memphis is ugly
Image by stuart garske - Helvetica Neue Bold - off the swiss grid…
post modernisim, they railed against the ‘rules’ and structures of modernisim. the hippy movement of the design world. shaking the bars and tearing down the institutions. like an actor breaking the fourth wall, they broke the grid, turning things on their edges. It was a protest against order and clarity.
I was born on august 29th 1975, that makes me a virgo. Now whether you believe in the zodiac or not, i do have many typically described ‘virgo’ traits. perfectionist, lover of balance, bringing order and logic to each day. There are many parts of post modernist design that goes against very core of my being. I appreciate that they brought a freedom to design. they allowed styles and time periods to mix and that has birthed the broad sandpit of design we play in today. still looking at some of the movements within post modernisim it makes me shudder. it goes against my virgo grain.
“MY MEMPHIS INSPIRED TYPOGRAPHIC ART FOR THE PRESETS VIDEO TOOLS DOWN”
lets look at the typography, the swiss style, helvetica, grotesk, ultra bold and dynamic, heres where the love stops for me. The other typographic movements, new wave, memphis, retro revivals and the electronic evolution of digitally created typefaces can be a dynamic influence when designing and are used with consideraton less ones work becomes a bad retro pastiche.
I have a name for design that is made to date and be only of ‘the moment’ i call it ‘restaurant’ design. Restaurants come and go, here one month, gone the next. they Seem to prefer blunt over the top logo designs that scream look at me!!! I’m here and I’m cool, get in quick as we might not last. I always try to keep my work with elements of timelessness so it can last. That said I did go through my archives, as I knew I had a few pieces in there which had their roots firmly planted in post modernisim. They are fun designs, and they were fun to make and play with over time. but i stand by the title of this post… memphis is ugly
(but then so were the 80’s)
Second draft of the Studio Stories designs, in this experiment the letterforms are irregularly placed to form a pleasing visual form over readability. This style was also seen in Post Modernist designs.
“clients final choice for the design, echos of the memphis style remain”