In art, it is said that postmodernism is a reaction or challenge against modernism. It breaks down the boundaries between high and low culture and refuses to have its own distinctive style; it encompasses pre-existing techniques, processes and materials and has no definitive reasoning. These are some examples of where I believe postmodernism is apparent in graphic design.
Barbara Kruger Exhibitio, 1991, [online] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/kruger/card2.html
This exhibition space by Barbara Kruger is typical of postmodern design, combining a range of pre-existing materials and quotes, predominantly black and white photographs overlaid with quotes. The text doesn't conform to a usual structure but is instead strewn across the walls, floor and ceiling.
Katherine McCoy, Cranbrook Graduate Poster, 1989 [online] Available at: http://www.webdesignstuff.co.uk/hp005/2011/01/26/deconstruction-and-web-page-design/
There is an onslaught of type and image. Katherine McCoy rejects rigid genre boundaries and breaks typical conventions by avoiding a uniform grid and composition. The majority of the body text is illegible due to the photo montage imagery underneath - the basis that function follows form.
Artist unknown, Strawinksy Berg Fortner
Similarly to the previous designs, this does not conform to a stereotypical grid. There is no coherence to image and type as the shapes, although following the same perspective as the type seem to be spontaneously placed.
Part graphic design, part fine art. The designer has re-created the Mona Lisa - a 16th century oil painting portrait in just 140 coloured dots. Pluralism - it has references to high and low culture (traditional paintings and pop art).
David Carson, Ray Gun Magazine Cover, [online] Available at: http://clickyclacky.tumblr.com/post/1980763392
Typical of Ray Gun magazine covers by David Carson, this design overlays type on image. Although still legible, the text has been devised to confuse the reader - the tracking has been increased, some letters have more emphasis despite having no particular importance and the main body has been aligned to the right.
