Kismet Arts Tangent

“Purely verbal thinking is the prototype of thoughtless thinking, the automatic recourse to connections retrieved from storage. It is useful but sterile.” -Rudolph Arnheim, Visual Thinking

Visual thinking is superior because like when you draw something, you distill it to its essence, something that takes a quick analysis. Determining what’s necessary to make the object recognizable (and the emotion recognizable, if present) takes a moment of analysis. What’s the most distinguishing feature of a subject? In the first quarter of the graphic arts program, Jill talks about logos and how they can be abstracted and yet point to something real. How can you imply an animal (or a concept in general) without depicting the entire? Its stripes set it apart, if it’s a Zebra, or its big round ears if it’s a mouse. There are executions of metonymy (where a part represents a whole) that are confusing. The ears are too small and spaced in a way that imply “bear” and not “mouse.” This all comes back to the motto Jill often recites in class. Simply, “Scale and position.”

This mantra defines a space, a feeling and therefore an idea of a world. Is it a place of line quality? Or a world of color blocking? Logos help identify the style of the rest of the identity and extracting clues to the world that it represents helps solve the matter of accessories, whether it is letterhead or a mailer. Take cues from what the logo does. Is it organic, geometric, and brightly colored? That is an element that you have to maintain when you transfer that brand to other platforms.

Many letterhead designs default to a color bar or a line of text centered at the top. Is that helping your design? Most people have seen this done and won’t note it as good design anymore. Is it working as something that conveys a tone and an identity, or is it just informational? That word “informational” is the kiss of death in design. Nothing should be just informational when it comes to your brand. In this marketplace, ideas and design should not only hold information, but meaning.

Daniel Pink talks about what he calls “the six senses” in his book, A Whole New Mind. He refers to the aspects on which professional success and satisfaction depend on in the world of art and advertising: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning. These six senses differentiate your product from another, engaging the client/customer/audience in a way that resonates long after the experience.

Look at your designs. Are they holistic? Do they cling to a strong idea relating to the customer and your vision? Have you told a story, given them dynamic design, something from the heart perhaps? Whatever your method of delivering your message, sometimes after applying a special treatment, ask yourself, if it helps or complicates the design. Can you explain it?

Some people would argue that talking about art is like dancing about architecture, there is something inherent that is lost in translation from one form to another. Susan Sontag writes about how a dependence on photography and other quick methods to convey something, over time your storytelling ability atrophies. Challenge yourself. Use different mediums to send your message. Try writing it.

“Writers ask more questions. It’s hard for the writer to work on the assumption that anything can be interesting. Many people experience their lives as if they had cameras, but while they can see it, they can’t say it. When they report on an interesting event, their accounts frequently peter out into the statement ‘I wish I had my camera.’ There is a general breakdown in narrative skills, and few people tell stories well anymore.”

Do you rely heavily on photography to convey your message? Try illustration or a typographic solution. These offer a fresh insight to the tone and mood that sometimes gets lost in the realism of photography. Imagine that you are telling a story to young children. Make it exciting!

“Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human manifestation.” -Joseph Campbell

We are designers, but we also hold the keys to culture, consumerism and the collective unconscious. We have the power to shape people’s memories. The nostalgia of advertising and branding have induced fierce customer loyalty, giving their identity more meaning, giving their sense of community more weight. A brand that a person can stand behind, in terms of aesthetic, meaning, similar goals, is like a reliable friend. Keeping you informed, entertained and above all, inspired.

*In Daniel Pink’s Book, A Whole New Mind, he lists recommendations of good works that relate to his “six senses.” Here’s a list of symphonies he recommends:

Beethoven’s 9th

Mozart’s No.35 “Haffner Symphony”

Mahler’s 4th Symphony in G major.

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture (with real canons)

Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 in G major “Surprise”