Raymond Loewy Lecture
I went to a lecture tonight at the University of Baltimore. It was about Raymond Loewy and was given in conjunction with the exhibition of his work, going on now at the CAVC at UMBC.
It was an interesting lecture, set up as a panel discussion, so there were 4 participants and 1 moderator. What I am most excited about everything is that after the presentation I got a chance to speak with 2 of the panelists, and both of them agreed to be part of my interview project! I'm so glad that I went, because at one point I thought I was going to be really late because the traffic was so bad, and I considered turning around. I decided to keep going anyway, and the cars cleared up and I made it there in plenty of time, and it's all for the better!
I'm going to transcribe my VERY ROUGH notes here, and I'll make one note about my notes first. I figured out a way to easily and quickly indicate which panelist was speaking while taking notes so I wouldn't have to write out their names each time. At the end of each note, on the next line as a bullet for the following note, I would draw 4 round circles in a horizontal line, and then I'd just wait til I heard something interesting and I'd fill in the circle that was in the corresponding position to the speakers. For example, If the panelist on the far right was the one that made a good point that I wanted to note, I'd fill in the circle on the far right and then make the note just after it. I'm glad that this habit formed right off the bat because it will be helpful when I interview the two panelists, so that I can actually refer to the right information that they offered in the lecture. Anyway, just a little design/innovation pride moment for me.
I have bolded direct quotes/notes, or very close paraphrases thereof. Other content generally reflects looser paraphrases of the panelists' statements recorded here from my memory, and/or my own thoughts/notes.
MODERATOR:
Steve Ziger, AIA, Partner, Ziger/Snead Architects, Baltimore, MD
PANELISTS:
Antonio Alcala, Creative Director, Studio A, Alexandria, VA
Tucker Viemeister, VP Creative, Studio Red at Rockwell Group, New York, NY
Abbott Miller, Pentagram, New York, NY
Tom Strong, Strong/Cohen Assoc., New Haven, CT
Abbott Miller
So many different kinds of design, so diffused and part of our lives.
Antonio Alcala
consumer driven product vs. smaller design vision shared outward
like the independent, non-mainstream magazine 2wice (magaizine and effort of panelist 4)
Much richer culture
consumer culture--same roles for designers
global economy
Abbott Miller
there are design celebrities but most designers are in the background.
Tom Strongstyling
(changing only the superficial; not changing the nature of something, so it functions the same, but looks different)
vs.
vast improvements that are designed and ENGINEERED. where you can say they "engineered it"
Tucker Viemeister
style=lies? styling can seem shallow, like it was an "easy" idea. But usually brilliant design, even in its simplest form has a legacy of a whole lot of time and effort and ideas.
MODERATOR
Loewy is known for designing his own image. He was funny and outrageous. Can you talk about the notion of a "star designer" vs. collaboration.
Antonio Alcala
being a famous designer is like being a famous dentist. he was quoting this from somewhere else... not sure if he new who the specific person was who said it though.
Abbott Miller
Martha Stewart is the contemporary comparison to Loewy for a "star" designer. Martha Stewart has a "signature vision"/broader vision.
They were referring to Martha Stewarts fame as a designer having achieved "house-hold name" status. These days a commonly known designer, like Martha Stewart is more of a brand; even though she doesn't design every piece that is associated with her brand, the designer, in this case Martha, becomes the overriding brand that has many facets.
Tucker Viemeister
Designers being known by the public is important, so that the public will understand that design is not an accident.
Abbott Miller
Social and Communal group effort more honest
He was saying that the tendency these days is for groups of designers (2, 3 or 4 designers) to go into business together, and not go it alone, so the effort becomes more communal. He felt this was more honest (at least for this contemporary time) to be upfront about this collaborative style and effort.
MODERATOR
Can you address the roll of MAYA (most advanced yet acceptable) in design. Are we going too far, or not going far enough?
Tucker Viemeister
People always want crap. If you ask them, "what would you do to make it better?" they would respond, "I don't know," so that's what designers are for. It's not just about what's acceptable, but what will be loved. It's easier to water something down than to "water it up."
Abbott Miller
There have been movements toward the abstract, and how to take something as far as possible, like, can we make this stapler so that no one will be able to tell it's a stapler. This principle doesn't apply usefully to graphic design.
Although it made sense for a certain exhibition, and big rectangular hole in the floor to display a rug was just not acceptable (a journalist fell down at the opening reception. The hole was about 6-8 inches deep.) Although there were experiments and movements about how illegible you could make a piece of graphic design, eventually legibility rather than fun/craziness/discordance wins out because it needs to communicate a message and that message needs to be understood. Feedback from teh public is wholly unfulfilling. It always "waters down" design. They feel that they have to come up with some kind of answer because you are going to the trouble of asking them. Clients however can provide good useful feedback about their own project.
MODERATOR
Can you talk about how design is adapting and responding to the need/demand for disposable products.
Antonio Alcala
disposable products are designed not to be disposable (they are designed with care). Books are not disposable, but they could be in that there is not real need for books to still be created with the digital technology available.
Tom Strong
Most graphic design is looked at, then shredded or burned. Except for books, most graphic design will eventually not exist outside the designers portfolio. The design becomes irrelevant despite its relevance at the time it was used and needed.
Abbott Miller
IKEA is essentially disposable furniture. It is not built to last, although most of it looks great. It comes down to aesthetic vs. environmental concerns.
Antonio Alcala
For most, it depends on the designer and what kind of work you want to do, and what/who you will accept doing jobs for. For consumers, if they don't like what the company is doing or what it stands for, they won't buy it.
Abbott Miller
People like authorship and style. They don't care about craft and quality.
Tucker Viemeister
People do want craft, they want to see the effort in design.
QUESTION FROM AUDIENCE
Does design consciousness of the public come in waves? Do you feel there is more awareness for design today?
Tucker Viemeister
No one is really design conscious yet.
Antonio Alcala
There is a lot more awareness of design, but design is not an entity itself.
Abbott Miller
There is definitely a move towards more and more materialism, and people seek style. the consumer uses style to express himself. It's reflective of capitalism.
QUESTION FROM AUDIENCE Can you speak about how technology is influencing design?
Tucker Viemeister
Web is not like print in that it can change. Technology allows everyone to do graphic design and perhaps eventually all other kinds of design, like product design, with the help of new technologies, and it could be a great new world because of that.
Abbott Miller
Technology has also had an effect on the speed in which designs can be completed, and clients are aware of how fast you can put a design together, so they ask why they can't have it tomorrow, because what they don't yet understand is all the actual time that goes into real, thoughtful design.
Abbott Miller
With technology today we are actually closer to gutenburg who was the designer, typesetter and printer all in one. Today with our programs and printers, and ability to publish things inexpensively, we are closer to that than before.
MISC not sure where these points, and some of my own thoughts fell in the timeline of the lecture. My one piece of paper was getting full so I was squeezing points in here and there.
Tom Strong
We look for geniuses in design.
Abbott Miller
Eames was a benchmark for design, a threshold/turning point that affected the face of the design world and still has impact today. A Michael Graves teapot, while it might sell very well, most likely won't have the same impact 50 years from now that an Eames chair still has.
Abbott Miller
my thoughts: Exhibition from print graphic design. (question I could ask: How has exhibition design impacted the more traditional graphic design you still produce, if you still produce graphic design at all).
It was an interesting lecture, set up as a panel discussion, so there were 4 participants and 1 moderator. What I am most excited about everything is that after the presentation I got a chance to speak with 2 of the panelists, and both of them agreed to be part of my interview project! I'm so glad that I went, because at one point I thought I was going to be really late because the traffic was so bad, and I considered turning around. I decided to keep going anyway, and the cars cleared up and I made it there in plenty of time, and it's all for the better!
I'm going to transcribe my VERY ROUGH notes here, and I'll make one note about my notes first. I figured out a way to easily and quickly indicate which panelist was speaking while taking notes so I wouldn't have to write out their names each time. At the end of each note, on the next line as a bullet for the following note, I would draw 4 round circles in a horizontal line, and then I'd just wait til I heard something interesting and I'd fill in the circle that was in the corresponding position to the speakers. For example, If the panelist on the far right was the one that made a good point that I wanted to note, I'd fill in the circle on the far right and then make the note just after it. I'm glad that this habit formed right off the bat because it will be helpful when I interview the two panelists, so that I can actually refer to the right information that they offered in the lecture. Anyway, just a little design/innovation pride moment for me.
I have bolded direct quotes/notes, or very close paraphrases thereof. Other content generally reflects looser paraphrases of the panelists' statements recorded here from my memory, and/or my own thoughts/notes.
MODERATOR:
Steve Ziger, AIA, Partner, Ziger/Snead Architects, Baltimore, MD
PANELISTS:
Antonio Alcala, Creative Director, Studio A, Alexandria, VA
Tucker Viemeister, VP Creative, Studio Red at Rockwell Group, New York, NY
Abbott Miller, Pentagram, New York, NY
Tom Strong, Strong/Cohen Assoc., New Haven, CT
Abbott Miller
So many different kinds of design, so diffused and part of our lives.
Antonio Alcala
consumer driven product vs. smaller design vision shared outward
like the independent, non-mainstream magazine 2wice (magaizine and effort of panelist 4)
Much richer culture
consumer culture--same roles for designers
global economy
Abbott Miller
there are design celebrities but most designers are in the background.
Tom Strongstyling
(changing only the superficial; not changing the nature of something, so it functions the same, but looks different)
vs.
vast improvements that are designed and ENGINEERED. where you can say they "engineered it"
Tucker Viemeister
style=lies? styling can seem shallow, like it was an "easy" idea. But usually brilliant design, even in its simplest form has a legacy of a whole lot of time and effort and ideas.
MODERATOR
Loewy is known for designing his own image. He was funny and outrageous. Can you talk about the notion of a "star designer" vs. collaboration.
Antonio Alcala
being a famous designer is like being a famous dentist. he was quoting this from somewhere else... not sure if he new who the specific person was who said it though.
Abbott Miller
Martha Stewart is the contemporary comparison to Loewy for a "star" designer. Martha Stewart has a "signature vision"/broader vision.
They were referring to Martha Stewarts fame as a designer having achieved "house-hold name" status. These days a commonly known designer, like Martha Stewart is more of a brand; even though she doesn't design every piece that is associated with her brand, the designer, in this case Martha, becomes the overriding brand that has many facets.
Tucker Viemeister
Designers being known by the public is important, so that the public will understand that design is not an accident.
Abbott Miller
Social and Communal group effort more honest
He was saying that the tendency these days is for groups of designers (2, 3 or 4 designers) to go into business together, and not go it alone, so the effort becomes more communal. He felt this was more honest (at least for this contemporary time) to be upfront about this collaborative style and effort.
MODERATOR
Can you address the roll of MAYA (most advanced yet acceptable) in design. Are we going too far, or not going far enough?
Tucker Viemeister
People always want crap. If you ask them, "what would you do to make it better?" they would respond, "I don't know," so that's what designers are for. It's not just about what's acceptable, but what will be loved. It's easier to water something down than to "water it up."
Abbott Miller
There have been movements toward the abstract, and how to take something as far as possible, like, can we make this stapler so that no one will be able to tell it's a stapler. This principle doesn't apply usefully to graphic design.
Although it made sense for a certain exhibition, and big rectangular hole in the floor to display a rug was just not acceptable (a journalist fell down at the opening reception. The hole was about 6-8 inches deep.) Although there were experiments and movements about how illegible you could make a piece of graphic design, eventually legibility rather than fun/craziness/discordance wins out because it needs to communicate a message and that message needs to be understood. Feedback from teh public is wholly unfulfilling. It always "waters down" design. They feel that they have to come up with some kind of answer because you are going to the trouble of asking them. Clients however can provide good useful feedback about their own project.
MODERATOR
Can you talk about how design is adapting and responding to the need/demand for disposable products.
Antonio Alcala
disposable products are designed not to be disposable (they are designed with care). Books are not disposable, but they could be in that there is not real need for books to still be created with the digital technology available.
Tom Strong
Most graphic design is looked at, then shredded or burned. Except for books, most graphic design will eventually not exist outside the designers portfolio. The design becomes irrelevant despite its relevance at the time it was used and needed.
Abbott Miller
IKEA is essentially disposable furniture. It is not built to last, although most of it looks great. It comes down to aesthetic vs. environmental concerns.
Antonio Alcala
For most, it depends on the designer and what kind of work you want to do, and what/who you will accept doing jobs for. For consumers, if they don't like what the company is doing or what it stands for, they won't buy it.
Abbott Miller
People like authorship and style. They don't care about craft and quality.
Tucker Viemeister
People do want craft, they want to see the effort in design.
QUESTION FROM AUDIENCE
Does design consciousness of the public come in waves? Do you feel there is more awareness for design today?
Tucker Viemeister
No one is really design conscious yet.
Antonio Alcala
There is a lot more awareness of design, but design is not an entity itself.
Abbott Miller
There is definitely a move towards more and more materialism, and people seek style. the consumer uses style to express himself. It's reflective of capitalism.
QUESTION FROM AUDIENCE Can you speak about how technology is influencing design?
Tucker Viemeister
Web is not like print in that it can change. Technology allows everyone to do graphic design and perhaps eventually all other kinds of design, like product design, with the help of new technologies, and it could be a great new world because of that.
Abbott Miller
Technology has also had an effect on the speed in which designs can be completed, and clients are aware of how fast you can put a design together, so they ask why they can't have it tomorrow, because what they don't yet understand is all the actual time that goes into real, thoughtful design.
Abbott Miller
With technology today we are actually closer to gutenburg who was the designer, typesetter and printer all in one. Today with our programs and printers, and ability to publish things inexpensively, we are closer to that than before.
MISC not sure where these points, and some of my own thoughts fell in the timeline of the lecture. My one piece of paper was getting full so I was squeezing points in here and there.
Tom Strong
We look for geniuses in design.
Abbott Miller
Eames was a benchmark for design, a threshold/turning point that affected the face of the design world and still has impact today. A Michael Graves teapot, while it might sell very well, most likely won't have the same impact 50 years from now that an Eames chair still has.
Abbott Miller
my thoughts: Exhibition from print graphic design. (question I could ask: How has exhibition design impacted the more traditional graphic design you still produce, if you still produce graphic design at all).