FMP theory of art

1. Theories for style of products
Tommy Lister

2. Herbert Bayer and the Bauhaus
movement
• While trying to gain a stronger understanding of the theory behind graphic design, a name
that frequently appeared was ‘Herbert Bayer’. Bayer is perhaps most credited for his work
during the ‘ Bauhaus’ years in Germany. Bauhaus was a German school of art that although it
was highly influential in graphic design, only ran for 14 years and was ended due to the Nazi
regime and their beliefs due to the communist beliefs associated with the movement. The
school existed in three German cities, Weimar, Berlin and Dessau. It can be seen as no
coincidence that these positive movements had taken place during what was known as ‘The
Golden Years’ in Germany, at a time under the Weimar Republic, before the Nazis gained
power. The period of 1924-29 were known as the golden years due to the governments
stability, the economic security following the issues of hyper-inflation and also improved
living standards. These times of happiness and much more freedom correlate with this as it is
a time when Bayer could be seen to have revolutionised areas in graphic design, particularly
as he created the ‘Bahuaus typographic identity. The most notable innovation made by Bayer
was the elimination of capital letter, as he strayed away from a serif style, this eventually
became known as the ‘Bauhaus typography’ and is still in their signage today, it was also part
of the social and political reform taking place at the school.

3. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
• Moholy-Nagy was strongly a modernists and his beliefs were shaped by his strong beliefs
such as Dadaism, Suprematism and constructivism. His interest in photography encouraged
his belief that artists' understanding of vision had to specialize and modernize. Artists used to
have to rely on the tools of perspective drawing, but with the new invention of the camera
they had to learn to see again. They had to renounce the classical training of previous
centuries, which encouraged them to think about the history of art and to reproduce old
formulas and experiment with vision. A quote of his was "I lived my childhood years in a
terrible great quietness.” This could be a reason for his interest in modern art and expressing
his bottled up views in a new form. His studies were interrupted when he enlisted into the
Austro-Hungarian Army as an artillery officer in 1915. He experienced the horror of war
which remained with him for the rest of his life. During this time as a soldier as he drew his
life, including his fellow officers, and the civilians he encountered, he discovered a passion
for drawing.

4. Gestalt Principles
Gestalt is a psychology term which means "unified whole". It refers to theories of visual perception
developed by German psychologists in the 1920s. These theories attempt to describe how people
tend to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes when certain principles are
applied. The first principle is known as similarity. This is very self explanatory and obviously just means
when objects are similar to each other. They can be perceived as a group or pattern. The use of
similarity can emphasise something on an object when it is dissimilar to everything else there, this is
referred to as an anomaly. Continuation is another one of the gestalt principles, this occurs when the
eye is compelled to move from one object to another, for example a line or a curve may continue the
viewer's eye to the end of an object where a logo could be placed. Another one of the principles is
closure, this occurs when an object is not complete and there are spaces in it, however when there is
enough space indicated, people perceive what should be filled in the empty space. Proximity occurs
when elements are placed close together. They tend to be perceived as a group.
The figure/ground principle is based upon the relationship between an object and the surrounding
space. Figure/ground is also referred to as positive and negative space, the positive being the object
and the negative referring to the space around it.
Figure/ground can be used quite creatively when both the figure and ground form recognizable
shapes at the same time. There are many examples of this, one of the most common being the optical
illusion of two opposing faces on opposite sides of the page with the negative space in between them
forming a lamp, spindle or another recognizable shape.

5. Ellen Lupton/Graphic Design Theory
• https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TtmbTdfUskIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=graphic+design+theories&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiBr9aa6f7fAhUqQRUIHUnfD1YQ
6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=graphic%20design%20theories&f=false
• https://www.aiga.org/medalist-ellenlupton
• While reading this book, one of the lines that stood out to me was "Designers are actively engaging
their societies politically and culturally, increasingly thinking globally inside a tightly networked
world. " I interpet this to mean that the current affairs in the world have a large impact on design,
and that they try portray their own opinions on the world through their art. I am not sure if this is
what is meant, however if it is I can learn from this as when I create my own designs I will have to
consider the current notable events and see how I can reflect these or my beliefs on these through
my work. When researching Ellen Lupton, she has been described as "Ellen Lupton makes this
industry smarter. If graphic design has a sense of its own history, an understanding of the theory
that drives it and a voice for its continuing discourse, it's largely because Lupton wrote it, thought it
or spoke it." This suggests her opinions on graphic design is highly valued, which means that her
work on this should be taken seriously and I can take something from it. She has been quoted to say
“Design really wasn't in the mainstream back then. It was esoteric. It was the thing you did if you
were very 'neat,' which I wasn't.” This highlights how design has come a long way, and the
importance of it has been realised in time, which futher reinforces my point earlier to make sure I
include current affairs as part of the creative meaning behind design as in the modern world, where
design is taken more seriously it combines well with taking into consideration contemporay issues.

6. Podcast theory
• https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sEJmDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=podcast+analysis&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjh4_3K6P7fAhWtQxUIHdyrBkAQ6AEI
LzAB#v=onepage&q=podcast%20analysis&f=false
• I have decided to research a book named "Podcasting: New Aural Cultures and Digital Media". Early
on the book discusses how the medium has recently gained a lot more viewers and is something
that has started to be taken much more seriously. They say the reasons for this could be for
example when President Obama featured on a fairly popular podcast. Also due to the attention a
podcast named 'Serial' drew. One of the things I have taken from this is using someone very
relevant or having a topic which is very relevant to the latest news works well because it makes
people want to listen to it. On my own podcast it is going to be very specific and each podcast will
be on the same thing, jus obviously with newer and more relevant talking points. This means that if
I have an audience for this they are likely to be a loyal audience anyway with an interest in the
specific thing. So it is ulikely it would pull in different types of listeners, unless I referenced another
football club for example. Also this research was in 2015, and since then podcasting has became
much more popular and is a more respected outlet compared to what it was in 2015. Something
very interesting which I have learned and realised from this book came from a quote 'Podcasting is
a welcome space for both the amateur and professional' This highlights the difference between the
medium of podcasting, compared to other mediums as in podcasting you do not necessarily need
lots of resources or a big budget for expensive equipment, as nearly anybody can create a podcast
and the quality of it is more down to the people on it rather than the resources you have available.

7. Bibliography
anon. (.). Herbet Bayer: Design Is History. Available: http://www.designishistory.com/1920/herbert-
bayer/. Last accessed January 2019.
Atsbury, Jon (2018). Herbert Bayer: designer of the Bauhaus' universal typography. Available:
https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/06/herbert-bayer-bauhaus-100-typography-universal-typeface-
font/. Last accessed January 2019.
Abbaspour, Mitra. (.). Herbert Bayer. Available: https://www.moma.org/artists/399. Last accessed
January 2019.
anon. (.). László Moholy-Nagy Hungarian-American Designer, Filmmaker, Painter, Photographer,
Sculptor, and Theoretician. Available: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-moholy-nagy-laszlo.htm.
Last accessed January 2019.
anon. (.). Gestalt Principles. Available: http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm.
Last accessed January 2019.
Armstrong, Helen (.). Graphic Design Theory: Readings From The Field. New York: Princeton
Architectural Press.
Llinares ,Dario Fox, Neil Berry, Richard(.). Podcasting: New Aural Cultures and Digital
Media. Springer, 2018.