How Did David Carson Influence Graphic Design?
Once a professional surfer and school teacher with a BFA in sociology from San Diego State University, David Carson is now “considered by many to be one of the world’s most influential graphic designers” (“An Interview with David Carson”). Carson eschewed grid formats, information hierarchy, and consistent layout or typographic patterns; instead, he chose to explore the expressive possibilities of each subject and each page or spread, rejecting conventional notions of typographic syntax and imagery (Meggs 535). Carson is not only a just a graphic designer, but he writes about design as well. The End of Print, Trek: David Carson, Recent Werk, and The Rules of Graphic Design are all books written by him. Such is Carson's legacy (and he's long
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He describes himself as a “hands-on” designer and has a unique, intuition-driven way of creating everything from magazines to TV commercials (“An Interview with David Carson”). When it comes to his magazine articles, rather than using a normative format, he arranges the content in expressive sequences with special attention paid to the writing and subject matter. This is where the designs emerge from. Carson believes that the few most important things a designer should consider when creating a design for a magazine cover, article, or website are, “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?” (“An Interview with David Carson”). Is Techno Dead? (Meggs 536) is one of many works for Ray Gun magazine created by Carson. It has a unique article design that conveys multiple of his non-traditional methods. Text type and spatial intervals join with computer-manipulated photographs in a rhythmic melody of white and dark shapes (Meggs
He describes himself as a “hands-on” designer and has a unique, intuition-driven way of creating everything from magazines to TV commercials (“An Interview with David Carson”). When it comes to his magazine articles, rather than using a normative format, he arranges the content in expressive sequences with special attention paid to the writing and subject matter. This is where the designs emerge from. Carson believes that the few most important things a designer should consider when creating a design for a magazine cover, article, or website are, “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?” (“An Interview with David Carson”). Is Techno Dead? (Meggs 536) is one of many works for Ray Gun magazine created by Carson. It has a unique article design that conveys multiple of his non-traditional methods. Text type and spatial intervals join with computer-manipulated photographs in a rhythmic melody of white and dark shapes (Meggs