What advantages do you think there are in producing editorial work in a manual rather than a digital way?
Do you believe editorial rules such as those set by Jan Tschichold are as relevant in current layout design as they were when created?
Has your design practice evolved in any way due to technological advancements?
Do you always use programs such as Adobe indesign within your work or do you sometimes experiment with manual processes?
Do you think availability of online content used as research has hindered the originality of editorials?
Has your design process changed much since starting your career? If so, do you think this is down to technological advancements?
Do you think there are more badly designed publications because of the ease of desktop publishing?
Would you consider an editorial piece to be more of a piece of artwork if it was produced manually rather than digitally?
Are designers today less knowledgable today than they were in the past where rules and guidelines were set on how to lay out an editorial?
Would you agree that technological advancements have made design easier and quicker?
I chose the questions I did as it meant I could discuss different parts of my essay with my peers. I also decided to email professionals in different lines of work and different ages so my responses varied in opinion.
Unfortunately, as it was over the Christmas period, I struggled to get many responses. Despite this, the people who did reply were of a high standard and have had an influence in the creative industry. The replies are seen below:
David Carson
"Good questions, stay on me.
More solid reaSonable design, much less outstanding , has been the result of tek..."
Steven Heller
I've been away from editorial for a while, so I'm not sure how much I can help. But I'll try below.
1. Advantages are really individual. If you grew up with analog, you think in a slower manner. Digital is speedier. But this is really not scientific. Concepts evolve at the individual's paaccce.
2. Some yes, some no. His rules related to a specific time and place in history. They rejected overly stylized work, while creating a style. But fundamentally, simplicity is a good thing. But complexity can be appropriate.
3. I don't design anymore. I write about design.
4. See above.
5. It is inevitable. But I run a class called NO GOOGLE. Its mostly a writing and research class but students need to stay away from online sources.
6. See above
7. The same ratio of good to bad always exists. I've seen some superb things done today, I'm presuming they're all digital. Its a tool. Its the current tool. It would be foolish not to use it.
8. Does not matter.
9. Depends on where their education comes from. But I'd say generally designers know what they're doing and know little about history.
10. As I said above, its made it quicker. Doing good work is never easy.
Alec Dudson
1. I suppose that like any physical process, it requires a greater level of concentration and consideration for what you’re doing. The digital tools available now allow for and encourage automation in many elements of editorial design. That’s fine for consistency and standardisation, but working manually can result in a broader range of results, sometimes ones that are chaotic or anti-aesthetic. Means of creating those ill-fitting designs will always be important, as without them, everything will just look the same and editorial design will die a sorry death.
2. It’s a tough one to measure as people who are aware of and admire Tschichold, don’t necessarily use all of his principles in their work today, that’s not to say that what they do create isn’t still influenced by him. I think it’s too subjective question to offer a definitive answer on, but I think it’s fair to say that his influence has shifted. They're no longer cutting edge, futuristic ideas, but they have become an important foundation of editorial principles.
3. I’ve been able to pick up skills without formal teaching, largely thanks to software being designed with core similarities in terms of ux and the free availability of community generated tutorials on platforms like youtube.
4. I’ll use physical means of initially working through an idea and then use that as a basis for a designer to work with. Typically those designers do use the Adobe suite.
5. It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario in my opinion. There’s no such thing as a truly original idea, we’re constantly influenced by our surroundings, experiences and conversations. The internet has vastly multiplied the amount of information (visual and otherwise) that we consume and of course, that can be to the detriment of designers. I think this comes down to process, every designer has a slightly different process and a key skill within that is research.
Within your research, it’s important to be critical of any ideas that you might draw from, you should strive to understand their context before appropriating them or elements of them. This becomes harder online as images are often taken out of their context (a photo / scan of a spread in a magazine for example), so getting to the core of the idea can be harder. If a designer is lazy and doesn’t strive to really understand the ideas that they’re borrowing, their integrity will come in to question a lot sooner.
6. Not really, but then again I’ve always been reliant on digital technology.
7. The democratisation of any process always produces some rubbish, but it also gives rise to incredible, alternative ideas that are immensely important. Just look at how influential 60s/70s zine culture is now. Those publications were never meant or intended for international distribution, they were intentionally niche, yet they’ve been carefully archived and designers around the world use them as an important cultural reference point. That doesn’t happen without the cheap and easy means of production that gave rise to the format. The same goes for desktop publishing. Yes, it means that you walk into a supermarket and can choose from a selection of 35p “magazines” where the design aesthetic is far from the minimalist approach that continues to be the industry standard, but it also plays a huge role in the indie mag scene, which you’d probably consider to be an equal if not greater positive.
8. I suppose that in this day and age, that would be a natural assumption. Working with our hands is very much regarded as a leisure or creative pursuit for current generations, for our parents and grandparents, manual labour was often a job for life, so it’s startling just how much the tables have turned. The biggest factor in that change has been the internet and the new economies it’s given rise to as well as the manner in which it’s shifted power in the existing economies.
9. I think it’s more that they’re less bothered. With such easy access to so much visual stimulation, people are less inclined to adhere to an overarching design philosophy. It’s easy now to move with the times and often, that will be what clients are looking for as well. A combination of market forces and shifting tastes make designers a lot more flexible in terms of their approach.
10. 100%
John Watters
1. None really apart from the specialist typographic knowledge and application, meaning that traditional typographic knowledge seems almost irrelevant today as software seems to apply median rules and a lot of creatives expect this and are easily satisfied with how the program applies text. Whereby metal setting was really well set and considered.
2. Not aware of these rules? however remember the rules are there to be expanded on or as they say broken. Again, that is if it works why stick to rules.
3. Completely. I use software 90% of the time and not only speeds up the process, but gives more optional changes rather than re-doing the whole job each time. Cost implications and file delivery speed and over distance. No waiting for couriers. post, train or anything other?
4. I use Illustrator to set up jobs, and photoshop for image manipulation. I find InDesign ‘clunky’ and not yet as easy and intuitive as Illustrator. I still hand do work as it is ‘crafted’.
5. Definitely. Creatives believe the first research and usually stop if not available on Google or similar. Research is to be ‘humanly experienced’ and touched or smelled? If the imagery is for instant about dance, it’s the experience during the photography or illustration
process that illustrates a more experiential outcome.
6. Inherently no, I apply the same principals as always, the process is simply a digitised outcome, and only the final finishing and file preparation has changed. Creative process is primarily answering a creative problem and that does not need technology in the least, simply an analytical and free thinking creative.
7. YES! software means none creatives can produce templated work that is passable by the general none caring public. Good or great design shines far better than the method used to produce it. Plagiarism is rife and styles dictate a formulaic look to current design work.
8. No. The design is not reliant on process, unless it is a crafted piece.
9. In a lot of digital/desk top scenarios maybe. A good creative is one who breaks rules (But only having mastered them first) those who break rules without being aware are simply uneducated.
10. No. The process only, design is not the process of delivery but the context, concept and the delivery of these. It is like Milton Glaser said ‘A computer to a designer is like a microwave to a chef’ meaning that the technology is
simply a tool, like a spade to dig up potatoes. You would not dig up potatoes with a hockey stick? The right tool to achieve the best outcome.
Through emailing professionals I was able to contact Phil Monroe an ex-graphic design professional. After exchanging numerous emails I was invited to meet him and his friends who all previously worked in the creative industry.
When we met up I was able to compare graphic design now to when they were professionals. This meant discussing production techniques and progression as a graphic designer as well as how technology has influenced their own practice. Although we talked for around 4 hours I only made a few notes. These can be seen below:
They weren't familiar with the concept of research as they always started from scratch and only occasionally used reference books.
All editorial layouts were produced by hand.
The technologies and processes used were constantly adapting as they progressed through their career.
Some of them had to get used to using the computer when it was introduced however some didn't and decided to retire.
I also decided to contact two young editorial designers who have less experience in graphic design but have already produced their own publications. I decided to ask these creatives different questions. The questions and answers are seen below:
Questions
Amy Warwick - Blame Your Parents Press
They weren't familiar with the concept of research as they always started from scratch and only occasionally used reference books.
All editorial layouts were produced by hand.
The technologies and processes used were constantly adapting as they progressed through their career.
Some of them had to get used to using the computer when it was introduced however some didn't and decided to retire.
I also decided to contact two young editorial designers who have less experience in graphic design but have already produced their own publications. I decided to ask these creatives different questions. The questions and answers are seen below:
Questions
1. Have you heard of/ studied the likes of Josef Muller-Brockman and Jan Tschichold in regards to editorial design?
2. What steps do you go through whilst designing zines before they go to print? ie sketches, programs used.
3. Do you use grid systems to help layout editorials? If so are these advanced and created yourself?
4. How often do you look at the rules set by early designers before starting work on your own projects
5. Where do you look to for research before designing layouts or do you start as soon as you have an idea?
Amy Warwick - Blame Your Parents Press
1. I don't know of Jan Tschichold's work so I don't have much to say there! I do like the style of Josef Muller-Brockmann though but I also don't know a massive about about him.
2. Firstly I print out all photo submissions I've received for group zines or photos that I've shot for my own zines as full page photos on cheap office paper. This helps me to make visual links and figure out what photos may or may not work. This is one of the most important steps for me because I think you have to be really brutal when working with photography in zine design. I might really love a photo but if it doesn't fit it won't make the cut. After figuring out which pictures I would potentially include in the zine, I have a play about with layouts and sequencing and then make some mock ups in Adobe InDesign. I'll print the mock ups off and just let them sit for a wahile really. I'll ask for some feedback from other photographers / zine makers and take on board what they say, then make some more mock ups. I keep at it until I get 'the one', then send it to print. This usually takes me ages because I think sequencing and layouts are so so so important in zine making.
3. I don't often use grid systems because I pretty much only work with photography in editing softwares and so far I've been fine without it.
4. I definitely take advice from designers and use their creative process as a guideline and look into what works for other people and see if I can apply that to my own creative process, but saying that I don't really believe in rules in creative work (I rambled on about this a lot in my own dissertation haha). I'm really interested in punk zines and why people made them and the lack of rules that were followed in the process of making them. I think of zines as something that anyone can make, you can do whatever you want with it because it's yours, there are no rules.
5. I collect photobooks and zines to read for fun but before starting a new project (and during), I start to extensively study any books I think are relevant. I like to research all kinds of photobooks from super famous photographers like Larry Clark and Ryan McGinley, to zine makers I've done zine trades with. Going to photography shows is great research too, I like seeing how other people have chosen to layout their work and why they might have made those curation decisions.
Oliver Jackson - Photographer designing his own publications
1. Never heard of!
2. Planning my zines I bought a ton that I liked from shops such a Village bookstore in Leeds and Family bookstore in LA. After studying these I used brief sketch plans and Indesign to lay out.
3. I just used simple guides in InDesign as mine weren’t too complex
4. Like I said I like to study zines I liked but generally I kept mine simple but enjoyed not having too follow traditional magazine layouts.
5. Like I said for me it was best to
buy and study a bunch of things I liked especially to see them in person as stuff like paper stock and quality is just as important
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