Dont Mistake Legibility for Communication Analysis

Dont Mistake discernability for Communication Analysis captious STUDY IN ART DESIGNDONT MISTAKE LEGIBILITY FOR communicationDavid Carson DiscussIt is the non text editionbookual matterual matter director, bright source and surfer David Carson (b. 1954) who stated during his 2013 TED Talk, Dont erroneous belief legibility for communication. Since making this line of reasoning, seeers have had to rethink what it mingys to communicate oddly when attempting to interact and engage with their tar piss reference. However, is Carsons statement true? As it transmit word be argued that legibility is the basis for some intimacy to non alone be clean-cut just now also understood and therefore communicated. Conversely, if communication is the aim therefore the aim is more than just making something legible. Therefore, this discussion leave behind seek and present arguments for and against the statement Carson made, define and formulate the terms legibility and communicat ion, and to put down the social and historical context behind Carsons statement to establish whether it was sound or non.To begin, when something is world communicated it bum be received by the audience visually, verbally, nonverbally or in its written form. The field of a graphic protrudeer is visual communication as they attempt to incorporate, or least(prenominal) infer these elements by means of their forges. For that reason, visual communication or more specifically, exertion in print, will be the focus for this discussion as that is what Carsons statement pertains to.In regards to Carsons statement, the word legibility is mentioned. This word backside be only defined as how recognisable individual letterforms ar (Tselentis, J et al. 2012 p. 324). In a segment of Carsons 2003 origination And Disco rightfully TED Talk, he presents the following digit with his statementCarson consequently goes on to opine the following about his encounter ( name 2) and attains his opinion about the statement in regards to legibility and communication, where he states,I like this image for a mate of reasons. If youve had whatever spirit courses, they would teach you slant read this. I think you eventually terminate and, more meaning(a)ly, I think its true. Dont mistake legibility for communication. Just because somethings legible doesnt mean it communicates. to a greater extent importantly, it doesnt mean it communicates the objurgate thing (Carson 2003).As Carson suggests (2003) the primary goal of the architect is to communicate a centre. However (in his own words) more importantly, it is to communicate the right thing. The question to then be considered is to ask what communication is in the early place? stool DiMarco (b. 1963) in his book digital founding For sign and Web (2010) explains that communication is a subroutine, in which, . requires a sender (the designer), a nub ( schooling or an effort to persuade), a mass medium (the deli very platform), and a receiver of that mental object (the audience). here, it offer be understood that during the communication process it is the designers job to send a sum. DiMarco (2010) then states that, the goals of such meanings are to inform, to persuade, to educate, or to entertain. The designer having a communication goal in mind then uses the message and medium to reach their audience. Bearing this all in mind, we are then left to ask why is communication the right thing so important to Carson? In the 2007 Helvetica documentary, Carson states,Dont confuse, legibility with communication. And just because somethings legible, doesnt mean it communicates, and more importantly doesnt mean it communicates the right thing. And vice versa. If something is a very important message, and its s upkeep in a boring, nondescript way, then the message seat be lost (Carson 2007).The goal for Carson then seems to be that is essential communicate the right thing otherwise known as effectual communication. The message cannot be lost through the medium. Which would then leads to the message not being received by the anticipated audience. Nevertheless, what is effective communication and how does it take issue from regular communication? The difference seems to lie in the way something is communicated. It can be argued, (as Carson seems to) therefore, that this is just as important, if not more important than the capacitance of the message itself.This point is noted by Art Director and pictorial Designer Kaitlyn Wells (b. 1988) who suggests (2011) to communicate does not mean the designer has to send a message which is and legible. As for Wells, legibility in itself does not equate to communicating efficaciously. In her blog post Dont Mistake legibility for Communication Wells writes,Just because you can read it, doesnt mean it is communicating the intend message. David Carson is famous for his crazy typography and his ability to get together aspecting, design and key messages in an effective, impactful way. Some of it is legible, some of it is not, but all of it delivers a message (Wells 2011).Here, Wells makes the distinction between legibility and effective communication, noting how important it is to make genuine that the audience actually receives the message through the sensation behind it and not just the mental ability of the message itself. For Carson, it is not sufficient for something to merely be legible, as it is only one of the potential tools that can be used to achieve the end goal of communicating a message.Carson seems to be able to attract his intended audience in such a way that he not only gets his message crossways but manages to emotionally connect and engage with them as well. In The sensation Thesaurus (2012)Ackerman and Puglisi state that the sole reason people pick up a printed production is . to have an emotional experience. They read to connectIt can be argued that this is the same communication go al of Carson too.This can be further present through some examples of Carsons designs in the diaphysis gasolene topic (1992) which Carson was the art director ofAccording to DiMarco (2011), after Carson was appointed Art Director for the Ray Gun publication its circulation tripled, emphasising the effectiveness of Carsons designs. DiMarco then states that the magazine was created as an anti-glossy, anti-establishment pronunciamento that became a synonym of rock roll, rebellion and alternative spirit. This was the audience that Carson was attempting to reach. Therefore, the layout design needed to not only reflect this but to find a way to effectively communicate and connect with his audience as well.In Carsons TED Talk he speaks about the following car garages (see figure 6)Here Carson points out that the two car garage accesss displayed (see externalize 6) are twain legible and communicate the same message. However, the way the message is communicated is different. As it c an be seen that the garage to the left is legible and the message is clear NO PARKING. Stylistically the way that this message has been presented would likely be seen as generic, illuminating and neutral.Conversely, it could be argued that the garage to the right gives the lecturer a different feel as the message would likely be interpreted in a different manner to the garage on the left. As the garage to rights with its NO PARKING message has a bold and humanistic style which seems to give it a different tone to the intended viewer. Although it could be argued that this is unintentional the vox populi seems to persist nevertheless. The underlining of the same NO PARKING message seems to emphasise the temperance of what is being communicated. All of these stylistic elements add to the way the message is intended to be received by transmitting through the text the emotion of the message.Moreover, other examples of text being written in capitals tend to choose the emotion of ange r and often transmits the message of somebody shouting which in both cases demands that the message being communicated is to be taken seriously as it has been delivered in a direct and effective manner.Carson (2003) himself then goes on to explain about the garage doors in the following way,Im a big believer in the emotion of design, and the message thats sent in the lead somebody begins to read, before they get the rest of the information. That area of design interests me the most. These are a couple of garage doors painted identical, situated next to each other. So, heres the first door. You know, you get the message. You know, its pretty clear. Take a look at the second door and see if theres any different message. O.K, which one would you park in expect of? Same colour, same message, same words. The only thing thats different is the view that the individual door-owner here put into the piece and, again, which is the psycho-killer here? Yet it doesnt say that it doesnt need t o say that. I would probably park in present of the other one (Carson 2003).For Carsons own designs, it seems his focus is on the way he communicates his message. Carson appears to designs his layouts intuitively to create a visceral reaction and response. His designs must connect with his audience emotionally for them to be effective and even if the content of the message cannot do this alone then the way the message has been designed will help the communication process of achieving Carsons communication goal. This can be seen in his designs for The Book Of Probes by Marshall McLuhan.Whilst it may seem that Carsons statement cannot be refuted there have been those that have done so. One example of psyche that has vehemently disapproved Carsons methodology, is design writer Joe Clark. In his article titled undecipherable David Carson cannot communicate originally published in the Globe and Mail (1995), Clark writes that, makeup is supposed to be invisible. If the intended reader actually notices the typography and graphic design on a page, then youve failed as a designer. The goal of communication is achieved only when typography does not distract (Clark 1995).This line of mentation was influenced from Beatrice Wardes (b. 1900) bedevil titled, The Crystal Goblet, or Why Printing Should Be covert (1930). Both Clark and Wardes focus is on the content of the message and that the legibility of the message detracts from what is trying to be communicated. Otherwise, the message can be distorted where the information that is trying to be communicated is not what was originally intended.DiMarco (2011) notes how Carson, broke the rules in either way. including negative leading, overlapping, layering, and creating absurd compositional layouts, such as backwards text settings and columns of texts that bled off the page or aligned or overlapped each other. This can be seen in below (figure 8).In Noah Reads article (2009) in regards to Wardes lecture he notes that, Warde asserts that the purpose of written text is thought transference and any type that does anything to distract from that goal is a failure in its purpose. shell is there to illuminate the thoughts and ideas contained in the written word (Read 2009).Here, Read highlights how Warde deems anything that detracts from the content of the message to be a failure in its purpose. In apprisal to Carson, this would be a failure in his attempt to communicate with his audience. For Warde, the text used in the message should only be implemented to aid the content and the content alone. However, as mentioned earlier, Carson has demonstrated that he arranges the type to effectively communicate rather than to merely share the content alone.For Clark, in his article he rebuked the Ray Gun publication by noting that,Every iodin typesetting rule of thumb you could possibly come up with has been broken in Ray Guns brief history Overlapping blocks of copy light text against dark backgrounds dark t ext against dark backgrounds running text across pages, including stories that are read horizontally across columns (just hop over the can between them) deliberately running photos upside-down (Clark 1995).For Clark it seems as if he entangle Carsons, Dont mistake legibility, for communication statement was taken to the extreme where because both the message was legible and the audience could misinterpret its intended point too through the way it was designed then for Clark surely the communication and intended message failed, as the design was marked-up in its content and missed the ground level in its execution.However, this assertion of Clarks is subjective at best and judging by the sales of the Ray Gun magazine it is presumptive at worse because as mentioned before the publication sold many copies to those prior to Cason design. additional to this point, it was the philosopher and Professor Marshall McLuhan (b. 1911) who wrote in his book Understanding Media The Extensio ns of Man (1964) that, the medium is the message. By this, he meant that it is the form of the medium, not the content of the message or even the message itself that is most important. An example, which could argue how Carson supports this theory is where he employs a similar idea into one of his articles for the Ray Gun magazine publication where he uses the Zapf Dingbat typeface.In regards to Carson using the Zapf Dingbat typeface, he states in an interview with Design holloa (2014) that it was one of his favourite briefs. During the interview he shares,We had a impertinently writer from a much bigger music mag, and I was sincerely excited to read this article when it came in. but I was really frustrate to find it was like sooo many others the writer had been disposed 10 legal proceeding before the performer went on stage to do his entire interview, and as such he reported the typical stuff like what the vocalist was wearing, what was in the room etc. boring stuff Id read s o many times before. I started going through my fonts, finding zipper that felt right, then came across dingbat. Which would have been the last one on my very extensive list, as its known by the designers name zapf dingbats. Im sure I chuckled a bit, then thought, well, why not? It was a really boring article. So the entire article was set in zapf dingbat (Design Boom 2014).This exemplifies that for Carson communicating his work was more than using words alone but even the piece itself could be communicated through the medium rather than with merely the content. Especially if the content served no purpose in taking the reader on an emotional journey It could be inferred that the purpose the Zapf Dingbat that was to do but that to bring excitement, joy and humour to what would have been a boring, dull airy article.David Carsons statement (2003) Dont mistake legibility for communication is both challenging and thought-provoking. As stated beforehand, not all designers would agree with Carsons evaluation of effective communication. As Carsons statement seems paradoxical at first but when understood in its proper context it appears to be congruent when seen in light of his work. However, when compared with traditionalistic teachings and lectures as to how typography in publications should be treated, it can be argued that the designer could fail in making his or her work both illegible and even worse this may lead to the message of the designer not communicating its desired effect too. Nonetheless, to confine communication to only being something that can be achieved through legibility in content only takes away from what effective communication can be. Taking this into consideration, despite his critics and given his numerous supporters, it is hush up justifiable to argue that Carson has made a great point in the brilliant Design world as it is still relevant today as it was when he first stated it. Consequently, it can be strongly argued that it renders Carson statement, Dont mistake legibility for communication as valid. type citeBooksTselentis, J., Haley, A., Poulin R., Seddon T., Leonidas G., and Saltz I. (2012) Typography, Referenced A Comprehensive Visual tie to the Language, History, and intrust of Typography. Beverly, MA Rockport Publishers.DiMarco, J. (2010) Digital Design for Print and Web An Introduction to Theory, Principles, and Techniques. Hoboken, immature Jersey John Wiley Sons.Ackerman A., and Puglisi B. (2012) The Emotion Thesaurus A Writers return To extension Expression. Seattle CreateSpace Independent make Platform.WebsitesWells, K. (2011) Dont Mistake Legibility For Communication. Available at http//www.stokefire.com/2011/06/dont-mistake-legibility-for-communication/ (Accessed 15 celestial latitude 2016)Clark, J. (2011) Illegible David Carson cannot not communicate. Available at http//joeclark.org/design/davidcarson.html (Accessed 13 February 2017)DiMarco, D (2011) David Carson. Available at http//www.c sun.edu/pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed 12 February 2017)Noah, R (2009) Graphic Design Theory The Crystal Goblet. Available at https//noahread.net/blog/graphic-design-theory-the-crystal-goblet (Accessed 12 February 2017)Design Boom (2014) Interview with Graphic Designer David Carson. Available at http//www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-david-carson-09-22-2013/ (Accessed 12 February 2017)TED TalksCarson, D. (2003) David Carson Design and discovery. Available at http//www.ted.com/ dialogue/david_carson_on_design (Accessed 21 November 2015)DVDHelvetica (2007) Directed by Gary Hustwit DVD. London Plexi Film.Image ListFigure 1 David Carson (2004) Design Indaba Speaker Profile Picture. Available from http//www.designindaba.com/profiles/david-carson (Accessed 3 December 2016)Figure 2. Dont mistake legibility for communication Thomas, C. (2013) Legibility Vs Communication in Design David Carsons p oint of view. Ted Talk. Available from https//postmodernmovieposter.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/legibility-vs-communication-in-design-david-carsons-point-of-view/ (Accessed November 26 2016)Figure 3. Communication Process Bowers, J. (2006) A Communication Model. Available from http//www.jerf.org/writings/communicationEthics/node4.html (Accessed February 12 2017)Figure 4. Cold Sweat. Carson, D. (1989) David Carson. Available from http//www.davidcarsondesign.com/ (Accessed February 12 2017)Figure 5. Ray Gun magazine designs. DiMarco, J. (2011) David Carson. Available from http//www.csun.edu/pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed February 12 2017)Figure 6. NO PARKING Thomas, C. (2013) Legibility Vs Communication in Design David Carsons point of view. Ted Talk. Available from https//postmodernmovieposter.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/legibility-vs-communication-in-design-david-carsons-point-of-view/ (Accessed November 26 2016)Figure 7. Book Of Probes. Carson, D. (2002) David Carson. Available from http//www.davidcarsondesign.com/ (Accessed February 12 2017)Figure 8. disruption The Rules. DiMarco, J. (2011) David Carson. Available from http//www.csun.edu/pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed February 12 2017)Figure 9. Breaking The Rules 2. DiMarco, J. (2011) David Carson. Available from http//www.csun.edu/pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed February 12 2017)Figure 10. Dingbat. DiMarco, J. (2011) David Carson. Available from http//www.csun.edu/pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed February 12 2017)BibliographyBooksMeggs, P (2011) Meggs History of Graphic Design. 5th edn. Hoboken, refreshing Jersey John Wiley Sons, Inc.Kunz, W. (2004) Typography Formation and Transformation Introduction to typographical Process. Salenstei n Braun Publisher.Lupton, E (2010) Thinking With Type A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students. 2nd edn. New York Princeton Architectural Press.Craig J., Bevington W., and Koral Scala I. (2006) Designing with Type The Essential Guide to Typography. New York Watson-Guptill Publications Inc.Tselentis, J., Haley, A., Poulin R., Seddon T., Leonidas G., and Saltz I. (2012) Typography, Referenced A Comprehensive Visual Guide to the Language, History, and coif of Typography. Beverly, MA Rockport Publishers.Armstrong, H. (2009) Graphic Design Theory Readings from the Field. New York Princeton Architectural Press.DiMarco, J. (2010) Digital Design for Print and Web An Introduction to Theory, Principles, and Techniques. Hoboken, New Jersey John Wiley Sons.Ackerman A., and Puglisi B. (2012) The Emotion Thesaurus A Writers Guide To Character Expression. Seattle CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.WebsitesBradley, S. (2010) Legibility And Readability In Typographic Design. Available at http//vanseodesign.com/web-design/legible-readable-typography/ (Accessed 30 November 2015)Thomas, C. (2013) Legibility Vs Communication in Design David Carsons point of view. Available at https//postmodernmovieposter.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/legibility-vs-communication-in-design-david-carsons-point-of-view/ (Accessed November 26 2016)Clark, J. (2011) Illegible David Carson cannot not communicate. Available at http//joeclark.org/design/davidcarson.html (Accessed 13 February 2017)Wells, K. (2011) Dont Mistake Legibility For Communication. Available at http//www.stokefire.com/2011/06/dont-mistake-legibility-for-communication/ (Accessed 15 December 2016)DiMarco, D (2011) David Carson. Available at http//www.csun.edu/pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed 12 February 2017)Noah, R (2009) Graphic Design Theory The Crystal Goblet. Available at https//noahread.net/blog/graphic-design-theory-the-crystal-goble t (Accessed 12 February 2017)Design Boom (2014) Interview with Graphic Designer David Carson. Available at http//www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-david-carson-09-22-2013/ (Accessed 12 February 2017)LyndaAdams, S. (2014) Foundations of Graphic Design History. Available at http//www.lynda.com/Design-Color-tutorials/American-corporate-identity/166781/363080-4.html (Accessed 24 November 2015)Saltz, I. (2013) Foundations of Typography. Available at http//www.lynda.com/Design-Typography-tutorials/Foundations-Typography/106698-2.html (Accessed 29 December 2015)YouTubeCarson, D. (2012) David Carson David Carson Techniques in Design. Available at https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1pQTuJfUi8 (Accessed 21 November 2015)Puschak, E. (2015) Atemporality Our Relationship To History Has Changed. Available at https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAv5EKvRrco (Accessed 02 January 2017)TED TalksCarson, D. (2003) David Carson Design and discovery. Available at http//www.ted.com/talks/d avid_carson_on_design (Accessed 21 November 2015)DVDHelvetica (2007) Directed by Gary Hustwit DVD. London Plexi Film.