Important pieces of graphic design…
Art Chantry ( art@artchantry.com ):
Exactly how do I say this….?? This little piece of graphic design is, for my money the SECOND most important and profound piece of graphic design of the last half-century. Only the happy face is more influential and ubiquitous and effective and perfectly designed for it’s task.
But, I imagine you think I’m joking.
One of the things you encounter with all those obsequious self-important graphic designer snobs out there is the notion that what they bring to the table is QUALITY and what the general public brings to the table is CRAP. It’s a great sales tool, I have to admit.
AC:the cold clinical blue end utterly non-expressive generic type allows your handwriting to scream all the personality inherent in your own handwriting. that's is extremely smart.
I even knew a design group – some real dorky dudes – who actually used snobbery as their primary sales tool. Clients would walk in the door and they would be intentionally treated like dirt. I mean it was so extreme that it was silly to watch. They’d be bossed around and told what to do. When you brought up their own ideas or past efforts done on their behalf, my friends would openly and derisively laugh at it and dismiss it as utter garbage. It was like a comedy act. Except the clients totally BOUGHT it. The clients would be insulted directly to their faces, and the LAPPED IT UP!
I mean, these boobs suddenly became the hippest, coolest biggest most successful design group in Seattle for a while. they made a LOT of money extremely fast. Eventually, they proved to be completely stupid and they collapsed in flames. But for a while it was amazing to see how successful their moronic ploy was.
AC:a person's signature speaks volumes and volumes more than any printed piece of 'graphic design' ever could.
So, the idea that I would point out the happy face or the ‘hello, my name is…” sticker as important or good or “perfect”, a lot of you reading will think I’m being funny or cute or something. But, I’m actually quite serious. This stuff is REAL graphic design – a popular language form. Most of the stuff graphic designers do for a living is just decoration – they make things look cool (or pretty or whatever.)
The mere fact that EVERYBODY out there knows exactly what this is and how it’s used and what it does for people says all I need to say. Simple good ideas are the brass tacks of graphic design. ‘Concept in context’ is everything. Most graphic designers think it’s their job to make things look nice, not really solidly communicate and speak out to the viewer or (even more importantly) subconsciously inform the popular culture. In fact, mos
aphic designers would sniff disgustedly at a statement like that as if it’s hooey.But, just look at this design. It’s perfect in every way. Even the cheap sticker stock is perfect suited to the task of this piece. The ‘corporate generic blue” color is perfect. Even the typography is consistent throughout it’s usage. Why is that, anyway? I’ve seen other ‘hello, my name is” stickers done in florid script faces and it just doesn’t work at all. Too much personality, I think. Generic is perfect.
AC:taste is useless. i guy i worked for once said to me 'my taste is everything'. i almost laughed in his face. what an idiot. he as one of the shittiest designers i ever knew - also one of the most financially successful. being a graphic decorator to the wealthy is like being a well paid whore. bend over and take your money. utterly hollow - "fill 'er up!"
I wish I had created this thing. Like the happy face, it’s just one of those absolutely perfect little things. Graphic design at it’s purest and finest.
I wonder if anybody has copyrighted the ‘hello, my name is…” sticker with a happy face on it? hmmmmm…..
ADDENDUM:
Art Chantry:this little piece of graphic design is the perfect example to prove my repeatedly shouted remark that graphic design is NOT ART! dammit. frankly, it’s better than art. being called an ‘artist’ is an insult. graphic design done well is one of the hardest most complicated and thoughtful things you can ever try to tackle. it makes ‘following your muse’ look like wanking….i blame the design education system out there. most graphic design is taught in college ‘art departments’ – usually as a way for the young artists to make a living while trying to make it as a ‘real’ artist (like some sort of vocational training). the result is a disdain for graphic design as a ‘mere craft’ or ‘prostitution’ while they never have the energy or time (or talent/skill) to do their ‘fine art’. the whole situation is silly, but it’s a very real phenomenon. most graphic designers seem to feel like they are failed ‘artists’ and secretly hate what they do to make ma living. i think that really affects the results….
AC:if you want to know what i think about it? it's perfectly adequate piece of commercial souvenir promo design. nothing special or anything. if it wasn't designed by milton glaser (but instead designed, say... by irving forbush) you wouldn't even look twice at it. it's got too much of the cult of personality and hero worship behind it it to be understood as a stand-alone piece. whereas both the happy face and the 'hello my name is.." sticker have authorship lost in history. you can plainly see those for what they are. click image for source
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