Last Monday I attended a Graphic Design lecture featuring Massimo Vignelli. Vignelli is one of the biggest names in design - he created the signage for the D.C. Metro and New York subway system, the National Park publications, American Airlines' identity, Cat and Dog books, and many other designs I was familiar with. Massimo's motto is:
"I see graphic design as the organization of information that is semantically correct, syntactically consistent, and pragmatically understandable. I like it to be visually powerful, intellectually elegant, and above all timeless."
Massimo is a hard-core Modernist - He believes in design that is systematic with structure and standards. To him music is like design; it is limited to 7 notes, but those notes can create endless combinations. Design should be treated in the same manner with guidelines and a minimal text options to provide structure and consistency. He believes the blank page is a frightening thing. Where do you start? The opportunites are endless because there is not starting point. Massimo also thinks design should not always be considered art because art poses its own problems, while design provides a solution for a problem.
I enjoyed Massimo's lecture and appreciated his work for its clean lines and timeless appeal. But regardless of how popular his designs are, there are a lot of graphic designers who believe him to be discouraging for the progression of design. Massimo was disguisted when computers became popular because they created endless options and numerous fonts to be uses without understanding of what they were for. Though I can understand that argument, I do think modernism is appropiate in some design especially for things used that appeal to the masses like the D.C. Metro system.
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