David Carson's table of contents
Radical Type Design (pgs. 37-38)
David Carson
When I think of David Carson, I think of very loose, abstract, and sometimes "illegible" designs. However, his Table of Contents designs from Surfer magazine (pg. 37) and Speak magazine (pg. 38) are different from the other David Carson designs that I have seen. I like these better. In these table of contents designs, Carson still sticks to his "experimental design" qualities, but he organizes the type into a orderly, legible pattern.
David Carson's table of contents designs go beyond its purpose. It is an artwork in itself. Through the contents pages, he is able to convey the attitude of the company which he is doing the work for.
"the table of contents should get somebody intrigued and in a way excited about what is to come- and, to not give it all away. Equally, to not allow them to simply read through the entire contents page." -David Carson
"It is more of a teaser than a road map" -David Carson
David Carson
When I think of David Carson, I think of very loose, abstract, and sometimes "illegible" designs. However, his Table of Contents designs from Surfer magazine (pg. 37) and Speak magazine (pg. 38) are different from the other David Carson designs that I have seen. I like these better. In these table of contents designs, Carson still sticks to his "experimental design" qualities, but he organizes the type into a orderly, legible pattern.
David Carson's table of contents designs go beyond its purpose. It is an artwork in itself. Through the contents pages, he is able to convey the attitude of the company which he is doing the work for.
"the table of contents should get somebody intrigued and in a way excited about what is to come- and, to not give it all away. Equally, to not allow them to simply read through the entire contents page." -David Carson
"It is more of a teaser than a road map" -David Carson
posted by ashleep at 10:34 PM
2 Comments:
Of course, all designers should know who David Carson is, but like you mentioned, there is a certain type of style that we are accustomed to seeing in his work. His chaotic style is his signature, that is, until many designers started to imitate it too closely. But I think that it really is a good thing that the "Radical Type Design" book showed something that deviated from what we are used to seeing from Carson. It is what we all need to be sensitive to in our work-- to create a design identity for ourselves through our work, but at the same time, be able to be flexible with it, do something out of our comfort zone, but still retain the essence of what is OUR work. Change can be a good thing if you know how to handle it.
I wish my books would freak-in come already, I am familiar with Carson on the boarder of illegibility the chance taker with no formal education at least thats what I heard. But I wish you would of scanned the contents page in so I could view it..gosh. I guess I will comment on this again when my freak-in book arrives. Oh yah, his work provokes thought and confusion at times which can raise questions and bring about new solutions.
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