A2 folded to A5 Invitation & A4 Catalog for CAPC, Bordeaux for an exhibition on Heimo Zobernig
Design Experimental Jetset
Some newish work from Experimental Jetset discovered in the most unlikely of places – Myspace ;) .
Haha…unlikely, indeed! I thought the same thing when I posted it back in July: http://www.laborandcurse.com/2009/07/experimental-jetset.html
Incredible work, as always!
Lovely work from the always outstanding Experimental Jetset. …although that first piece does remind me of a piece I did a few years ago: http://www.septemberindustry.co.uk/?p=2013
I suppose that’s the problem with helvetica. There’s only so much you can do until it gets done again.
Lovely work James, although your image background (http://www.septemberindustry.co.uk/?p=2013) does remind me of a little of something I’ve seen on MadeThought’s website (http://www.madethought.com/)
James — very similar indeed!
What is it they say James… Something about houses, and glass, and not throwing stones???
R* — Yes indeed. Me and half the rest of the design world have unashamedly ripped that off. A 50% grey background gives you great levels and white balance with which to work. The angle is a great way to show stock texture and finish whilst giving a good indication of the overall layout. This brings up an interesting question: Is the style in which you shoot your work ownable?
R* — Huh? I’m not accusing anyone of plagiarism here — least of all legends like Experimental Jetset. Merely pointing out that it’s similar and the shortfallings of Helvetica and modernist typographic design.
similar arguement going on at Grafikcache at the moment:
http://www.grafikcache.com/?p=2590#comments
black helvetica on stark white is very difficult to make “original”. that said, tight letterspacing and use of contrasting extra-light characters (+ for example) does have the stamp of a certain well known designer(s).
p.
Thanks for the link, Peter. That’s interesting — although I doubt this is the first time this issue has been discussed.
Plagiarism of an idea is a lot more clear-cut than plagiarism of a style. Visual styles are more like genres of music than a single specific track. In a way it makes sense to consciously copy a style as at least then you can try and build on it and develop it. Given that our perception of what looks good only exists because of our collective experience of the visual world, we are pretty much destined to produce work that looks like something we’ve already seen 99% of the time. Better to do it consciously than subconsciously.
yeah, I agree. although I would say it’s much more difficult to realistically make an accusation of plagiarism than a borrowing of style. our profession is obsessed with originality – deservedly so as the pursuit of the new is what drives the evolution of communication and makes it so sophisticated. but it’s only those individuals with a firm understanding of history that realize that true originality is extremely rare – those with little understanding of the past are much more quick to accuse a designer of copying.
plagiarism is a blatant and unreserved copying of work – happens from time to time (colourful rabbits anyone?), but is thankfully more rare than style jacking. I’m not sure if ideas are more protected from plagiarism than style – both are difficult to come by and therefore are prone to copying/influence.
the use of helvetica in the sony advert is a great example of the nuances of influence. of course michael place didn’t invent helvetica or has exclusive use of the typeface – the assertion that the sony ad is a copy of michael’s style has little to do with helvetica. but he did something that was truly special and rare in our field – he took a typeface that was the most popular in the world and set it in a manner that was akin to a signature – he made it his own. so much so that when people see the Petronio Assoc. ad they immediately think of Build. and actually, so do I.
To be honest, the first thing I thought when I saw this project was it’s just another Jetset project. Set in house style, it doesn’t grab me as breathtaking, or boundary re-defining, just another solid, considered, house-set project, much like the work they’ve been producing for the last 10 years. Not sure what the comparison does for you really James, other than suggest that you were influenced by EJ when you undertook your own project perhaps? Consciously or subconsciously…
Can anyone really lay claim to ‘owning’ helvetica set solid on a single colour. No. Ask Brockman, Crouwel, Aicher, Vignelli… need I go on?
And to answer an earlier question, can anyone own a particular way of recording work. In my opinion, yes. The Made Thought approach was so different, and done so well, that every instance I’ve seen since just looks like a poor lift. While it may help show off the work, print textures etc., there are other ways of doing that whilst still maintaining some originality. It just requires a little more energy and investment to get it right (just as MT did when they pioneered that technique). Spin’s house photography style always looks effortless but interesting, hinting at material density and processes through page turns and lighting, and it’s all done with a little lighting set up at the back of their studio. Simple, inexpensive and original.
The big question is, do we care what other designers think of our work (or the way we shoot our portfolio), or are we more concerned that potential clients like the look of the projects/case studies? To answer that you have to look at the role of your site — is it a business tool aimed at new business, or an online portfolio aimed at design colleagues/peers? If it’s the latter, the better agencies will spot a MT lift a mile off, so it’s best avoiding the comparison altogether.
This is, of course, just my opinion.
Presenting work was a subject raised at DA some time back:
http://www.designassembly.org/2009/02/13/presenting-work/
Whoop whoop!
Well said Patrick. I agree with all of the above.
Personally I feel this industry is littered with uncreative designers sourcing inspiration from limited resources ie. design blogs. A good designer will be visually literate to the point where everything around them, whether that be architecture, art, fashion, film etc becomes a source of inspiration.
It is how a designer takes this and adapts it into engaging and relevant work that makes for a good designer.
It is clear in my opinion that James has ‘consciously’ seen Experimental Jetset’s work and MadeThought’s website and copied both. This in my mind, is not creative in any way.
As I said, just my opinion.
You make a good point, Patrick. I honestly hadn’t given it that much thought. I shot all my work a few years ago in a hurry when I got made redundant and it was literally a case of having to get it done very quickly. Madethought had just launched their new site and I saw the style in which they shot their work and thought “That works well. I’ll do it a bit like that” without considering that anyone would care that it was reminiscent of a style in which someone else shot their work.
In my current workplace, I interview people and give portfolio reviews and the more folios I see, the less I care about the style in which the work is presented. What I am getting tired of is endless, close-up shots of details. Yes — I can see it’s a nice finish, but it doesn’t give me any indication as to your skills as a designer. This sounds clichéd, but what I’m always looking for is the quality of the work itself. The only thing that matters when shooting your work is clarity and editing.
R*, I’m trying to create a discussion about design and all you seem to want to do is make anonymous personal attacks on me and my work. That’s not a very nice thing to do.
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