Hey, how did David Carson get a spot in this paper? What’s up with that? Can’t write Bauhaus, or any art school down here.
Sociology Degree ≠ B.F.A.
Surfer dude, schoolteacher, what’s the design world coming to?
Humm, I hear distant echoes of the art establishment commenting on such artists and movements as Jan Tschichold and The New Typography, Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus, Georges Braque and Cubism. And so it is, David Carson enters the design world in the 1980’s.
At a time when the United States was having difficult financial times, and computers were making it possible for, “Do-it-yourself” publishing to become a reality, David Carson turned to editorial design. Prior to this he had been a professional surfer and was ranked #9 in the world. He was also a sociology teacher. He brought his knowledge in sociology and teaching skills to the printed page. Without the restraints of a formal art education, David Carson was able to create a new style, or genre, of the magazine layout. His work was both embraced and rebuked, but either way, ultimately accepted, and given a place in the history of graphic design.
David Carson became Art Director for, “Transworld Skateboarding” Magazine. He gained praise and a cult following. “Beach Culture” is a magazine Carson directed for three years. During that time Carson and the magazine won over 150 awards including, “Best Overall Design.” (1) However, the magazine folded because advertisers were not willing to support his unconventional approach to layout design.
For David Carson, feeling has priority over words. He wants the page to communicate the message of the article, almost by osmosis. An example of this can be seen in his layout for the Beach Culture, 1991 magazine article, titled, “Hanging on Carmine Street.” Carson was inspired to, “Hang some type.” (2) (Meggs. p. 461)
David Carson speaks to an, “Electronic Media” generation. He recognizes communication is not static and transforms the page to a kinetic level. He accomplishes this by rejecting traditional design principles and inventing new forms that, “Invite the reader to participate by deciphering the message.” (3) (Meggs. p. 461) He often crops images and text or overlaps and transforms them to the point of being illegible. He sacrifices the word for the bigger picture. The generation that reads his work grew up getting their information from mass-media – television and Internet. It is the quick, changing motion and bombardment of stimulation his reader has come to accept and understand that Carson captures on the page.As an art director, Carson is careful to match the writer with the editorial, because it is the word that inspires his design. With the aid of computer-manipulation, a world of possibilities was opened. In the article, “Is Techno Dead” from Ray Gun, 1994, he cuts the body text to give the page as a whole a rhythmic quality, which complements the subject matter.
Perhaps David Carson’s true talent and contribution to graphic design is in his incorporating the vehicle to deliver content into the content. The whole process is exposed, purposefully. An example of this can be seen in the article about Lyle Lovett. Carson chose to focus on the singer’s pigeon-toed feet. During the photo shoot, Lovett stood on a white tape marker. Carson not only left the tape in the photo, but by placing it in the center of the composition, and through the use of economy of space and high value contrast (white tape, black shoes) focuses us on the singer’s feet. (Gasp! Did I just accuse the David Carson of applying traditional design principles to his work?!)
The bottom line is, David Carson is not anti-traditional, he’s just transitional. He incorporates our world – the old and the new – into his world – and invites us to experience it with him. His extensive list of honors, awards, and success, (such as his book, “The End of Print: The Grafik Design of David Carson, now in its fifth printing) are testament to our acceptance of his invitation.
END NOTES
(1) Complink. “David Carson.” A Page for Graphic Designers. 1999. Complink.net. 7 Apr. 2005 http://www.complink.net/greg/designsite/carson.htm>.
(2) Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. 3rd. Ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1998.
