GDE720 W7 | Workshop Challenge

March 22, 2020

WRITING A STORY (DRAFT)

This week’s challenge was to write the first draft of my 3,000-word article.

Write the first draft of your 3,000 word article, to be saved as a Word or TextEdit document.
Curate an A3 inspiration board to present your initial ideas about the design approach, to include examples of materials, format, typography, print / digital production.
Save your inspiration board in an interactive PDF format.

LINK: (DRAFT) BEYOND THE BIG FIVE: The Unaccounted Women of the San Francisco Psychedelic Design Era

ELEVATOR PITCH

When history is reflected upon with regard to the psychedelic design movement of 1960s San Francisco, we notoriously only hear about the Big Five: Rick Griffin, Alton Kelley, Victor Moscoso, Stanley Mouse, and Wes Wilson.

While these men made a huge impact on this fundamental period of design, they are all men. The contributions of women artists of this experiential and experimental era of design are rarely, if ever, mentioned.

Where are the women? Did they just sew flowers into each other's hair. NO.

This essay is aimed to shed light on the contributions of women artists of the San Francisco psychedelic design movement of the 1960s.

STORY OUTLINE

Introduction
- Impact of the Psychedelic Design Era on design overall
- Touch on the usual suspects: the Big Five
Spotlights on Bay Area Women Graphic Designers
- Bonnie MacLean
- Mari Tepper
- Virginia Clive-Smith
- Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
- Marget Larsen
Closing/Summary

INSPIRATION BOARD

I want to truly reflect the 1960s Psychedelic Design Era - its nod to the Nouveau Art movement - as well as the uniqueness of the concert promotion posters through an expression of typography, print and bindery effects, and bold color. See below for my inspiration board.

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REFERENCE:

Lewis, A., (2016) So You Want to Publish a Magazine. London: Laurence King

Chapter 01. So you want to publish a magazine?
Chapter 02. Choose your own adventure
Chapter 05. Ink and Pixels

Ambrose, G., (2015) The Layout Book. London: Bloomsbury

Falmouth University (2018). Visual Writing: Content Review | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

A conversation with Bucks County's Bonnie MacLean, Fillmore poster artist past and present. (2015, September 28). Retrieved from https://thekey.xpn.org/2015/09/28/bonnie-maclean-fillmore-poster/

Ankeny, J. (n.d.). Stanley Mouse: Biography & History. Retrieved from https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mouse-mn0001838603

Biography by Norman Hathaway September 17. (n.d.). 2018 AIGA Medalist Victor Moscoso. Retrieved from https://www.aiga.org/medalist-victor-moscoso

Bonnie MacLean. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bahrgallery.com/artist-master/bonnie-maclean

Darrow, C. (2015, August 18). Soon-to-open Fillmore Philadelphia connects with the past through local poster artist Bonnie MacLean. Retrieved from https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/music/20150818_Soon-to-open_Fillmore_Philadelphia_connects_with_the_past_through_local_poster_artist_Bonnie_MacLean.html

Genzlinger, N. (2020, February 20). Bonnie MacLean, Psychedelic Poster Artist, Is Dead at 80. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/arts/bonnie-maclean-dead.html

Gleaves, J. (2015, July 7). California Dreamin'. Retrieved from https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/07/07/california-dreamin/

Grafik. (n.d.). Victor Moscoso. Retrieved from https://www.grafik.net/category/archive/victor-moscoso

Hotchkiss, S. (2018, August 15). At 90, Barbara Stauffacher Solomon Has No Time for the Art World (and Never Did). Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/arts/13839094/barbara-stauffacher-solomon-bampfa-art-wall

Ink and acid: The psychedelic design revolution. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iconeye.com/design/features/item/12567-ink-and-acid-the-psychedelic-design-revolution

Jones, A. (2020, February 13). Legendary Rock Poster Artist Bonnie MacLean Dead at 80. Retrieved from https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/bonnie-maclean/poster-artist-bonnie-maclean-dead/

Legaspi, A. (2020, January 31). Wes Wilson, Iconic Psychedelic Poster Artist, Dead at 82. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/wes-wilson-psychedelic-poster-artist-dead-obituary-945946/

Marget Larsen. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://designobserver.com/feature/marget-larsen/39501

Marget Larsen. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://communityofcreatives.com/marget-larsen/

Marget Larsen · SFMOMA. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Marget_Larsen/

Morley, M. (2019, April 5). The Cost of Free Love and the Designers Who Bore It-Meet the Women of Psychedelic Design. Retrieved from https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/women-of-psychedelic-design/

Nick, & Nick. (n.d.). Rick Griffin. Retrieved from https://trps.org/artists/rick-griffin/

OZ magazine, London: Historical & Cultural Collections: University of Wollongong. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ro.uow.edu.au/ozlondon/

Peace, Love and Posters. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/community/blogosphere/2009/11/18/peace-love-and-posters/

Perry, C. (n.d.). Mari Tepper • The Rock Poster Society. Retrieved from https://trps.org/artists/mari-tepper/

Petty, F., Petty, F., Jansen, C., Jansen, C., Awwad, Y., & Awwad, Y. (n.d.). A multi-hyphenate pioneer: Barbara Stauffacher Solomon. Retrieved from https://www.foldmagazine.com/multi-hyphenate-pioneer-barbara-stauffacher-solomon

Petty, F., Jansen, C., & Awwad, Y. (n.d.). A multi-hyphenate pioneer: Barbara Stauffacher Solomon. Retrieved from https://www.foldmagazine.com/multi-hyphenate-pioneer-barbara-stauffacher-solomon

Pioneer: Marget Larsen. (2010, October 27). Retrieved from https://www.commarts.com/features/pioneer-marget-larsen

Popeson, P., & Department Preparator. (n.d.). MoMA: Consider the Rock Concert Poster. Retrieved from https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2014/12/18/rock-concert-posters-at-moma/

Rick Griffin. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bahrgallery.com/artist-master/rick-griffin

Rick Griffin. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://clubofthewaves.com/feature/rick-griffin/

San Francisco Rock Posters and the Art of Photo-Offset Lithography. (2010). The Book and Paper Group Annual, Vol 29.

Sinclair, M. (2017, June 9). The Big Bold World of Barbara Stauffacher Solomon. Retrieved from https://www.creativereview.co.uk/barbara-stauffacher-solomon/?nocache=true&adfesuccess=1

Staff, C. (n.d.). Visions Not Previously Seen: The Groundbreaking Design Work of Barbara Stauffacher Solomon. Retrieved from https://create.adobe.com/2018/3/28/visions_not_previous.html

Stanley Mouse. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/artists/stanley-mouse/

Stanley Mouse • The Rock Poster Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://trps.org/artists/stanley-mouse/

T Suggests: Sumptuous Scrunchies, Radiant Paintings by an Outsider Artist and More. (2019, February 22). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/t-magazine/barbara-stauffacher-solomon-sophie-buhai-hair-editors-picks.html

The Book and Paper Group Annual--Volume 29--Contents. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cool.culturalheritage.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v29

The Summer of Love Experience: Art, Fashion, and Rock & Roll: famsf-digital-stories. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://digitalstories.famsf.org/summer-of-love/

TypeRoom. (n.d.). Supergraphics' Barbara Stauffacher Solomon legacy is ready to be told. Retrieved from https://www.typeroom.eu/article/supergraphics-barbara-stauffacher-solomon-legacy-ready-be-told

Victor Moscoso Biography and Top Artwork List: It's Primo Guide. (2019, May 27). Retrieved from https://itsprimo.com/featured/victor-moscoso-posters/

Weller, S. (n.d.). LSD, Ecstasy, and a Blast of Utopianism: How 1967's "Summer of Love" All Began. Retrieved from https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/07/lsd-drugs-summer-of-love-sixties

Wes Wilson. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bahrgallery.com/artist-master/wes-wilson

When Art Rocked: San Francisco Music Posters. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/when-art-rocked-san-francisco-music-posters

GDE720 W6 | Workshop Challenge

March 22, 2020

FINDING A STORY

This week’s challenge had us to exploring how to research and define a topic that reveals a new insight and critical understanding of visual culture, myth or story in your area via the following outputs

Research and find two possible stories that reflect a viewpoint of your own town, city or locale.
Create one image to represent both initial story concepts, using a variety of methods, which must be original and not sourced from the Internet or a third party.
Present two short proposals with title, original image and a short 100-word synopsis (elevator pitch) about the concept of your article. Please note, we will provide a prepared Keynote slide template for you to present your findings.

The two directions I chose were:

Beyond the Big Five: The Unaccounted Women of the San Francisco Psychedelic Design Era
- When history is reflected upon with regard to the psychedelic design movement of 1960s San Francisco, we notoriously only hear about the Big Five: Rick Griffin, Alton Kelley, Victor Moscoso, Stanley Mouse, and Wes Wilson.
  While these men made a huge impact on this fundamental period of design, the are all men. The contributions of women artists of this experiential and experimental era of design are rarely, if ever, mentioned.
  Where are the women? Did they just sew flowers into each other's hair. NO.
  This research project is aimed to shed light on the contributions of women artists of the San Francisco psychedelic design movement of the 1960s.
Through the Lens of Protest: A Photo-documentary of Freedom of Speech in San Francisco
- For more than six decades, the Bay Area has been the epicenter of protest movements like no other region in the United States.
  Free speech rights. The Vietnam War. Racial injustice. The nuclear bomb. U.S. policy in Central America. Wars in the Middle East. The AIDS crisis. Economic inequities. Police brutality. Animal rights. Women’s rights. Climate Change. Even the war on plastic.
  The Bay Area has a special place as one of dissent and free speech. And the coverage of this dissent through the photographer's lens tells the story. This research showcases the decades of protests in San Francisco via the contributions of documentary photographer.

My final piece can be found below:

REFERENCE:

Falmouth University (2018). Visual Written Communication - Research and Curate | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Lupton, E. and Miller, A., (1996) Design, Writing, Research: Writing on Graphic Design. New York: Kiosk Books

Robson, C., (2002) Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner researchers. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

Louisiana Channel (1916) Irma Boom: A Tribute to Coco Chanel, [online video]. Available at https://vimeo.com/142852186.

Launching a magazine includes a series of big decisions, as well as puzzle pieces to pull together — as we learn from magazine editor and writer, Angharad Lewis.

GDE720 W7 | Lecture Review

March 22, 2020

VISUAL WRITING - CONTENT REVIEW

This week’s lecture involves an interview with Falmouth professor Susannah Edwards and writer/editor, Angharad Lewis.

ANGHARAD LEWIS

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GRAFIK MAGAZINE

SO YOU WANT TO PUBLISH A MAGAZINE?

PUBLISHING ACROSS VARIOUS PLATFORMS

REFERENCE:

Lewis, A., (2016) So You Want to Publish a Magazine. London: Laurence King

Chapter 01. So you want to publish a magazine?
Chapter 02. Choose your own adventure
Chapter 05. Ink and Pixels

Ambrose, G., (2015) The Layout Book. London: Bloomsbury

Falmouth University (2018). Visual Writing: Content Review| Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

The great many works of designer, Paul Rand

GDE720 W6 | Lecture Review

March 22, 2020

VISUAL WRITING — RESEARCH & CURTE

This week’s lecture presents a conversation between Stuart Tolley, designer and author, and his book publisher, Andrew Sanigar of Thames & Hudson to examine the close working relationship between writer and publisher. Below is my distillation of their conversation.

ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

Ethnographic research is the study of individual lives and cultures, and is typically conducted by immersion of the researcher into the community in which they aim to study. There are several key approaches to successful ethnographic research:

To gain insight and understanding into a particular society or culture
To identify a new or burgeoning lifestyle or subculture
To reveal new consumer patterns or perspectives
To provide a voice for social or cultural groups

WHAT MAKES A GOOD VISUAL CULTURE BOOK CONCEPT?

The audience must be as clearly defined as the concept.

A museum without walls. — Thames & Hudson tagline.

WHAT DOES A PRODUCTION MEETING LOOK LIKE WHEN DISCUSSING A PROPOSAL?

The entire T&H team comes together to review a book proposal. This includes sales teams, international rights teams, marketing, publisher / editors to review the proposal and any design concepts. They identify the appropriate platform for the book, how they will support and promoted the book and decide “why THIS book?" They may also decide not to pursue a book at this time.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHEN A BOOK WILL INCLUDE A GLOBAL AUDIENCE?

It really depends on the key audience. Many readers around the globe will buy an English-language book.

ARE AUTHORS SUPPOSED TO BE EXPERTS?

To an extent, yes. They need to have the foundational expertise and passion to really make a book successful as it will impact commercial distillation.

WHAT TYPES OF HURDLES DOES T&H FACE?

Design anthologies or projects that have to compete with online resources (Pinterest, etc.) Books need to include marketable topics.

COULD YOU WALK US THROUGH A BOOK PROPOSAL PROCESS?

First ideas are developed. Then a publishing meeting will commence to review the ideas in process. Audience, marketing, rough imagery, spreads, TOCs, description, price point, positioning statement are then all reviewed at an upcoming all-hands meeting at T&H where a book is determined to go ahead, canceled or sent back for further development. Then a book is costed to determine rates for the author, the wholesale and retail pricing, etc. Once the team agrees to the plan, then a formal contract is offered to the author and deadlines are determined. The publishing process typically takes 18 months on average depending on marketing trends, current events, and sales cycles.

WHAT DO PRINTED BOOKS OVER THAT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CANNOT?

Books are tactile and therefore provide an immersive design experience that cannot be emulated in a digital format. Further, books are typically properly researched and curated.

WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN IN THE LAST DECADE?

Technology has had a big impact on publishing: how books are printed (film vs. DTP technology). Designers really need to understand the print production process more thoroughly and holistically as the industry is more integrated and far less siloed as in previous decades. It provides an opportunity for the designers to be a part of the production process.

WHAT CHANGES ARE YOU SEEING IN SLOW JOURNALISM AND INDEPENDENT PRINT EDITORIAL?

There is a push and pull of trends and responses to trends that go in opposite directions, so we are seeing more growth in independent print editorial at the moment.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF SELF-PUBLISHING OR KICKSTARTING BOOKS HAD ON TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING?

Some books just wouldn’t get made without self-publishing as they may not have had success with traditional publishers. Further, some kickstarted books bring with them a groundswell or built-in audiences that traditional publishing cannot typically rely upon.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE FUTURE FOR PUBLISHING?

Gen Z and the change in audiences overall by generation. Younger generations will need to rely on books and go passed Pinterest to gain the immersive experience offered by books, especially books that offer DIY education such as screen printing techniques or other practical books.

REFERENCE:

Falmouth University (2018). Visual Written Communication - Research and Curate | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Lupton, E. and Miller, A., (1996) Design, Writing, Research: Writing on Graphic Design. New York: Kiosk Books

Robson, C., (2002) Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner researchers. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

Louisiana Channel (1916) Irma Boom: A Tribute to Coco Chanel, [online video]. Available at https://vimeo.com/142852186.

GDE720 W5 | Workshop Challenge

March 1, 2020

DISSECTING A WRITTEN GENRE

This week’s challenge had us generating a written and visual content that explores the relationship between content and form.

Among the six genre’s of writing offered, I chose “love letter”. One of my favorite writers of all time is Ernest Hemingway. I knew he had written numerous love letters. With Hemingway as a starting point, I set off to find the love letters of the other prolific writers: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Oscar Wilde, John Keats, and Johnny Cash.

To emphatically profess emotion is a key element of any love letter. It seems a sense of madness or being besotted also tends to have a starring role. Writing is meandering and wild. Forms are broken and reassembled. The tone is passionate, desperate, and undying.

I cannot love
you less...?

*That* is a doubtful phrase. And
I cannot love you more…
…is doubtful too, for reasons I could give. More or less, I really love you, but it does not sound right, even so, does it? I know what it ought to be, and will put it into the 'seal' and the 'paper' with the ineffable other things.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning married her husband, Robert Browning by eloping much to the dismay of her father. They wrote many love letters to one another throughout their lives together. And collections of these letters have been published many times over. A love of the ages.

John Keats ends his bachelorhood by deeply slipping into a heart-struck madness for his paramour, Fanny Brawne.

Oscar Wilde fell in love with a man named Lord Alfred Douglas, whom Wilde affectionately called "Bosie". To be in love with a man in the time of Oscar Wilde was not unheard of, but it was not publicized. His letters to Douglas were passionate, full of love and desire to remain with his sweet Bosie knowing full well it was never to be. The advent of the typewriter allowed Wilde to profess his love and admiration in two ways as shown below:

Hemingway, a prolific writer, was also a prolific lover. Married four times and having countless lovers both during his marriages and apart, Ernest could not keep his loving thoughts to himself. He often used his passion for his beloveds as a muse for his work. His use of pacing, type, and punctuation underscores the degree of his love.

The love between Johnny Cash and Rosanne Cash was like none other. A love so big and so deep it lifted them up, broke into pieces, and brought them together several times over. While their love was shared in song after song — lyrical love letters — it was also shared through written love letters.

Working on this assignment reminded me of one of my own passions for type: the typewriter. I happen to own a 1937 Remington Noiseless portable. And it served as inspiration as I drafted my final piece. I chose to write a love letter to Palatino, the serif typeface created in 1948 by type designer Herrmann Zapf.

I chose both handwritten typography (my own) and typewriter courier elite type called Special Elite, which is the closest facsimile of my own typewriter. After digging it out, I realized the space bar cable has snapped, so my approach to actually type my own letter was thwarted. Luckily, there is a typewriter repairman not too far from my house and it will give me the opportunity to geek out with the repairman over typewriters. :)

I then moved the piece into Procreate to create a watercolor and alcohol ink wash around the letter forms to increase the emotion of the piece. Lastly, I placed it into a mockup of a deckle-edge piece of paper. My hope would be if this were to be a collection of love letters, it would be a part of a handcrafted book like the example shown below.

My final piece can be found below:

REFERENCE:

Biguenet, J. (2015, February 12). A Modern Guide to the Love Letter. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/02/a-modern-guide-to-the-love-letter/385370/

Dorning, A. M. (2009, November). Letters Show Hemingway as 'Besotted Lover'. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/newly-discovered-letters-show-hemingway-besotted-lover/story?id=8990222

Element Talks (2017) Adrian Shaughnessy – The graphic designer as writer, editor and publisher, [online video]. Available at Adrian Shaughnessy - The graphic designer as writer, editor and publisher. [Accessed 31 January 2019].

Falmouth University (2018). Visual Written Communication | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

It’s Nice That (2015) Nicer Tuesdays: Craig Oldham on Books, [online video]. Available at Nicer Tuesdays: Craig Oldham on Books [Accessed 31 January 2019].

Jones, L. (2011, October 22). Bosie's love letters point to cover-up in Oscar Wilde trial. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/bosies-love-letters-point-to-cover-up-in-oscar-wilde-trial-2254136.html

Palatino® Font Family Typeface Story. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fonts.com/font/linotype/palatino/story

Popova, M. (2019, October 28). John Keats's Exquisite Love Letter to Fanny Brawne. Retrieved from https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/02/19/john-keats-love-letter-fanny-brawne/

Smith, R. I. (2018, March 6). Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Immortal Literary Love Affair. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/03/elizabeth-barrett-browning-birthday/472377/

Smith, S. (2007, March). 'I Want to Kiss You Forever'. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2989920&page=1

TOC (2011) Anna Gerber and Britt Iverson, Visual Editions: Part Revolution, Part Reinvention, Part Making it Up Along the Way, [online video]. Available at TOC 2011: Anna Gerber & Britt Iverson, "Visual Editions: Part Revolution, Part Reinvention..." [Accessed 31 January 2019].