The Van Doesburg Formula

Something really interesting I came across while reading up on Van Doesburg. 

Remember this image by Van Doesburg that was on display at the exhibition at the Tate? It seems like nothing more than a very balanced succession of squares..... showing perspective or distance, perhaps?

But apparently, there is a formula behind these squares that make them so splendidly balanced. It's based on a 'recursive' formula. Basically, the sides of each square and the distance between them are half the size of the preceding square.

Hence - the second painting exhibited alongside the one above (I did wonder!) which shows that he actually did the math before the seemingly innocuous painting of a bunch of black squares!

The Icons of Design - The 20th Century (Prestel)

I picked up this book to see if I could find a co-relation or a pattern in the evolution of 'good' design in the 20th Century. Or even to get familiar with what was considered 'good' in the first place!

The foreword of the book drew analogies between Christian icons and Design (in general) icons. I was amused to see myself agreeing with some of the analogies :

"... there is a clear and structured interaction between the believer and the icon..."

The common theme, according to me,  in the visual appearance of 'good' design was plain ol' simplicity! There might have been complex mechanisms and ideas driving the structure and the creation of the product, but, visually, they were brilliantly simple. 

Simply brilliant!

The Power of Posters - Margaret Timmers

Aubrey Beardsley

What I picked up from the library shelf as a simple browsing book, turned out to be quite an interesting read. It has a fantastic collection of posters along with stories, trivia and a little bit about the social climate which may have lead to a particular design. A definite leaf through - especially if you are interested in poster design.




On the left is a poster that folded up as the program as well Loved the use of colours and the 'dots'. Also loved the story behind it. apparently it was one of the first posters where the image had absolutely NOTHING to do with the content of the play. It had caused quite a furor in those days.


Came across a really interesting quote regarding this poster :
Some gazed at it in awe while others jeered at it, but that in its power to provoke attention, it had succeeded as advertisement
-Charles Hiatt

E. McKnight Kauffer

Another one that I absolutely loved was a poster design by E McKnight Kauffer for a traveling exhibition arranged by the circulation Department of the V&A in 1973. I could not get an image of the poster, but I did manage to get an image of something similar, that I think is very cleverly executed.

Just a really strong poster with a very strong grid. The grid being defined by placement of text, inversion of colour and use of colour