Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Module #10

Reading: Chapters 23 & 24

National Visions within a Global Dialogue & The Digital Revolution-and Beyond


For this week's reading I was very intrigued by Middle Eastern graphic design. I fell in love with Reza Abedini's work and his film poster Rêves de sable. It's so elegant but at the same time it looks very modern and hip. I love that he uses the typography to create his own pattern. The design is minimal yet he manages to create a lot of contrast with only three colors. The thing I love the most about this poster is the fact that I don't understand what any of the text means but I want to know what it's about! It captures my attention and makes me want to research what the film is about. Clearly I don't read Farsi but I like the way the typography looks layered. It does a great job of mixing an ancient language and making it modern and fresh. I tried googling the film to see what it's about but the translations are horrible even with Google translate's help. I think it's about three people who travel to Iran to accomplish their ultimate journey and something to do with death. It also apparently translates to "Sand Dreams". Don't quote me on this. I also included a gif of the poster because A) I love gifs and B) it gives you a close-up of the cloak to see the beautiful details.

Dream of Dust | 2003
Film poster

Abedini is a famous graphic designer from Iran. Born in Tehran in 1967, he graduated from the school of Fine Arts in 1985. He received a B.A. in Painting from the Tehran Art University in 1985. He has been a professional graphic designer since 1989 and founded his own studio, Reza Abedini Studio, in Tehran in 1993. Abedini is well-known for his signature mix of modern Persian typography and traditional art. Abedini has won many awards from national to international design awards. He won first prize for the best film poster of Fajr International Film Festival Iran in 1993, 1994 and 1996. He has won the Film Critics Special Award for the Best film poster in Iran (1994). First prize and gold medal at the 8th International Biennial of the Poster in Mexico (2004). First prize at the First International Biennale of the Islamic world Poster in Iran (2004). Another notable achievement was the Principal Prince Claus Award in 2006 that recognizes his personal creativity in the production of special graphic designs, as well as for the personal manner in which he applies and redefines the knowledge and accomplishments of Iran's artistic heritage. The award also recognizes the diversity of both the historical and the modern Iranian culture and the impact of graphic design as an influential international means of communication (The Power of Culture). Some of his clients include the Academy of Arts, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tasvir Magazine, Tehran University Press, Farabi Cinema Foundation, Fajr International Film Festival, Iranian Young Cinema Society and Tandis Weekly Magazine.

Abedini currently teaches at the American University of Beirut as a graphic design and visual culture professor.
Reza Abedini

I've included a couple of designs from Abedini below. The first is a poster for an exhibition from 2005. He uses traditional Iranian art to frame the top part of the poster. He adds modern lines to fill in the silhouette and that blend in with the background. By using the pop of blue he is able to contrast with the black text and the white background. Although the blue lines that look like a fingerprint are bright they do not distract from the typography. It's left with a very clean design that mixes old with new. Next, I've included a couple of logos that Abedini has done. The first looks very traditional with muted colors and basic design. The logo appears modern since there are clean lines and a brighter orange yet it still looks elegant. The logo looks classic and since it's for a philosophy foundation I think it works perfectly with the audience. The second logo is a little more modern and is used for the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art conference. Once again I love the simplicity and the clean lines. It looks traditional because of the faded look but the colors make it look modern. The shapes appear traditional and bring in the entire look with a simple logo that will be easy to remember and perfect for a conference.

Bedoone Zendehrood | 2005
Poster exhibition
Logotype for Fardid Philosophy Foundation
A Cultural Company
Calligraphy by Masood Nejabati
Art and Thought | 2000
Logotype for conference
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art

Overall I am very happy I stumbled upon Abedini. I always hear about great European graphic designers or American ones but once in a while it's refreshing to see different talent from different countries. I love how he mixes traditional Iranian art and culture with modern design. I love the way he uses Farsi to create his own patterns and the depth in his layers. I love minimal design and while some of his works include bright colors and a lot of layering they still manage to not look so cluttered. He does work with some mute tones but it still has contrast and something is always grabbing your attention. Abedini's work looks like pop art sometimes but with traditional Farsi. Abedini creates elegant silhouettes and has a great eye for color. After reading the book I've learned so much and have gained a whole new perspective on graphic design. As my journalism degree has taught me to check spelling in everything I read I now check graphic designs and look at the whitespace and contrast and find similar artists they may have used as inspiration. I have a graphic designer's eye now and I don't mind it at all.

Sources:

  • Abedini, Reza. RezaAbedini.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. <http://www.rezaabedini.com/>.
  • Meggs, Philip B., Alston W. Purvis, and Philip B. Meggs. Meggs' History of Graphic Design. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.
  • "The Power of Culture." Prince Claus Award for Reza Abedini. N.p., Sept. 2006. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. <http://www.krachtvancultuur.nl/en/current/2006/september/pcf_award.html>.

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