By definition, Anti Design is design that rejects the clean minimalism of traditional Modernism, instead taking a more brash and maximalist approach. It’s roots can be traced back to Italy in the 1960’s, but a notable graphic reference would be David Carson’s work for Ray Gun during the early 1990’s. Carson had very little formal graphic education, but knew enough of the rules to know how to break them, this is important when making Anti Design in my opinion. Carson captured the spirit of the alternative music scene and created a graphic representation that essentially became the house style of the 90’s counter culture scene. “Magazines don’t get produced in a vacuum - they refer to their predecessors but also other media” - Jeremy Leslie Magazines are almost always about other forms of culture, they don’t exist for their own benefit, but rather to talk about other topics. So as Leslie states, it is inevitable that they’ll garner influence from other forms of existing media. So when talking about the rise of Anti Design in the contemporary graphics scene, we need to consider other media that has rose in prominence over the last few years. Meme culture has had a huge impact, for better or worse, on Graphic Design. The way we consume media has been potentially irreversibly changed due to the meteoric rise of social media over the last decade, so this has naturally affected the way designers work. They’ve had to adapt, or at least acknowledge the change of pace media has undergone as attention spans have invariably slumped due to the constant bombardment of new media online. A designer who I think has incorporated elements of meme culture into her practice in an interesting and thoughtful way is Charlotte Rohde. Pictured here is a typographic piece she designed for her 2021 show Hot Mess. “I like to play with masculine materiality such as metal and wood, while expressing flirty vulnerability in words.” - Charlotte Rohde Rohde uses her formal tuition to create playful and irreverent work that encapsulates the current internet zeitgeist while referencing societal issues within her field, specifically female representation and femininity within Graphic Design. Apart from Rohde’s obvious intelligence and personality, I think the reason her work is as interesting and conceptually strong is because of her formal tuition. As I touched upon when talking about Carson’s work, you need to know the rules if you want to break them. In a recent YouTube video, Satori Graphics breaks down why were seeing such an increase in anti graphics, and if it will become the prevailing form of Graphic Design. He talks about the availability of software meaning people without formal design education can make graphics. The accessibility of the practice has lead to a lot more young people becoming practitioners, which I think explains a lot. Anti design seems to be a youthful practice. As a side note, the rise of Y2K aesthetics seems nearly indistinguishable from the rise of anti graphics, particularly in independent print publication. Amelia Thorpe writes “there is an undeniable childish aura to this trend, which explains why many Gen Z’s might adopt this style due to the nostalgia that surrounds this era…” Although she’s talking more about fashion in this article, there has always been an intrinsic link between fashion and Graphic Design, and the point she makes still stands. This element of youth has triggered a real sense of sometimes false nostalgia for the youth of the 2020’s. Maybe it’s an antidote to a troubled time, recalling memories of a ‘simpler time’, (although most people who indulge in the aesthetic probably aren’t old enough to properly recall the early 2000s), or a more cynical view would be the graphics world is following the repetitive drumbeat of fashion’s cyclical nature. Anti design may have started as a form of rebellion, but what happens when it’s commercially fetishised? In summary, Anti Design is neither good nor bad. It’s a style. I think in the 21st Century it’s definition has changed, and it’s too commercially viable to be considered truly ‘rebellious’, however this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Ultimately people rebel against systems that need to change, and because of designers’ rebellion against traditional Modernism, there is now a viable place for Anti Design. However, like all styles and genres there’s a time and place to use it. Anti Design is based on what were once considered ‘distasteful’, however this doesn’t mean that anything goes. There’s a definite difference between intelligent irony and bad design.
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February 2023
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