Print Vs. Projected Type

When discussing the elemental differences found in the contrast of screen and printed type by its fundamental nature we must realize that the printed word holds almost no limitations it can be constructed into a extreme sizes such as environmental graphics to even the smallest of sizes found in Die Gestalten Verlag's 2002 publication The Smallest Book in the World. This range of sizes is however lost when translated to the idea of the screen. It may be possible to project extremely large variations of type to sizes that cover city blocks but even though it is possible is it going to be read within the span of time it exists. The pixel becomes the limitation to the smallest of sizes of screen type and makes the creation of "The Smallest Website in the World" inconsequential.

In such it wouldn't matter when the characteristics that differ the most widely between the printed word and (for lack of a better term) the projected word are perhaps found best in Walter Benjamin's use of the word "aura" in The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Benjamin's use of aura was to refer to the sense of awe and reverence one experienced in the presence of unique works of art. The printed page has for nearly 400 years instilled upon its viewer the ability to transfer (at times) this sense of aura when dealing with the visceral qualities of the printed word. Any printed piece brings with it the textural qualities of paper, the smell of binding agents as well as the beauty inherent in the ever-minuscule inconsistencies of the print itself. We adore the flaws we find upon the printed page because they communicate to us that it was another human being, a real person than was at the other end of that/this particular piece of work.

The onset of the projected word has floundered in many aspects to capture that quality until as of late. Movie titles did nothing for the movie itself until Saul Bass decided to change that viewpoint, samples of which can be seen here. His work became the clarion call that the projected word could do more than merely straight-forward tell us something but also add to the experience in which we were about to begin. The ephemeral quality of the projected word and in many cases the inability to go back (without difficulty) and reread what we have seen again leave the case that the projected word must not just communicate on literal level but on an emotional and psychological level as well. We interpret what we see as best as we can and the more that the designer gives to the audience to interpret (in the sense that it is strengthening and reinforcing the message, not distorting and disguising the message) the better chance the audience has at obtaining the true meaning of the message. Danish science writer Tor Norretranders states in his work, The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size, "During any given second, we consciously process only sixteen of the eleven million bits of information that our senses pass on to our brains."

In D.A. Dwiggins 1922 work New Kind of Printing Calls for New Design he states, "The point to be stressed is that the new standard must not be a mechanical standard merely, it must also be an aesthetic standard." Unfortunately as designers and artists we have skewed what the idea of aesthetic has come to mean in typography. Type sizes, color, legibility, font choices are all well and good and are the foundation, the backbone of good typography but there is more to communicating an idea than furbishing new window dressing around it. As Paul Carlos, a New York publications design consultant and old professor of mine said to me "It not about picking colors or choosing typefaces, its about whether it works or not." We must find the best means to communicate the idea and concept we wish others to perceive rather than squabble over whether it merely looks pretty and in this we must begin by addressing the standards in which we communicate.

The Message is the Massage

In Marshall McLuhan's The Medium is the Massage, McLuhan states "Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the context." The idea of whether motion graphics are the most effective solution of a particular design challenge must first isolate what is it that we wish to communicate and to whom. McLuhan also says, "Students of media are persistently attacked as evaders idly concentrating on means or process rather than on 'substance.' The dramatic and rapid changes of 'substance' elude these accusers. Survival is not possible if one approaches his environment, the social drama, with a fixed unchangeable point of view – the witless repetitive response to the unperceived." It is in McLuhan's statement here that I seek to show the difference in the proper usage of motion graphics. Is it an effective solution or a flashy song and dance contrived to influence the viewer with style rather than content.

The most effective example of a misappropration of motion graphics can be found online at the websites of several retail establishments. The sunday paper in many areas often features a five-pound bag of retail advertisements, coupons and sales listings. The web pressed, gloss 2-3 signature, full-color advertisements of such retailers litter the recycling bins of America the next pick up day. They have been around for years but in recent times it was thought to be a good idea to also interject these weeklies onto store websites. Which in all fairness makes sense, it saves on printing costs and makes it easier (at times) for indivdual who do not get the paper to view them. I would also find them productive as mere pdf files, but no, someone thought 'hey wouldn't be a great idea if we make the pages flip like you were really reading it!'. NO IT ISN'T.

Toys R Us weekly ads

This is by far the most asinine example of the usage of motion graphics I could ever want to conceive. It does nothing, NOTHING for the content and applies itself wholey as nothing more than a stylistic attribute of flashy graphics to placate the many people now a days that adhere to the "I need something shiny to pay attention" philosophy. But is it the society that promotes the flashy graphics in order to be amused and influenced or is it the media that created this beast of burden that now has broken free of it's reigns and is running rampant over society. Fifty years ago the idea that someone had an illness that kept them from paying attention would have been laughable but now we have entire pharmaceutical companies dedicated to the "control" of this "disorder." Is it a disorder or are we just incapable of paying attention because the media in which we communicate is now polluted with an over usage of flashy graphics, loud sounds, special effects, jingles and soundtracks.

The next example is my all time most hated commercial. I saw this last Thanksgiving. It is a commercial for Guinness beer and doesn't have jack shit to do with beer. This damn ad looks more like an ad for some new video game. And that is honestly where I think television ads are headed. With the increased technology and visual levels of video game systems trying to do their best to show how they are the coolest, flashiest and most intense we have seen an increase in these ideas in commercials for things that DON'T HAVE THEM.

Guinness Advertisement

These stylistically high and substance (or for me concept) low advertisements seek to gear their ads towards "new" audiences, ie younger. They skew the image and branding of the product to adhere traits, or in this case flashy effects that do NOTHING for the content. Comedian David Cross once did a skit about this which is well worth watching here.

So are there projects where motion graphics are the answer. Well that began on August 1, 1981 with the launch of the Music Television, MTV. Music videos communicate in ways that advertisements could never adhere and do so in a manner fitting with conceptual thinking as well as stylistic means. In a recent interview in Computer Arts (UK Edition) for June 2008, Computer Arts interviewed Nando Costa, a brazilian print and motion graphics artist. Computer Arts asked Nando "Motion graphics is where some of the most interesting creativity is going on at the moment. Which of your competitiors is doing the best work, and why?" Nando replied "I am constantly amazed by the work of the team at Encyclopedia Pictura. They recently directed a Björk music video which had amazing art direction. I particularly like the work of my friend Maxim Zhestkov. I am also still amazed by stop-motion film-makers. They truly deserve more credit and recognition.

Encyclopedia Pictura is going for the gold in my opinion. Their sites splash page features you with the option of viewing the new Björk music video "Wanderlust" in 2D or 3D styles. At this point I laughed my ass off.

Melena Ryzik of the New York Times spoke to Björk and the directing team at Encyclopedia Picutura about the makding of their new 3D music video. The video of which can be seen here

So there is a time and a place for everything, even motion graphics. Yes this is the MTV generation and the adherence to flashy graphics and styles is not likely to go anywhere but everywhere. As designers the most important question that can be asked before any project is “does the application fit the context and concept of the design?” If we adhere to McLuhan’s “…fixed unchangeable point of view – the witless repetitive response to the unperceived.” We will end up nothing more than style makers and decorators applying choices based on past experience and doing nothing less than becoming the blind-leading-the-blind in a downward spiral that pigeonholes our work. In conclusion to quote Luke Prowse, “I once read somewhere that the only thing found in pigeonholes is pigeon shit.”