THE VIGNELLI CANON _ Notes

 THE VIGNELLI CANON                                     


Massimo Vignelli


Lars Muller Publishers


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Rationale

I've taken from reading through The Vignelli Canon, written by noted modernist designer Massimo Vignelli and published by Lars Muller Publishers

I was fascinated and hugely influenced by this book because I'm fascinated by the craft of design, following on from my enjoyable Cop2 programme of study focusing on the craft of modernist design. For my COP3 year of study and dissertation I want to focus on the craft of design for print, particularly the process and classical 'efficiency' and 'success' of it. Critically analysing what makes good design and I want to focus on different viewpoints, to inform my on practice and to also inform my own opinion through physical and theoretical explorations. Paying particular focus to the state of the graphic design world in todays digital age and the analog age - especially as in todays world we seem to cherish the analog age even more as maybe we have realised the limitations of working with computers and digital platforms? It's not just in graphic design it's in all popular culture too - with people embracing a more analogue form of life - a rejection of technology. I find this really interesting.

But anyway - Vignelli is interesting because he often refers to design as BC or AC - Before Computer of After Computer and he's very opinionated and articulate on the matter. Maybe swaying more towards there being more visual pollution and 'good design' in his judgement is perhaps less frequent.

I took notes I felt were important to my research and lead to further lines of enquiry and, also importantly, quotes which I want to remember and learn from as a designer which are important to my own progression, but I want to make both of those ambitions one and the same within this study which is why I want to spend my time with this.






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Special Focus - Process / Approach / Craft

What makes 'Good Design'?

How did they produce complicated design products without a computer? I can't even fathom this in todays day and age


"BC" - Before Computer 

Also see - 
Sagmeister - his approach and opinions on design
Muller Brockmann - his opinions approach and analogue process
Saul Bass - Creating moving image without a computer - analogue prints - thoughts on design and process
Wim Crouwel - process, opinions and thought process


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Notes
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The hype about the miraculous electronic universe has abated among graphic designers.

Clearing the way for the recognition that even the most ingenious software can never replace the principles of food design.

The rules of graphic design have not changed since the the analog age. A viewpoint I share " - Lars Muller


Have the rules changed? Maybe Graphic Design isn't as specialist as it used to be, thus the frequency and engagement with the craft of design is perhaps not as prevalent as it used to be?.




In several teaching situations I have remarked the lack of some basic typographic principles in young designers.

Creativity needs the support of knowledge to be able to perform at it's best. - The concept of rules of design, is there such a thing as rules? Or are these just design norms. Which is subjective anyway?



It is not the formula that prevents good design from happening but lack of knowledge of the complexity of the design profession. It's up the brain to use the proper formula to achieve the desired result.


I learnt about disciplined design from my Swiss fellows, about white space from my American fellows, about wit from my English fellows.


The beautiful feeling of enrichment comes from new discoveries, new ways of doing the same thing better than before.



I HAVE ALWAYS SAID THAT THERE ARE 3 ASPECTS OF DESIGN THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO ME _

1 _ SEMANTIC
2 _ SYNTACTIC
3 _ PRAGMATIC








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SEMANTIC
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- Meaning of whatever we have to design
- History of the subject
- Info on the company, product, market position, competition, destination and of course the final user.
- Extremely important.

Investigate their complexities

Ambiguities of the project and UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT


Semanticsdefine the most appropriate form for your subject.



Design without semantics is shallow and meaningless. But unfortunately also ubiquitous. That is why it is so important that young designers train themselves to start the design process in the correct way - the only way that can most enrich their design.



Semantic means to design something that has a meaning  it is not arbitrary. (random)


*Makes sense to both sender and receiver.


"How often we see design that has no meaning: stripes and swashed of colour for no reason whatsoever. Well they are meaningless or incredibly vulgar or criminal when done on purpose...


I consider this action criminal since it is producing visual pollution that is degrading our environment just like all other types of pollution." 
- This I really can connect to as this ambiguous and 'random' design is something I feel is prevalent in art college, with people producing what I call art college design - design for designers which doesn't have the same effect on the consumer. Even I have been guilty in the past of these meaningless elements to work, just to gain a sort of accepted 'style' of design. This art college environment of design and sensibilities is really interesting.



In our contemporary world it becomes increasingly more difficult to find honest forms of vernacular communication as once existed in the pre-industrial world.







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SYNTACTIC
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"God is in the details" _ Mies Van Der Rohe


Proper use of grammaer. Constitution of phrases. Articulation of language.  - Never use more copy and more sentences/explanations than you need. Good copywriting is essential.



In Graphic Design pay huge attention to the structure, the grid, typeface, text, headlines, illustrations etc. Small details subconcsiously do work and have a positive effect on the end-user.



"Syntactic consistency is of paramount importance in graphic design as it is in all human endeavours."


Appropriate relationships between _

typefaces and pt sizes
grids and columns and rows
type and image
grid and document size
stock and intentions

"Ways to achieve that are correct. As there are others that are incorrect and should be avoided." - I feel incorrect is a bit too dismissive, in my opinion certain stocks for example might weaken a project in mine and most peoples opinion but it isn't plain wrong.











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PRAGMATICS
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Communication + Understanding

"If at the point of fruition, no one understands the result or the meaning of all that effort, the entire work is useless."

"Clarity of intent. Clarity of result." -   Paramount importance in design."

"Confused, complicated designs = confused, complicated minds"

WE LOVE COMPLEXITIES. BUT HATE COMPLICATIONS!!

"The moral imperative of designing things that will last for a long time."

DISCIPLINE - Sticking to your self-imposed rules

Design without discipline is anarchy. An exercise in irresponsibility.

There is no doubt in my mind that the most important aspects in formation of a designer should be a deep understanding of design history. Without a knowledge of the past there is no understanding of the present - formulation of the future.

The more we can spend time on reviewing the past the better we can understand contemporary phenomena.

History, theory and criticism. There are the real backbone of design!

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DESIGN IS ONE
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Constiglioni Architects _ Milano

16 Year olds Vignelli. Strongly recommend to all designers to  investigate and study their work.

"I discovered that what is important is to master a design discipline. I need to be able to design anything, because that is what is essential and needed on every project.

Intellectual elegance is also our civic consciousness, our social responsibility, our sense of decency, our way of conceiving design, our moral imperative.

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TIMELESSNESS
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We are definitely against any fashion of design and any design fashion. We despise the culture of obsolescence. The culture of waste, the the culture of the ephemeral. We detest the demand of temporary solutions, the waste of energies and capital for the sake of the novelty.

We like typography that transcends subjectivity and searching for objective value. A typography that is beyond time - that doesn't follow trends.

We like economy of design because it avoids wasteful exercises, it respects investment and lasts longer!

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RESPONSIBILITY
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Too often we see printed works produced in a lavish manner just to satisfy the ego of designers or clients.

It is important that an economically appropriate solution is used and is one that takes in proper consideration all the facets of problem.

3 LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY

1 _ To ourselves. The integrity of project.

2_ To the client. Solve the problem. Economically, efficiently.

3_ To the public. The consumer + end user.

IN THE END A DESIGN SHOULD STAND BY ITSELF.

LIGHT REVEALS THE PURE PRISTINE BEAUTY OF A WHITE PAGE FULL OF UNSPOKEN WORDS.