History of Graphic Design: Kinetic Design

While discussing Art Deco in class, we learned a bit about the kinetic design of Cassandre. Cassandre used "serial" posters to convey movement and to express meaning, as seen in the Dubonnet posters below. As the images progress, the man shown is symbolically fulfilled by the drink as his body is filled in with color.

This reminded me of a lecture I attended at Washington University in 2002. The lecture was given by Chris Pullman, VP of design for WGBH Boston. One of his most recognizable works is the WGBH animated signature. The topic he spoke on was Motion Graphics. He showed us various examples, from a series of three bus shelter posters of a purple rabbit (shown below in grayscale) which changed from week to week to finally convey a message (using the same concept as the Dubbonnet ad above) to the Talking Heads video, "(Nothing but) Flowers " and their use of typography and movement in that video.

The following images are examples of "serial" advertisements.

The first sample image above is the "Hair Removal" ad that was mentioned earlier, done by TBWA Chiat/Day. This particular ad ran as print and television with a variety of subjects. Next to that is a set of three change of address cards for Barbour Index; a project that Ken Garland & Associates completed. Below that are two Time Magazine covers done by Mirko Ilic.

Another way to convey motion in a static design is by use of diagonal lines, angles, shapes and placement of object and type on a page. First, is a logo for Quick Maid, done by Ken Garland, which conveys the message of "quick" by use of shapes. Following that is an example of an illustration by Mirko Ilic using lines to show movement, and a poster by Cassandre.