On Michael Manwaring and Environmental Design

The reading for this week, chapter 22, discusses postmodern graphic design. One of the designers that Meggs briefly touches upon in this chapter is Michael Manwaring. Meggs briefly talks about his use of color, form, and texture in his environmental designs, but doesn’t give any further information about his life, work, or what environmental design is (Meggs, 473). I wanted to know more about this, and after further research, I found that Michael Manwaring has made many significant accomplishments throughout his life in the field of graphic design, especially related to environmental design. I also researched exactly what environmental design is. This blog post will discuss both of these topics.

Fig. 1: Photograph of Michael Manwaring

(Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/O/index.ssf/2009/08/portland_opens_artist_  michael.html)

            Michael Manwaring was born in Palo Alto California. He was educated at the San Francisco Art Institute, and stayed in San Francisco for the next forty years working as a graphic designer (Manwaring). He completed many well-known projects during this time, one of which includes the interpretive signage project for the San Francisco Art Commission. This work “combines poetry, cultural and natural history on The Embarcadero Promende” which was a two-and-a-half mile long section of San Francisco waterfront (Manwaring). Another accomplishment was the environmental design graphics, color and retail work he completed for the HP Pavilion. He was recognized for his work when he was profiled in Time Magazine, as well as having his work featured in the “first exhibition of graphic design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art” (Manwaring). The exhibition was called, In the Public Eye: the work of four graphic designers. In 1997 the Society for Environmental Graphic Design elected Manwaring as a fellow, as well as named him one of the most important people in the field of graphic design (Manwaring). In 2000, Manwaring received the Allied Professionals Award of excellence from the California Council of the American Institute of Architects. Manwaring also worked as a professor during his professional career. He taught at the College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley, as well as Kent State University, and worked as an adjunct Professor of Design at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco from 1976-2001. From 1991-1993 Manwaring co-developed and taught an interdisciplinary course for artists, architects, and graphic designers called “City as Surface” with Suzanne Lazy, Dean of Fine Arts (Manwaring). Early in 2006, he relocated to Portland, Oregon to focus on his painting and sculpture.

Fig. 2: The Stanford Design Conference Poster by Michael Manwaring

(Source: http://designarchives.aiga.org/)

Fig. 3: Poster by Michael Manwaring

(Source: http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/cardshowall.php?title=test-3-graphic-design-test-3)

            Manwaring’s work with environmental design got me wondering what exactly environmental design is. Upon doing some research, I found that environmental design is, “concerned with the visual aspects of way-finding, communicating identity and information, and shaping the idea of creating experiences that connect people to place” (SEGD). It embraces many disciplines such as graphic design, architecture, interior design, landscape design, and industrial design. Common examples of work by environmental design practitioners such as Manwaring include “way-finding systems, architectural graphics, signage, exhibit design, identity graphics, dynamic environments, civic design, pictogram design, retail and store design, mapping, and themed/branded environments” (SEGD). It becomes clear, and then, that environmental design is an important, and heavily used aspect of our everyday lives.

References:

Manwaring, Michael. "About." michael Manwaring. N.p.. Web. 6 Apr 2014.        <http://www.manwaring.com>.

Manwaring, Michael. N.d. Photograph. ProProfs FlashcardsWeb. 6 Apr 2014. <http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/cardshowall.php?title=test-3-graphic-design-test-3>.

Manwaring , Micheael. The Stanford Design Conference Poster. N.d. Graphic. AIGA Design ArchivesWeb. 6 Apr 2014. <http://designarchives.aiga.org/

Megg, Philip B. Megg's History of Graphic Design. 5th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. 200-202. Print.

Metty, Abbey. The Oregonian Michael Manwaring. N.d. Photograph. OregonLiveWeb. 6 Apr 2014.             <http://www.oregonlive.com/O/index.ssf/2009/08/portland_opens_artist_  michael.html>.

"What is Environmental Graphic Design (EGD)?." SEGD. N.p.. Web. 6 Apr 2014.          <http://segd.org/article/what-environmental-graphic-design-egd>.

On Johannes Itten

            The Bauhaus is thought to be one of the most influential design schools in history. According to Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, “The heart of the Bauhaus education was the preliminary course, initially established by Johannes Itten” (Megg, 327).  However, the text does not give a further description of his apparently important contributions. Upon further research, I found out more the life of Johannes Itten, and found out that one of his major contributions was the introduction of teaching color theory to students at the Bauhaus. Not only that, he had a long history afterwards of directing at many other design schools, proving that he truly was an important figure in not only the Bauhaus, but also to design education as a whole.

            Johannes Itten was born on November 11, 1888 as the son of a teacher. Following in his parent’s footsteps, he himself was trained as a primary school teacher at the teacher-training institute in Bern. However, as a result of many trips abroad, Itten discovered that his true passion and goal in life was to be a painter. Thus, in 1913 he was trained as a painter under Adolf Hölzel in Stuttgart. After his time training as a painter, he moved to Vienna in 1916, where he met Walter Gropius. Gropius was the director of the Bauhaus at the time, and upon meeting Itten offered his a position as a teacher at the Bauhaus in Weimer in 1919. Itten taught at the Bauhaus for five years, from 1919 to 1923. It was during this time that Itten “developed his universal doctrine of design” which focused strongly on color theory (“Biography: Johannes Itten”).

(Fig. 1) Johannes Itten

(Source: http://kaufmann-mercantile.com/johannes-itten/)

            Itten had a set of goals he wanted to accomplish at the Bauhaus. “His goals were to release each student’s creative abilities, to develop an understanding of the physical nature of materials, and to teach the fundamental principles of design underlying all visual art” (Megg, 327). One of the ways Itten attempted to attain those goals was through the instruction of color theory. Itten is known as the originator of color theory, and many design courses today around the world, “concentrate on color analyses and are a direct descendant of Itten’s ‘preliminary course’” (Zifcak). Itten taught color theory through the analysis of painting masterworks. The students analyzed the painting by breaking it down by color and composition, and reduced the image into individual squares of color, much like a Photoshop image is rasterized today. Of color, Itten is quoted saying, “Color is life; for a world without color appears to us as dead. Colors are primordial ideas, the children of light” (Zifcak).

(Fig. 2) Color Sphere

(Source: http://kaufmann-mercantile.com/johannes-itten/)

(Fig. 3) "Horizontal Vertical" by Johannes Itten

(Source: http://kaufmann-mercantile.com/johannes-itten/)

            Besides being the originator of color theory through his work at the Bauhaus, Itten also contributed to other design schools throughout his life. After leaving the Bauhaus in 1923 as a result of internal differences between Itten and Gropius (it is my own personal speculation that this tension could be a result of Itten's promotion of a Mazdanan cult at the school) Itten went off to be the director at many other design schools. For example, he founded his own modern art school in Berlin in 1926 where he was the director. In 1932 he was appointed the director of the newly established Höhere Fachschule für Textile Flächenkunst, or advanced school of textile art, in Krefeld. And again in 1938 he was became the director of the Kunstgewerbeschule school of applied arts ("Johannes Itten."). And the list goes on. Clearly, although he was only mentioned briefly in Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, Itten has had a profound impact on design education in many different ways.

References:

"Biography: Johannes Itten." Art Directory. Art Directory. Web. 1 Mar 2014. <http://www.johannes-itten.com>.

"Johannes Itten." Bauhaus Online. Bauhaus Online. Web. 1 Mar 2014. <http://bauhaus-online.de/en/atlas/personen/johannes-itten>.

Megg, Philip B. Megg's History of Graphic Design. 5th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. 200-202. Print.

Zifcak, Sophie. "Johannes Itten." Kaufmann Mercantile New York. Kaufmann Mercantile. Web. 1 Mar 2014. <http://kaufmann-mercantile.com/johannes-itten/>.

On the De Stijl Movement

            The De Stijl movement in graphic design began in the Netherlands in the late summer of 1917.  Many artists and architects, including Théo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian, Bark Anthony van der Leck, Vilmos Huszár, and Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, founded this movement. “De Stijl artists sought universal laws of balance and harmony for art, which could then be a prototype for a new social order” (Meggs, 313). Mondrian and van Doesburg in particular worked especially hard to further the philosophy of the movement through their work.

            The philosophy of the De Stijl movement developed from the paintings of Mondrian. De Stijl artists “believed that beauty arose from the absolute purity of the work. They sought to purify art by banning naturalistic expression. The content of their work was to be universal harmony, the order that pervades the universe” (Megg, 313). They also “sought expression of the mathematical structure of the universe and the universal harmony of nature” (Megg, 313). Therefore, their philosophy was to create art that showed the universe in its most pure and natural form by purifying their artwork to its core.

            Mondrian’s paintings showed this philosophy through his symbolic style developed in 1911. This style was influenced both by Vincent Van Gough and by the movement of cubism (Megg 313). Mondrian’s way of embodying the philosophy of the De Stijl movement was to create art that was “pure, geometric expression” (Megg, 313). He was especially influenced by the philosopher M. H. J. Shoenmakers, who defined horizontal and vertical lines as, “the two fundamental opposites shaping our world”, and the primary colors, red, blue, and yellow, as, ”the three principle colors” (Megg, 313). Mondrian took to these definitions and incorporated horizontal and vertical lines, as well as the primary colors almost exclusively in his work, such as the piece featured below (Fig. 2). Mondrian believed that, “the cubists had not accepted the logical consequences of their discoveries; this was the evolution of abstraction toward its ultimate goal, the expression of pure reality” (Megg, 313).

(Fig. 1) De Stijl artist Piet Mondrian

(Fig. 2) Piece by Piet Mondrian.

(Source http://karolisbikinas.blogspot.com/2012/02/piet-mondrian.html)

            Théo van Doesburg was another De Stijl artist who applied the philosophy of the De Stijl movement to “architecture, sculpture, typography and design” (Megg, 314). Along with his own personal art, van Doesburg also worked at editing and publishing De Stijl, a journal that from 1917 to 1931 worked to spread the philosophy of the De Stijl movement around the world, to a bigger and broader audience. His idea for this was that “the spirit of the art could then permeate society through architecture, product, and graphic design” (Megg, 314).

(Fig. 3) De Stijl artist  Théo van Doesburg

(Source: http://www.jbdesign.it/idesignpro/Theo%20Van%20Doesburg.html)

            Van Doesburg utilized many of the same methods as Mondrian in his work in order to spread the philosophy of De Stijl. In his poster design and typographic letter form design especially, van Doesburg utilized the horizontal and vertical lines that also appeared in Mondrian’s work, as well as the use of primary colors. In his letter forms especially, curved lines were completely eliminated, as can be seen in the example below (Fig. 4), and sans-serif fonts were favored (Megg, 315). In his architectural designs, van Doesburg utilized “planes in space with dynamic asymmetrical relationships” (Megg, 315). 

(Fig. 4) Letter form design by Théo van Doesburg

(Source: http://natasha-modernism.blogspot.com/2011/05/inspired-by-geometric-art-and.html)

(Fig. 5) Architectural design by Théo van Doesburg

(Source: http://www.jbdesign.it/idesignpro/Theo%20Van%20Doesburg.html)

            While the De Stijl movement did not survive past the death of van Doesburg in 1931, it’s philosophy continued for many years, and opened the doors to new art movements to take the lead in creating a new social order.

Megg, Philip B. Megg's History of Graphic Design. 5th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. 200-202. Print.