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DAVID Carson
Art of the Letter curated was by Jiayi K. Lin
for the University Gallery at the University of
Massachusetts Lowell Copyright 2015
EVILLE Brody
An exhibition of letterforms at University Gallery
71 Wilder Street, Lowell MA. 01854
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
David Carson
Master of Typography
10
The Rules of Graphic Design
12
Important Things to Consider
15
Readable Article
18
Influence
20
Advice for Designers
22
INTRODUCTION
Carson & Brody
Neville Brody
Graphic Design or Fine Arts
26
Communication
28
Studio
32
Work at a Human Scale
35
Design Process
36
Learning from Experience
38
Bibliography
40
an Interview with
DvCi
d
a
8
by Chad Neuman | COLUMNS
November 8, 2007
D
“
h
avid Carson is considered by
many to be one of the world’s
most influential graphic designers. He describes himself as a
a
n
d
s
-
o
n
ar son
”
designer and has a unique, intuition-driven way of
creating everything from magazines to TV commercials.
In addition to various awards and achievements for his
graphic design and typography work, Carson has
also written books on design, including The End of Print
(with Lewis Blackwell), Trek: David Carson, Recent Werk, and
the soon-to-be-released The Rules of Graphic Design.
“
Graphis magazine referred to Carson as a “Master of
Typography.” I.D. magazine included Carson in their
list of “America’s most innovative designers.” In Newsweek
magazine, a feature article said of Carson: “…he
changed the public face of graphic design.” Emigre, a
graphic design journal that ran for 21 years up until
2005, devoted an entire issue to Carson. His long list
to Carson. His long list of
clients includes American
Express, AT&T, Atlantic
of
Records, Budweiser, CNN,
Levi’s, MTV, Sony, Toyota,
Warner Bros., and Xerox,
to name just a few.
Carson travels throughout
the United States and
the world, s p e a k i n g
a t s e m i n a r s and
conferences on topics
of graphic design and
typography. He also enjoys
surfing and at one time
was a professional surfer.
“
10
y h p ar g o p yT
T
M aster
11
1
2
3
1. Surf’s Culture, 2003
2. Peru Lima Festiling, 2005
3. Typography Festiling, 2006
CARSON | The Rules of Graphic Design
The
Rules
Graphic
ofDesign
David, could you tell us a little
about your n e w b o o k ?
1
1. Surf’s Poster, 2013
My first workshop I ever
attended on graphic design was
in Switzerland, so the book will
Carson:
It’s called T h e R u l e s o f G r a p h i c D e s i g n .
I’m working on it now in Zurich,
Switzerland, where I have a small
studio, besides my one in the
states. It will show a lot of the new
work I’ve done over the past few
years, and will, as the title suggests,
finally get the official “rules” out
on graphic design. It should be out
early spring 2008.
2
n
o
d
o
u
b
2. Typography Festiling, 2006
t
be affected by my being here. I
started it in the states and it will
be finished there.
As one of the most well-known and
influential graphic designers in the world,
how do you balance work and play? Do
you still get to surf often?
C
Layers:
Layers:
CARSON | The Rules of Graphic Design
I’ve always felt I make my living from
my hobby, so I’m lucky in that respect. As
Marshall McLuhan said, if you’re totally
involved in something, it is no longer
work, it’s “ p l a y o r l e i s u r e . ”
I surf in the Caribbean every winter.
There’s a perfect point break in my front
yard. I watch the Internet surf reports,
and when a swell is coming, I head down
to the British West Indies . It’s a very special
place and helps me recharge.
arson:
13
CARSON | Important Things to Consider
CARSON | Master of Typography
Carson
L ay e r s :
When creating a design such as a magazine
cover, article, or website, what are a few of the
most important things a DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER?
Carson:
ster
on Po
Cars
id
v
1995
1. Da
ster,
si Po
p
e
P
3.
1
3
2
4
8
, 200
oard
b
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o
2003
2. Mo
lture,
u
C
rf’s
4. Su
WHO IS THE AUDIENCE, WHAT IS THAT
AUDIENCE’S VISUAL LANGUAGE, what
type of things are they seeing? How
can you communicate and reinforce
visually what is written or spoken,
and how can you stand out from the
competition in that particular field?
15
1
2
1. the 50th anniversary poster for
Britains National Theatre, 2013
2. Peru Lima Festiling, 2005
CARSON | Readable Article
L AYERS
:
L
:
1
1. Ray Gun 1, 1995
2. Ray Gun 2, 1994
ayers
you spoke at a local
school here in CENTRAL FLORIDA years ago, and you told us a story
about where you had the text in a MAGAZINE ARTICLE covered up
or unreadable, but the layout was spectacular. Do you have any
other humorous or quirky stories of editors getting mad that
y o u r l ay o u t c a u s e d t h e a r t i c l e t o b e u n r e a d a b l e ?
CARSON:
I remember attending a seminar when
You might be referring to the article
I set in the font Dingbat, largely
because I found the article very
boring. To start designing, I have to
read the article, or brief it or listen
to the music, to see where it takes
me visually and emotionally. It was
[a] bit funny, maybe, that at R a y
G u n some of the writers complained early that their articles were
hard to read. But then by the 30th issue, the same writers would complain
if they thought their articles were
TOO EASY TO READ T h e l a y o u t
came to signal something
w o r t h w h i l e t o r e a d , so the
writers came to look forward to see
how their words were interpreted.
:nosraC
18
!
2
CARSON | Master of Typography
CARSON || Master
of Typograp
CARSON
Influence
CARSON || Influence
Some have said that you are H E AV I LY I N F L U E N C E D B Y
T H E O C E A N . Is that true, and where do you find other
sources of INSPIRATION when C R E A T I N G A D E S I G N ?
Carson:
My environment always influences me. I’m
always taking photos and I believe things I
see and expeRIence Influence the woRk.
I think it’s really important that designers
put themselves into the work. No one
else has your backGRound, upbRInGInG, lIfe
expeRIences, and if you can put a bit of that
into your work, two things will happen:
you’ll enjoy the work more, and you’ll do
your best work. Otherwise, we don’t really need designers—anyone can buy the
same programs and learn to do “reasonable, safe” design.
21
MY
20
Not directly, but indirectly in some shape
or color or something that registers.
The ocean has always p l a y e d a b i g
p a r t i n m y l i f e , but it’s hard to say
exactly what that influence is in regards
to the work. But I’m always scanning the
environment I’m in, and I’m sure it ends
up in the work.
always influences
me.
r associates
What software do you or you
er Effects?
they include Adobe Aft
Carson:
creating these, and do
a
C
La ye rs :
you give an example of a video
ting?
project that you enjoyed direc
use when
22
:
n
o
s
r
CARSON | Master of Typography
After Effects is hugely important in the
commercials I work on. It’s hard to imagine
how we did them before. Well, actually I know—we did them in
very expensive suites in post-editing houses in Los
Angeles and New York! I just did some work for
Saturn cars, and it was almost all done with After
Effects. It’s clearly the best tool for motion graphics.
I directed an in-flight commercial for American Airlines—a 90-second spot—that I enjoyed very much,
from casting the actors to selecting footage to having some fun with the type. I also made a commercial for the
band Nine Inch Nails for the MTV music awards, and the launching
of Lucent Technologies, which were type-only spots.
In general, I’m drawn more toward moving images
and type, but I’ll always do print, even though “print
has ended.”
CARSON | Advice for Designers
do what you Love, trust
your gut, your instincts, and
intuition. And remember the
definition of a good job: If you
could afford to, if money wasn’t
an issue, would you do the same
work? If you would, you’ve got a
great job! If you wouldn’t, what’s
the point? You’re going to be
dead a long time. So find that
thing, whatever it is, that you love
doing, and enjoy going to work
for, and not watch the clock or
wait for weekends and holidays.
Lay
ers
Finally, what advice would you have for other
graphic designers just starting out?
23
:
Nevil
e
Br o d y
N
EVILLE BRODY IS THE FOUNDER OF BRODY ASSOCIATES
–A
GLOBALLY RENOWNED, INNOVATIVE, CREATIVE AGENCY
SPECIALIZING IN DIGITAL, TYPOGRAPHY AND IDENTITY. Brody
is
internationally recognized as a pioneer in the fields of
graphic design, art direction and brand strategy having established his
reputation working with record labels (stiff records), magazines (the
face and arena) and a range of other international clients (samsung,
yamaha, LVMH, NIKE, the BBC and the times london among them).
BRODY
|
CARSON | Master of Typography
Graphic Design or Fine Arts
DESIGNBOOM:
WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP DID YOU ALWAYS
WANT TO BECOME A GRAPHIC DESIGNER ?
i feeL Like i was aLways going to be an artist or a
designer – I was never going to be a train driver or
a fireman. I was drawing before I could even walk, so
the only decision I had to make really was whether
I wanted to become a fine artist or a designer. The
reason I entered into design is because I thought that
fine art was fairly dishonest
as an industry. It pretends
Design is much more
to be about culture but it’s
honest about it’s
really about money.
I have always been very interested in how
advertising and design can manipulate the way
that people think and in the early years I wanted
to lean those tools in order to turn them
around, to reveal the truth rather than conceal it.
Something else worth mentioning is that when I
was about seven or eight I designed a complete
identity system for an imaginary postal service –
which is quite sad when you think about it! The
fact that I wanted sit at home doing that while
my friends were out playing football!
B rod y
:
[
THE FACE Magazine Covers
[
26
commercial context and
can also reach a lot
BRODY | Communication
BRODY | Communication
Typeface Six, 1986
[
[
DESIGNBOOM:
DO THOSE ASPECTS OF GRAPHIC DESIGN STILL
INTEREST YOU THE MOST TODAY?
The Dealth of Typography
[
BRODY:
29
[
28
The thing that excites me about
graphic design is not really graphic
design itself, but communication. The
process of language, understanding
language, encoding language. This
is something that constantly needs
managing because it’s always changing.
As soon as anything becomes a fixed
in a pattern we tend to slip into not
thinking about it critically. I’ve always
been trying to challenge, rethink, or
disrupt through graphic design. I’ve
never wanted to find a comfortable
place in all of this.
DB:
YOUR OWN STUDIO RIGHT FROM THE
BEGINNING OF YOUR CAREER?
[
esign oom
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO START
GQ Magazine Cover Designs
[
BRODY | Studio
32
B
rody:
I was fortunate to become
involved with graphic design
for music practically
Apart from a brief stint at a studio
straight after leaving
after college I’ve always had my own
college. The music
studio. For me having the freedom to
industry is very
experiment is very important so it was
commercial but still
always highly unlikely that I’d work for
has that exploratory
someone else.
edge to it. It also
ripples out into a lot
of other industries, so it became
a natural step to start working
with magazines, fashion labels
and then media and eventually
cultural institutions.
33
BRODY | Work at a Human Scale
BRODY | Work at a Human Scale
DESIGNBOOM:
DESIGNBOOM:
?
HOW HAS YOUR STUDIO EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS AND
HOW HAS YOUR STUDIO EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS AND
ARE YOU STILL VERY MUCH HANDS ON AS A DESIGNER
ARE YOU STILL VERY MUCH HANDS ON AS A DESIGNER
Brody:
We now have hubs in London, Berlin,
Tokyo and Seoul – but we work at a
human scale. We’ve never had masses
of people working for us in any of
the offices. The London office had 20
people working in it at one time but
we’ve since scaled down. Our thought
has always been ‘if you can’t all go to
lunch together then there’s too many
of you’. You need personal contact and
familiarity with your colleagues.
34
FUSE Posters & Typeface
[
[
You’ll find that the majority of the
work in very big agencies is mostly
on the production side. We, on the
other hand have always been more
interested in the creative and strategic
side of things rather than mass
production – that has never changed.
It’s this approach that has allowed me
to be very hands on with our clients
up until today.
35
BRODY | Design Process
BrODY:
BRODY | Design Process
I enjoy working with language
a n d s t r a t e g y . I also love to get stuck
into a one-off poster or book jacket –
projects where you can just get very deep
into the experimentation.
a design process
DESIGNBOOM:
which part of the
ESIGN
do you ENJOY
[
DC Inspired Dirtier
and that’s what they are, almost
everything is… for example my job as
dean of the RCA is a design process.
[
36
‘
‘
Today everything seems to be about
design and I like that too. I know it’s not a
particularly new concept but it’s more and
more noticeable. you hear government,
education and other aspects of society
talked about as
ROCESS
the
most
37
BRODY | Learning from Experience
D
ESIGNBOOM:
39
[
I’ve been at the Rca foR almost fouR yeaRs
now and I’ve thoRouGhly enjoyed leaRnInG
fRom the expeRIence. There’s still lots of scope
to do new things in teaching and new ways
that you can structure courses so that they
deliver innovative thinking. There was a time
when design courses were always geared
towards creating precious end objects – like
a book or a piece of packaging. But what
we’ve managed to do now is shift the focus
onto the process and thinking – to give
the students valuable tools so that the end
product is now their mind, their way of
thinking. The outcome of what we do, is to
develop skilled, dangerous minds. I don’t see
the point in teaching for any other reason.
packaging for the Dom Perignon
38
rody:
[
B
How has teaching broadened
your own thinking?
Image sources carson
IntervIew
IntervIew
http://campaign.motivate.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/David-Carson.jpg
https://blondeseptember.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/gq_italia_leonardo_sonnoli.jpg?w=584
http://ahhh-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/raygun4.jpeg
http://nonzen.com/images/200910/gq_italia_cover_chip_kidd.jp
http://img04.deviantart.net/1568/i/2007/157/1/1/david_carson_quote_by_coreyxcmyk.jpg
http://bantjes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/bantjes_2009_GQItalia.jpg
http://www.huckmagazine.com/admin/wp-content/uploads/
https://blondeseptember.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/gq_italia_cover_experimental_jetset.jpg?w=584
http://layersmagazine.com/an-interview-with-david-carson.html
40
brody
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.designishistory.com/images/publications/
https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/
https://woodleyben.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/carsonhttp://s3images.coroflot.com/
https://nevillebrodypage.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/high-nb-jk-0011.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3505/3974974016_a2d8f48e9b_o_d.jpg
http://dcd.rawquality.com/img/mini/craft1.jpg
https://hailesart.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/david-carson.jpg
http://www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-neville-brody-10-10-2014/
http://www.student.nvcc.edu/home/frrobinson3/Images/High%20Profile%20Work/gq_italia_cover_neville_brod
http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/wp-content
http://heim.etherweave.com/weblog/archives/1980-8eyedspydiddywahdiddy-thumb.jpg
http://www.hardformat.org/wp-content/uploads/
http://www.brandtastic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/neville-brody-1.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qq6YhK3XpeM/Tbym2iwds1I/AAAAAAAAAfY/kGli83QKjqk/
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/bf/a8/b1/bfa8b1039106706e3854f92d
https://cias.rit.edu/media/uploads/faculty-s-projects/172/892_showcase_project_detail_item.jpeg
http://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Neville-Brody-art-directs-Arena-
http://dcd.rawquality.com/img/mini/peru.png
http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Brody4.jpg
https://artisnotacrime.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/8.jpg
http://www.spd.org/images/blog/researchstudios_AH%2B32_COVER_01.jpg
http://dcd.rawquality.com/img/mini/epic-wave-2.jpg
https://nevillebrodypage.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/high-nb-jk-0011.jpg
https://blankdesigner.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/31_31picture-27.jpg
https://jmhogberg.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/nb.gif
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