The Next Big Thing
Last night I saw a classic old lithography stamp swirling around the Sears logo on a Christmas commercial animation. And the Sears logo itself had converted to a 1800's high style, curly script instead of it's usual 'stroke within a stroke' ultra-utilitarian font.
Bam! In one whack Sears violated the ancient rule of branding that states "The Font Will Never Change". Perhaps they got a temporary dispensation from the Gods of Holiday advertising. The alternative explanation is that wealthy corporations, just like wealthy women, can break all the rules at the drop of a shoe. Not only can they hype a new brand of cool for themselves- but in turn they hype it for the rest of us as well.
But if you want to know what is going to be cool tomorrow- just take a look at yesterday.
Lithographs, woodcuts, illuminations, stenciling, tattooing...
I study these art forms extensively, and I see elements of all of them rolling out of hard drives and off of art boards every day. We have the hottest, fastest technology ever imagined in the history of mankind to communicate visual ideas with -and we are using it to re-create the old styles. But we are not just re-creating them, we are making them our own.
I am always amazed at the detail of some of the early lithography. It seems that in it's heyday we could not print a word without it being accompanied by decorative elements that were of extraordinary detail. Even shipping statements were heavily embellished. To think of the skills, trouble and time taken to do this high level of work during the pre-technical era is mind-bloggling.
Today we are mixing Victorian lithography swirls into heavy airbrush grunge type, blending shippers stencil stampwork with woodcut patterning- cool is now mix and match, blend and convert.
And here we go back to the earliest origins of artistic expression; converted to cool and distinct to sell wine. Our ancestral cave-dwellers would be appreciative of the art- and probably the libation.
So the next time you need a new idea for a hot project, look to the old. Study old labeling, old music sheets, even old shipping bills and containers. Study color and form and typography and collect some new fonts - new old fonts that is. Draw from some old elements to create a new style all your own.
And oh yea.. don't forget to break a few rules along the way.
Sears' changing font is just another example of an uneducated marketing person calling all the shots instead of letting designers handle design. The real culprit is upper management and the schools CEOs shoot out of; we need to educate the big boys on who knows what.
Good article.
SDK