Experimental Jetset — OUGD601

As well as looking at many architectural points of view in this project, the analytical graphic design aspect of this dissertation will look at the relevancy of Modernism today, hence the question 'Is the Modernist Ideology still relevant today?'.

As well as looking at Modernism in graphic design from the 60's and 70's, its current form will be analysed through the likes of Experimental Jetset, and how their work is heavily influenced by International and Swiss style. Something of which was also originally an architectural movement that fed into graphic design.

Experimental Jetset are a design studio based in the Netherlands. They produce most, if not all of their designs using Helvetica, just like the Modernists of the original movement;

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It is this obvious connotation to the Modernist movement within their work that will be compared to those of the original movement like Vignelli, Rand and Glaser.

Having said this, their is a more crucial relevancy to all of this, Experimental Jetset are a successful Modernist graphic design studio, mainly due to their refreshing take on the movement, as Katherine McCoy states within the dissretation ‘But now, as the cycles of change continue, Modernism may be re-emerging somewhat, a renewed minimalism that is calming down the visual outburst of activity of the past fifteen years.’ (McCoy, 1994, p. 50)

It is this influence that Postmodernism has had on Modernism that also links to the 'Hippie Modernism' refereed to in the essay, that Postmodernism was another form of Modernism, this is more obvious within this poster design by Jetset:

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The use of all caps in a sans serif typeface is very common in posters of the Postmodern movement, clearly influencing the Modernist movement of today. This alone proves that the Modernist movement still has a place in todays design industry, but in the manner of which it is thought of is very different from around the 60's as outlined in the essay.