Leyan Chen (Elza) BA Graphic and Media Design Whether design emphasizes function or form is a question that artists have been trying to answer for many years, just as design and anti-design have been debated throughout history. The anti-design movement, known as the Radical Design period, began its rebellion in Italy in the 1960s (Martinique, 2016). It opposed the brand-controlled world in the framework of consumerism, and focused on the prevailing modernist design known for its simplicity and emphasis on function. The typical choices for anti-design are conflicting color palettes, illegible typography, and overlapping and crowded text images. Although it is defined as chaotic and aesthetically lacking, its purpose is not to actively seek destruction but to break free from the constraints of The Times and urge the reconsideration and innovation of outdated concepts of design (Levanier, 2022). In the exhibition of Object of Desire in the Design Museum, the 1960s donna red sofa designed by Italian industrial designer Gaetano Pesce is impressive. Its smooth, rounded form is as soft as a feminine in appearance, and is inspired by the silhouette of an ancient fertility goddess (Muraben, 2016). The circular footstool which is attached to the sofa enhances the whole work with the metaphor of female prisoners. The fact of the chair must be squeezed also symbolizes the prejudice and oppression that women endured from all sides and even themselves at that time. Nevertheless, this was met with explicit feminist protests during Milan Design Week (Pownall, 2019). This art piece, which undermines the principle that furniture puts utility first, provokes reflection and debate. It is a well-deserved radical design. Another instance of anti-design may be seen in the more than 1,000 posters created by Russian artist Petr Bankov. As graphic design work, his works discarded all grids and included complex collages and illustrations without any practical purpose instead. His work is full of pure experimentation in the search for aesthetic perfection. Whether it was old Dada, surrealism, or the critical design movement that has been gaining steam since the 2019 pandemic, the anti-design movement has never completely vanished from the art world. It might even be called the zeitgeist. In an uncertain society with limited travel freedom nowadays, people are paying more attention to freedom of expression and catharsis. It is another time to innovate with critical thinking and defy the rules. When restless eyes are wrapped in piles of visual garbage, they want to defy convention and reconsider the fundamentals. In other words, anti-design is a constant race against the audience’s aesthetic fatigue, a movement that defies current fashion and promotes unconventional thinking. The posters of the Iminente Festival designed by Solid Dogma surprise audiences every year with their own messy yet aesthetically experimental designs that do not rely on traditional grids. Solid Dogma, Iminente Festival, 2022. https://www.iminente.org/festival/
In terms of graphic design, movements led by designers like Bauhaus have established their proper development style and design principles. Designers may safely handle the majority of aesthetic issues using basic grids. And design, in my opinion, should not be limited by capitalism to form a static system. The emergence or re-emergence of anti-design is a challenge to the status quo under critical thinking. Design can be creative while anti-design supports innovation. They both contain critique, which is what they have in common. From my perspective, design and anti-design can coexist or be dynamically equilibrium since experimental anti-design can arouse inspiration. The combination can help designers step beyond their comfort zones, investigate fresh approaches to aesthetic issues, and overcome creative obstacles. While neither design nor anti-design can fundamentally solve social problems, critical thinking may nonetheless be effectively applied to identify issues and appeal to raise awareness. But even if design stops at entertaining the public, designers still need to strike a balance between expressing their individuality and confronting crucial problems. Reference Tutdesign (2014). 1000 и один постер. Available at: https://tutdesign.ru/cats/art/18250-1000-i-odin-poster.html (Accessed: 31 January 2023). Martinique, E (2016). Anti-Design Movement - Aestheticism of the Modern Era. Available at: https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/anti-design-italian-movement (Accessed: 31 January 2023). Levanier, J (2022). Anti-design: the anti-rule book redefining digital design. Available at: https://99designs.co.uk/blog/design-history-movements/anti-design/ (Accessed: 31 January 2023). Muraben, B (2016). Why These Five Objects Defined the Radical Design Movement. Available at: https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/8888/why-these-five-objects-defined-the-radical-design-movement (Accessed: 31 January 2023). Pownall, A (2019). "Feminists have not understood the meaning of my work" says Gaetano Pesce after Up armchair protest. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/29/gaetano-pesce-up-chair-interview-protest-milan-design-week/ (Accessed: 31 January 2023). Iminente (2022). Festival Iminente. Available at: https://www.iminente.org/festival/ (Accessed: 31 January 2023).
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