For this project I have to create a web based Essay, no short of 1500 words based on one of the designers listed on the project Brief. For the website I should include images of the designers works and the option to design the website based on the artists style.
To begin researching for this project I started by looking up each of the designers which there was 16 in total. I researched the designers name, then their works so I could see what their designs looked like. I then used a process of elimination, closing the tabs of works I did not like as much as the others. Doing this narrowed my choice of 16 down to 3, Saul Bass, Stefan Sagmeister and IDEO. I liked Saul Bass as he designed movie posters, Stefan Sagmeister for his obscure ‘quirky’ designs, and IDEO which I thought was interesting as it was a design company and not just one designer.
From this brief research I decided to look more into Stefan Sagmeister as his designs looked very strange and intriguing. I then found out that his designs were focused on illusions and tricks, using visual deception, his of unexpected materials and interactive elements.
I decided to look up how specifically Sagmeister tricked people in certain designs which I found a article about one of his works ‘made you look’ which this article covers how Sagmeister used red slipcases which can hide parts of a design and when removed more of the design is revealed. This is a topic I have never really looked into, illusions or tricks in design which this was just one example of a type of ‘trick’ Sagmeister used which I am already hooked to research more into him
Sunshinelollipop. (n.d.). Stefan Sagmeister. [online] Available at: https://sunshinelollipop.wordpress.com/tag/stefan-sagmeister/.
I then found out that Stefan Sagmeister has his own website with all of his work on it which I spent some time clicking into his works as this is how I really found out about his illusions. When you click into a work it displays either a gallery if it is of a exhibition or gallery, or some works showcased how the illusions or tricks work in his design including some videos to where they were necessary such as the ‘Made you look’ book which showcased the slipcase and the foredge. I found several more slip cases, not all using the red acetate but some simply containing holes in the slipcase for example the Ashley Bickerton Book.
Sagmeister, S. (n.d.). Work – Sagmeister Inc. [online] sagmeister.com. Available at: https://sagmeister.com.
On his website when you click into his work there also a ‘project info’ tab which gives a detailed description of each of his works. This was especially useful for me to gather the correct information sourced by the designer himself. Some works I liked included ‘The Happy Show’ exhibition as looking at the pictures it looks interactive and humorous, ‘Take it on SVA’ posters as I thought using human faces in design was very obscure as well as the AIGA poster which looks more uncomfortable and slightly disturbing. Another one of his worked I thought was interesting was the Banana wall which on his website it shows the different stages of the bananas changing. Just looking at some of his works on his website there is already a wide genre of different types of designs ranging from humorous, interactive and disturbing.
Now that I have a better understanding of examples of his work and have looked at examples of ‘tricks’ and illusions in his design I started considering my essay more. Looking at Sagmeisters work it was clear that he is quite playful and humorous with his designs as well as using tricks in some designs. As this is what sparked my interest this is what I wanted my essay to be about.