ART 5360: researching cross-cultural graphic designers

Continued researching a variety of cross-cultural graphic designers in China. For my research paper, I’m analyzing the design works of pioneer Chinese designer Bingnan Yu, ‘Father of Hong Kong’ design Henry Steiner, and Xu Wang–a well-known graphic designer whose works show influences from the East and West. Working bibliography:

Anderson, Chris. “Wang Xu: graphic design’s evangelist in China.” Graphis 316 (1998): 22-31.

Arntson, Amy E. Graphic Design Basics, Third Edition. Orlando: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998.

Cushing, Lincoln. “Revolutionary Chinese Posters and Their Impact Abroad,” 7-23.

Cushing, Lincoln, and Ann Tompkins. Chinese posters: Art from the great proletarian cultural revolution. San Francisco: Chronicle Books LLC, 2007.

Hongxing, Zhang and Lauren Parker, eds. China Design Now. South Kensington: V&A Publishing, 2008.

Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with type: a critical guide for designers, writers, editors, & students (second, revised and expanded edition). New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2010.

Meggs, Philip B. and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, 4^th edition. Hoboken[city]: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.

Meggs, Philip B. and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, 5^th edition. Hoboken[city]: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.

Minick, Scott, and Jiao Ping. Chinese Graphic Design in the Twentieth Century. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990.

Page One Publishing. Inspirations from the East: Modern Chinese Design. Page One Publishing Private, 2010.

Resnick, Elizabeth. Design for communication: conceptual graphic design basics. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2003.

Steiner, Henry, and Ken Haas. Cross-Cultural Design: Communicating in the Global Marketplace. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1995.

Wang, Min, and Xiao Hong Shen. “After Mao: Chinese Graphic Design Today,” Print 48 (1994): 64-71.

Welch, Patricia Bjaaland. Chinese art: a guide to motifs and visual imagery. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2008.

Henry Steiner & Co. Branding

Other resources of interest:

Losing In Translation 2: Graphic Design in Hong Kong and the Peoples Republic of China, by Catherine Jo Ishino

More on Professor Yu Bingnan, Design China

Posters by Xu Wang, The International Poster Collection, Colorado State University

Biography on Xu Wang on Beijing International Design Triennial

Surface Asia Magazine

Bauhaus: Ninety Years of Inspiration by Sharon Ross on smashingmagazine.com

More resources to update as the research paper progresses.

ART 5360 Research topic: Contemporary graphic design in China after the 1980s

After researching various sources, I’ve submitted a topic for my research paper in ART 5360: Topics in Art and Art History. My research topic a few semesters past was on the development of Chinese graphic design in the 1920s and 1930s–researching ‘western’ influence on Chinese design. I think looking at more current times integrates well with my current visual work and research–my proposed topic is:

The development of contemporary graphic design in China after the 1980s: A fusion of traditional and modern aesthetics

There have been leading graphic designers in China since the early twentieth century that have influenced the development of design to the present. During the 1920s and 1930s, European art movements and styles influenced the design scene in China, particularly in Shanghai. Some of the foreign influences still remain after the 1980s, as the numbers of graphic design studios expand across the country. Some of the design media developing in China that seem to integrate eastern and western aesthetics include posters, advertisements, packaging, and book art.

This research paper will examine the foreign influence on the development of graphic design in China from the 1980s, particularly design related to posters, advertisements, packaging, and book design. The developmental history and growth of graphic design in China from the 1980s and examples of cross-cultural design works will be discussed. A rough outline of topics to be explored in this research paper include:

outline may changes as research progresses…

outline may changes as research progresses…

Some resources for the paper will include:

Doordan, Dennis P. (ed.)  Design History: An Anthology.  Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1995. This book contains two articles that discuss the development of modern design in China, as well as the development of graphic design areas such as packaging, book design and advertisements. The two articles are: Turner, Matthew. “Early Modern Design in Hong Kong” and Wang, Shou Zhi. “Chinese Modern Design: A Retrospective.”

Dopress Studio.  Inspirations from the East: Modern Chinese Design.  Singapore: Page One Publishing Pte Ltd, 2009. This resource features the design works of designers from China that have incorporated modern design aesthetics, experimentations, and an integration of traditional Chinese elements with Western design techniques and styles.

Hongxing, Zhang and Lauren Parker, eds.  China Design Now.  V&A Publishing, 2008. This source discusses example works of modern Chinese designers and artists. It also reviews the techniques, design processes and influences of the artists mentioned. This resource is important in my research because it exhibits examples of work that integrate western and eastern design elements, and the historical development of modern design in China. It also discusses how Chinese designers have been influenced by western ideas or if they have chosen to design only with their own cultural styles.

Minick, Scott and Jiao Ping.  Chinese Graphic Design in the Twentieth Century.  New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990. This source provides details into the development of different styles, movements, and designs throughout China in the 20^th century. It discusses the foreign influences that have inspired the Shanghai Style.

Steiner, Henry and Ken Haas.  Cross-Cultural Design: Communicating in the Global Marketplace.  New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1995. This source provides inspiring examples of cultural design projects. Henry Steiner mentions that cross-cultural design requires an image to be “transformed” and “redefined”; taking cultural imagery and icons and transforming them to be something personal. Cross-cultural designers from different countries are featured. This resource is important in my research because it discusses projects related to integrating and understanding different cultures. It provides a more in-depth analysis of the work of cross-cultural design leader Henry Steiner, and investigates his clever interplay of imagery, typography, and ideas of eastern and western cultures.

Wong, Wendy S.  “Design Identity of Hong Kong: Colonization, de-colonization, and re-colonization.”  York University. The 6th International Conference of the European Academy of Design Conference Proceedings (CD-Rom). Bremen: University of the Arts. 2005. This source discusses the historical development of design in Hong Kong under British rule and how its design identity is defined when Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. It discusses designers that have incorporated western and eastern styles in their works. This resource is important in my research because it reviews the origins of graphic design development in China, providing examples of Chinese modern design of the 1920s and 1930s, known as the Shanghai style. The cross-cultural works of Henry Steiner are analyzed, along with other influential graphic designers. It discusses the changes in Hong Kong design identity under British and Chinese ordinance.

Wong, Wendy S.  “Detachment and Unification: A Chinese Graphic Design History in Greater China Since 1979.”  Design Issues: Vol. 17 (4), 2001, 51-71. This paper discusses the development of graphic design in the Greater China region before and after 1979. It also provides examples and examines the works of cross-cultural designers such as Henry Steiner, Kan Tai-keung, and Alan Chan.

Other resources of interest:

York Centre for Asian Research, Principle Investigator: Wendy S Wong

DOES MODERNIZING MEAN WESTERNIZING? Western views of New China’s Graphic Design 1998-2008 by Catherine Ishino

Chinese art and design resources

This fall I’m enrolled as an independent study in ART 5360: Topics in Art and Art History. The first few weeks I’ve been researching various sources to narrow down to a thesis topic. My faculty supervisor has been understanding and gave me some more time to research various sources to find areas to write about. Below are some resources I’ve looked at and potentially use for my thesis research topic.

reviewed some of these books on Chinese symbolism–a potential research area

Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs by C.A.S. Williams

Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art by Terese Tse Bartholomew

Symbols and Rebuses in Chinese Art by Fang Jing Pei and Jing Pei Fang

Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery by Patricia Bjaaland Welch

Firecrackers: The Art and History by Warren Dotz, Jack Mingo, George Moyer

This book had extensive examples on the artwork on firecracker labels in time periods before 1950s to present day. Since firecrackers were also exported globally, examples had shown ‘western’ icons integrated with Chinese iconography [for example, the American Eagle with a Dragon (p. 40) and a ‘Santa Claus’ brand that featured Santa Claus in front of a bright background with snow and mistletoe (p. 41)]. Some of the labels also show the influence of the geometric shapes and lines from the Art Deco movement and the Shanghai style women during the 1920s and 1930s (p. 70). Resource: Firecrackers: The Art and History by Warren Dotz, Jack Mingo, and George Moyer.

Chinese Label Art: 1900-1976 by Andrew S. Cahan

This resource also had an extensive amount of examples that illustrated the influence of the Art Deco style and global influence on Chinese label art and advertising.

The Cult of Happiness: Nianhua, Art, and History in Rural North China by James A. Flath

I also began looking at the area of nianhua–New Year woodblock prints, and researching their development, importance and history. The Cult of Happiness: Nianhua, Art, and History in Rural North China by James A. Flath is a significant resource to understanding and learning about nianhua.

Thesis Thinking: readings and research

Still a lot of reading and research to review and analyze; documenting some online resources I’m currently reviewing:

Demibooks Storytime features a variety of books completed using Composer Pro. Some of the books featured learning sign language as in Die Drie Varkies and Die Gemmerkoekman. More samples of books found at: http://demibooks.com/books/

Picsterbooks: Publisher Interview with Karen Hart

International Design and Children conference

Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop: Early Education

Sesame Workshop: Interactive Media

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop (advanced children’s learning in a digital age)

Blog: Fred Rogers Center for early learning and children’s media at Saint Vincent College

Some popular posts on Fred Rogers Center Blog:

Are All E-Books Created Equal?

Helping Young Children Develop a Healthy Media Diet

How Some Digital Media May Actually Help Children Learn to Focus

For Infants and Toddlers in the Digital Age: Time with Adults Still Matters Most

book talk: Designing for Social Change

 

Designing For Social Change by Andrew Shea

Designing for Social Change by Andrew Shea provides various examples of design solutions for social issues. Each real-life example informed the reader of the project details, the team involved, research, design mock-ups and published pieces. The end of each project also included a summary on the “Design Challenge”, “Engagement Strategy”, “Design Strategy”, “Outcomes”, and “Lessons Learned”. I found these last few phrases especially useful in thinking about the outline of my thesis topic.

book talk: 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design

100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design by Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne

Looking through 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design by Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne discusses the concepts that have had a great impact on the development of graphic design. Some of the ideas in the book I was not too familiar with or had not realized, such as ‘funny faces’, ‘collages’, ‘abstraction’, ‘frame by frame’ and ‘illegibility’, and other ideas that I have continually tried to research on, such as ‘pictograms’, ‘self promo publishing’, ‘do it yourself’, ‘perfect rectangles’, ‘asymmetrical typography’ and ‘found typography’. There are a variety of examples/ideas to analyze and read; each idea is explained with engaging visuals and examples.

book talk: The Graphic Spirit of Japan

The Graphic Spirit of Japan by Richard Smith Thorton provides an extensive collection of Japanese graphic design from the design history from the Meiji period throughout to the 1980s. Numerous design examples can be seen in this book from Japanese designers such as Hisui Sugiura, Yusaku Kamekura, Ikko Tanaka, Mitsuo Katsui, to name just a few. The book also looks at European influence on Japanese design, typography, illustration, poster competitions, packaging design, advertising photography, and graphic design education. One particular example that caught my attention was a poster design by Ryuichi Yamashiro, named Trees. The character (ki) means ‘tree’, when two of the same characters are combined, the character (hayashi) means ‘wood’, and when three of the same characters are combined, the character (mori) means ‘forest’. The characters are laid out across the space as to represent trees among a snow-covered hillside (source: The Graphic Spirit of Japan, Richard Smith Thorton, page 82). There are plenty of inspirational examples in this book to be learned from.

The Graphic Spirit of Japan by Richard S. Thorton

Research on Japanese Modern Graphic Design, early 20th century

For my ART 5320: Art Criticism and Theory (History of Graphic Design) class, I decided to research on the influence of modernism on Japanese graphic design in the early 20th century. The paper outline included research on pioneer graphic designer Sugiura Hisui, a major influence to the contribution of modern graphic design development in Japan, and the influence of modernism on postcard design, matchbox cover design, and typography. Japanese artists and designers were inspired by European art movements such as Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Bauhaus during the early 20th century. Valuable references used in my paper were:

Art of the Japanese Postcard

Brown, K. H., Morse, A. N., & Rimer, J.T., Art of the Japanese Postcard: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (pp. 183-184). Boston, MA: MFA Publications.

Japanese Modern

Fraser, James, Heller, S., & Chwast, S. (1996). Japanese modern: Graphic design between the wars. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

In addition to a research paper, we were required to also design a booklet in the topic’s particular style. The book on Japanese Modern (Fraser, Heller, and Chwast) discuss the design of matchbox covers that were inspired by the Art Deco movement around the 1920s and 1930s. I decided to design my booklet to be held in a 5″x7″ matchbox cover, here are some images of the final product:

initial print out of the matchbox cover, because of the velvet paper texture a layer of ink remained on top

tried printing it again but on a different print setting, still a layer of ink so I decided to do a self-mini-print from the layer of ink

here is the ‘print’ from the layer of ink from the inkjet print

matchbox cover design with match illustration as the cover of the book

taking the book out of the matchbox

opening up the book to the title page

opening up the booklet, with the research paper and presentation underneath

submitting the final deliverables: research paper, presentation, matchbox cover with booklet, and CD containing all digital files

Cross-cultural designer Henry Steiner

A few weeks ago I’ve finished writing a research paper on cross-cultural designer Henry Steiner. His vast selection of design work has inspired global audiences, combining the principles and aesthetics of eastern and western design. One of the valuable resources for my research is Cross-Cultural Design: Communicating in the Global Marketplace, by Henry Steiner and Ken Haas, where Henry Steiner describes the techniques of iconography, typography, symbolism, split imagery, and ideography in creating cross-cultural designs (Resource: Steiner & Haas, page 6). In addition to the research paper, it was also required to create a presentation and design a booklet that is influenced by the styles/works of the designer. I chose a style that resembles traditional Chinese book binding–binding together French-folded pages of the research content and images of some of Henry Steiner’s design works. Below are images of the final deliverables.

researching designer Henry Steiner: research paper, presentation, design booklet and CD of all research materials

designed booklet containing research on designer Henry Steiner

 

2012 Fall: First day of another academic year

It’s the start of another Fall semester. I’m excited of having the valuable opportunity of teaching a class this semester — introduction to typography. My professors and colleagues have given supportive advice and feedback to constructing a syllabus and their methods of teaching. The required text for the class:

Thinking with Type, Ellen Lupton

Other resources to look over for ideas/inspiration:

Typographic Design: Form and Communication, Rob Carter, Ben Day, Philip Meggs

Typography Essentials, Ina Saltz

Typographic Systems, Kimberly Elam

Type Addicted, viction:ary

Making and Breaking the Grid, Timothy Samara

I’m sure the list of resources will continue to grow. Just a start for now.