THE NEXT TEXT

DAVID CARSON: THE END OF PRINT

David Carson’s innovative work was first communicated in 1990 in the very first issue of the ‘Beach Culture’ magazines. The astounding visual communication conveyed through these pages challenged the field of typography into innovative ground. Arguably one of the most influential graphic designers in postmodernism, Carson’s work was filled with life and character having consistently challenged the relationship between verbal and visual language throughout his vast oeuvre. My personal favorite from the text ‘The End of Print’ is ‘Secret Memoirs of a Renaissance Pope’ where Carson communicates the typeface between a block of text and a text-filled question mark, reading between each other. Though frustrating to read, the typeface enables the reader to absorb the text in a new light absorbing it in a more interactive fashion, essentially generating an intimate and colorful reading experience. Reflecting the typical Carson composition, the treatment of text is conveyed beyond words sparking a revolution in visual communication. David Carson’s avant-garde approach to text, inverted in mass-media advertisements and magazine, spun an intricate web of chaos in the design community. His innovative approach and style heightened the print medium to of an expressionist form, testing the boundaries of a mainstream niche audience.

“Print is reborn, resurrected, as something initially unrecognizable. It’s not really dead, it is simply mutated into something else.” (from Lewis Blackwell’s ‘The End of Print’)

posted by jason @ 1:33 PM