,' by using a certain typographic voice.’(Helvetica, US, 2007)

Graphic Design plays the main role in making brands personal.

Figure 2: Marlboro Filter Cigarettes package, Philip Morris Inc., 2003.

You’d recognize a Marlboro brand two miles away because they use a typeface that they only use. Marlboro have made the typeface theirs.’(Helvetica,US 2007)( See Figure 2)

The way something is presented, will define the way you react to it.So you can take the same message, and present it in three different typefaces. The response of that, immediate emotional response will be different and the choice of typeface is the prime in that communication.The way the message is dressed, is going to define our reaction to that message in the advertising.

Maybe the feeling you have when you see a particular type of graphic, choices used on a piece of packaging is just, I like the look of that, that feels good, that's my kind of product.(Helvetica,US, 2007)

Conclusion

You start to care about it in the way that you care about the clothing you're wearing as an expression of who you are.We accept the idea of identity being expressed in that way, through these consumer choices.Now it is happening in the sphere of visual communication.(Helvetica,US, 2007)

Graphic design and Packaging design are no longer just a wrap of a product.It is a visual part of the product, its’ identity.And consumerism helped Graphic design move forward, expand and take a significant position in history of things. Nowadays brand care about the design of a product as much as they care about its’ quality.Because design is a pat of the product is quality.

Bibliography

Books:

Bos, B., Bos, E., Graphic Design Since 1950, Thames & Hudson, 2007.

Magazines and periodicals:

Cohen, Lizabeth. 'A consumers’ republic: The politics of mass consumption in postwar America.' Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 31, no. 1, June 2004, pp 236-239.

Websites and Internet sources:

Elif Ayiter, The History of Visual Communication,[online],

http://www.citrinitas.com/history_of_viscom/modernists.html, [Accessed 19 march, 2016].

Richard Shear, 2009, The Package Unseen, [online]

https://richardshear.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/package-design-a-leading-or-trailing-indicator-1950-1960/, [Accessed 19 march 2016].

Ethics in Graphic Design, [online] http://www.ethicsingraphicdesign.org/integrity/mass-consumerism/ , [Accessed 19 March, 2016]

Films and Videos:

Helvetica (Dir. Gary Hustwit, Plexifilm, US, 2007)

List of Illustrations

Figure 1:[Companies that used Helvetica in their logos]

http://www.newlyswissed.com/helvetica-worlds-most-popular-font/

Figure 2: Marlboro Filter Cigarettes package, Philip Morris Inc., 2003, http://www.cigarety.by/country.php?n=20&l=6&w=Germany&p=45

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 787