Good British Graphic Design

[carson]

Hi i'm a third year student undertaking research on my dissertation. My question is

Is it important for Britain to maintain national and cultural identity within its visual design?

I'm Looking to find out if British graphic design still has it's own identity at all. Has its development been over-influenced by movements, designers and cultural changes in other countries. In particular looking at modernism, Bauhaus, Constructivism and The International Style. More recently I want to look at the impact of new-wave typographycoming out of california (David Carson).

I'm just looking for some feedback to verify if this is a viable research direction.

any replies are appreciated

thanks

david

[CkretAjint]

GD is always changing and always being influenced. Nothing you can do about that. GD is GD, there is no "British Design" certain cultural elements might influence, but that will change and get used by someone else elsewhere in the world and become their 'style'...

[carson]

What do you think of the work by Mark Holt and Hamish Muir, British design group 8vo formed in 1984 with an ‘idea-driven’ approach to graphic design. They had this unpretentious attitude at a time when style was to the fore, as typified by the work of Neville Brody, Malcolm Garrett and Peter Saville.

Mark Holt and Hamish Muir desiged and wrote their own deliberately short-lived and influential publication, Octavo: International Journal of Typography.

[CkretAjint]

*eyes glaze over*

Why are you looking at art that was done 20+ years ago and looking for a style in todays British world? That's like comparing Tim Burton to George Washington and their 'style'...

This seems like a nice thesis like question. Am I correct? ;)

[carson]

No, no, my dear boy just trying get to a debate going here. Nothing better than to get the old thinker thinking. Ive just had a year off from my job and want to get a little debate going here, nothing sinister

[CkretAjint]

Well, in short. If you start a design group with a design idea in mind, be prepared to change you design idea every year. If you don't you'll be out of style really quick. No question about it. Design and creativity is all about change and doing something different. If you don't you, your company, and your brain will get stale. Thats why people like change, change furniture, outfits, hair style and the art in the world around them.

[budafist]

New Zealand design is important to me, but these days it seems there are some cliche or design motifs that can be slapped on something to make it recognisable in style.

Example, if you slap a Union Jack on something, does it make it British? Maybe, but does it make it good design?