ANTI means yes

ANTI means yes

ANTI means yes to contextANTI means yes to senseANTI means yes to communicationANTI means yes to the standardANTI means yes to orginalityANTI means yes to the vernacularANTI means yes to the expected with a twistANTI means yes to the anti-heroANTI means yes to the recognizableANTI means yes to the familiarANTI means yes to compromiseANTI means yes to reconciliationANTI means yes to violationANTI means yes to breaking the rulesANTI means yes to the rulesANTI means yes to the productiveANTI means yes to convention, cliche, stereotypeANTI means yes to convention violationANTI means yes to tweaking conventionANTI means yes to engaging conventionANTI means yes to groundbreakingANTI means yes to formand ANTI means yes to functionANTI means yes to meaningANTI means yes to constraintsANTI means yes to acknowledging boredom and incompetenceANTI means yes to laughing at conventionANTI means yes to limitatationsANTI means yes to oppositionANTI means yes to more oppositionANTI means yes to funANTI means yes to the box and beyond the boxANTI means yes to understandableANTI means yes to the rules of the gameANTI means yes to reframingANTI means yes to ambiguity, unambiguouslyANTI means yes to contradictionANTI means yes to metaANTI means yes to working with and againstANTI means yes to tension, conflict and juxtapositionANTI means yes to engagementANTI means yes to using your weakness as strengthANTI means no to absolute narrativesANTI means yes to freedomANTI means yes to cynical optimism and optimistic cynicismANTI means yes to all the regular stuff

ANTI means yes to beauty

Mea Culpa

I have made too many beautiful things that no one got.

I have made too many clever things that made no sense.

I have made too many interesting points that were convoluted and lost.

Introduction

Since I started doing design, I!ve always felt compelled to break form, push

it to the limit, see what would happen, do it like it hadn!t been done before,

to think up something weirder and crazier than everyone else had. It!s a

dirty compulsion, an impulse I can!t control.

It leads to beautiful graphic experiments, fun visual work. But too often, I!ve

broken the form too well, exploded past the limits too far: the work

becomes incomprehensible, too personal, a formal exploration that can no

longer hold content.

As much as I!m interested in form, I am a graphic designer. That is: I want

to communicate with people visually. Yet I am addicted to exploration. At

heart this thesis is about trying to reconcile these two needs: a need for

simple communication and a need for the new. A need for the standard and

a need for originality.

Anti.

Anti-hero. Anti-matter. Anti-particle. Anti-climax. These words are formed

with the prefix “anti-” that means not antagonistic or opposing, but “identical

to in form or function, but lacking, opposite or contrary in essential

respects.” They!re common English words everyone knows; anti- itself is a

highly productive affix, meaning in the right context, any word might get

anti!d by a speaker. Anti- combines the familiar with the new, becomes the

expected with a twist. Like an anti-hero, design can be slightly off—yet still

recognizable as the main protagonist. A protagonist unlike what we!ve seen

before.

Drawing from this definition of “anti-”, I formalize a strategy I call ANTI,

which uses familiar forms, formats and tropes, but breaks them in some

Dedication // Introduction // Defining ANTI // First Theme // Second Theme // Third Theme // Conclusion // Visual Index // Bibliography // Credits and Acknowledgements

1

ANTI means yes

ANTI means yes to contextANTI means yes to senseANTI means yes to communicationANTI means yes to the standardANTI means yes to orginalityANTI means yes to the vernacularANTI means yes to the expected with a twistANTI means yes to the anti-heroANTI means yes to the recognizableANTI means yes to the familiarANTI means yes to compromiseANTI means yes to reconciliationANTI means yes to violationANTI means yes to breaking the rulesANTI means yes to the rulesANTI means yes to the productiveANTI means yes to convention, cliche, stereotypeANTI means yes to convention violationANTI means yes to tweaking conventionANTI means yes to engaging conventionANTI means yes to groundbreakingANTI means yes to formand ANTI means yes to functionANTI means yes to meaningANTI means yes to constraintsANTI means yes to acknowledging boredom and incompetenceANTI means yes to laughing at conventionANTI means yes to limitationsANTI means yes to oppositionANTI means yes to more oppositionANTI means yes to funANTI means yes to the box and beyond the boxANTI means yes to understandableANTI means yes to the rules of the gameANTI means yes to reframingANTI means yes to ambiguity, unambiguouslyANTI means yes to contradictionANTI means yes to metaANTI means yes to working with and againstANTI means yes to tension, conflict and juxtapositionANTI means yes to engagementANTI means yes to using your weakness as strengthANTI means no to absolute narrativesANTI means yes to freedomANTI means yes to cynical optimism and optimistic cynicismANTI means yes to all the regular stuff


ANTI means yes.

A design thesis

by Betsy Medvedovsky

Artium Baccalaureatus, Linguistics

Minor in Russian Languages and Literature

University of Chicago

May 2004

©Betsy Medvedovsky

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Fine Arts, Communications Design

School of Art and Design

Pratt Institute

May 2011

Received and approved:

_____________________________________________________________

Primary Thesis Advisor, Edvin Yegir

_____________________________________________________________

Secondary Thesis Advisor, Manuel Miranda!

_____________________________________________________________

Secondary Thesis Advisor, Mark Sanders!

_____________________________________________________________

Chairperson, Jeff Bellantoni

_____________________________________________________________

MFA Candidate, Betsy Medvedovsky


1

ANTI means yes



ANTI means yes.

A design thesis

by Betsy Medvedovsky

Artium Baccalaureatus, Linguistics

Minor in Russian Languages and Literature

University of Chicago

May 2004

©Betsy Medvedovsky

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Fine Arts, Communications Design

School of Art and Design

Pratt Institute

May 2011

Received and approved:

_____________________________________________________________

Primary Thesis Advisor, Edvin Yegir

_____________________________________________________________

Secondary Thesis Advisor, Manuel Miranda!

_____________________________________________________________

Secondary Thesis Advisor, Mark Sanders!

_____________________________________________________________

Chairperson, Jeff Bellantoni

_____________________________________________________________

MFA Candidate, Betsy Medvedovsky


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.



key way. ANTI sounds negative, but in essence, it is a strategy for

compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









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compromise.


1

http://antimeansyes.com

ANTI means yes



TToo mmyy ppaarreennttss,, wwhhoo''vvee bbeeeenn

AANNTTII ffrroomm tthhee vveerryy bbeeggiinnnniinngg..

Dedication // Introduction // Defining ANTI // First Theme // Second Theme // Third Theme // Conclusion // Visual Index // Bibliography // Credits and

Acknowledgements

1

ANTI means yes



TToo mmyy ppaarreennttss,, wwhhoo''vvee bbeeeenn

AANNTTII ffrroomm tthhee vveerryy bbeeggiinnnniinngg..


Acknowledgements

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














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compromise.


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Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


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Mea Culpa




Introduction














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before.




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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









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Introduction














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compromise.


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compromise.

Personal justifications

It!s an amazing gift to visualize ideas as a job.

How then can I not have a fundamental respect for the client—and his

opinion—whose money allows me to make images, mess with type and

think as part of my everyday? The rare client may want the esoteric, the

difficult, design that keeps everyone out except for a chosen few. But most

clients want maximal communication—clear, loud messages that resonate.

Clear, loud messages means what is recognizable and familiar. So

maximal design wants to follow into tropes, boring solutions that have been

tried a million times before.

How does the designer who loves his client keep his sanity? How to

communicate maximally while not going mad from cliché, from re-tooling

what has been done before? How to communicate while giving room for

the designer to breathe? How to communicate while allowing some

experimentation, some voice, a point of view?

How to reconcile communication with exploration?

ANTI becomes a sound approach for this reconciliation. Familiar forms and

themes allow the viewer in; a small violation allows the designer freedom.

Crucially, though, these small violations are not just indulgent moments

—rather, they!re used in a structured way for effect.When expectations

exist, they can be flouted. Actually, these expectations become currency for

the designer: respecting them gains him credence with the viewer until—at

just the right moment—one is broken. Quickly, ANTI has been transformed

from a personal coping mechanism to a design strategy for creating effect.

Breaking the rules as a way to push forward

What I talk about above—experimentation, exploration, violation, breaking

expectations, breaking form—is at heart the same thing: breaking the rules.

That breaking the rules can be productive is old news. But breaking the

rules for its own sake, without a concrete objective, seems unnecessary,

self-indulgent. In Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud

defends rule-breaking in art. He posits that there are six facets to any work

of art: surface, craft, structure, idiom, form, and idea. McCloud sets up a


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes




compromise.

Personal justifications

It!s an amazing gift to visualize ideas as a job.

How then can I not have a fundamental respect for the client—and his

opinion—whose money allows me to make images, mess with type and

think as part of my everyday? The rare client may want the esoteric, the

difficult, design that keeps everyone out except for a chosen few. But most

clients want maximal communication—clear, loud messages that resonate.

Clear, loud messages means what is recognizable and familiar. So

maximal design wants to follow into tropes, boring solutions that have been

tried a million times before.

How does the designer who loves his client keep his sanity? How to

communicate maximally while not going mad from cliché, from re-tooling

what has been done before? How to communicate while giving room for

the designer to breathe? How to communicate while allowing some

experimentation, some voice, a point of view?

How to reconcile communication with exploration?

ANTI becomes a sound approach for this reconciliation. Familiar forms and

themes allow the viewer in; a small violation allows the designer freedom.

Crucially, though, these small violations are not just indulgent moments

—rather, they!re used in a structured way for effect.When expectations

exist, they can be flouted. Actually, these expectations become currency for

the designer: respecting them gains him credence with the viewer until—at

just the right moment—one is broken. Quickly, ANTI has been transformed

from a personal coping mechanism to a design strategy for creating effect.

Breaking the rules as a way to push forward

What I talk about above—experimentation, exploration, violation, breaking

expectations, breaking form—is at heart the same thing: breaking the rules.

That breaking the rules can be productive is old news. But breaking the

rules for its own sake, without a concrete objective, seems unnecessary,

self-indulgent. In Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud

defends rule-breaking in art. He posits that there are six facets to any work

of art: surface, craft, structure, idiom, form, and idea. McCloud sets up a


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



dichotomy of artists who are primarily interested in the idea/purpose vs.

artists primarily interested in form. (Luckily they can switch back and forth.)

By choosing form, he!d be setting up to become an explorer. His goal, to

discover all that the art form is capable of.... his art would just become his

purpose and the ideas would arrive in time to give it substance. Creators

who take this path are often pioneers and revolutionaries—artist who want

to shake things up, change the way people think, question the fundamental

laws that govern their chosen art. (McCloud, 179)

McCloud thus explicitly see questioning the fundamental laws (and

presumably ignoring some of them) as a way of changing the way people

think.

In a satisfying twist, successful rule breakers end up inventing new rules.

Walter Benjamin wrote: “All great works of literature either dissolve a genre

or they invent one.” (quoted by David Shields on “Start the Week”, 2/14/11)

Indeed, Benjamin points to something: every time a genre/concept/format

is productively dissolved, a new genre (with its own rules, of course) is

invented. Breaking convention pushes the state-of-the-art forward.

>>DefiningANTI


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



dichotomy of artists who are primarily interested in the idea/purpose vs.

artists primarily interested in form. (Luckily they can switch back and forth.)

By choosing form, he!d be setting up to become an explorer. His goal, to

discover all that the art form is capable of.... his art would just become his

purpose and the ideas would arrive in time to give it substance. Creators

who take this path are often pioneers and revolutionaries—artist who want

to shake things up, change the way people think, question the fundamental

laws that govern their chosen art. (McCloud, 179)

McCloud thus explicitly see questioning the fundamental laws (and

presumably ignoring some of them) as a way of changing the way people

think.

In a satisfying twist, successful rule breakers end up inventing new rules.

Walter Benjamin wrote: “All great works of literature either dissolve a genre

or they invent one.” (quoted by David Shields on “Start the Week”, 2/14/11)

Indeed, Benjamin points to something: every time a genre/concept/format

is productively dissolved, a new genre (with its own rules, of course) is

invented. Breaking convention pushes the state-of-the-art forward.

>>DefiningANTI


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Defining ANTIAnti-

The definition of anti- according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is:

1 a : of the same kind but situated opposite, exerting energy in the opposite

direction, or pursuing an opposite policy

b : one that is opposite in kind to

2 a : opposing or hostile to in opinion, sympathy, or practice

b : opposing in effect or activity

3 : serving to prevent, cure, or alleviate

4 : combating or defending against

The key definition here is the first one: “of the same kind but situated

opposite.”

Once found, adopting anti- becomes an easy choice. Consider the words

which illustrate this usage: anti-novel, anti-hero, anti-climax. These are

words that are both quickly understandable and yet have room for freedom

built in. An anti-novel is some sort of novel, yes, but what!s interesting is

how it!s not a novel. What!s especially strong about anti- is it!s a productive

prefix (like un-, non-, de- , etc.) which can be used by any English speaker

to generate a new temporary word that functions within a given context.

Temporary anti- words pop up and die in conversations all the time, but for

some more popular usages that have persisted, google something like

anti-Oscar, anti-drug or anti-villain. As such it!s perfect: both popularly

understood with no art or design baggage as well as extremely productive

within temporary contexts.

Genre/format

For the sake of succinctness, I want to introduce the term genre/format. A

genre/format is anything that is defined and framed by conventions, and

thus, can be anti!d: where common understandings exist of what something

must be, they can be violated. When words like everyone does X, typical,

archetype, standard, commonly accepted, usual, conventional, cliché,

stereotype, are used, it!s a good sign we!re hot on the tracks of a

genre/format.

A graphic design example might help illustrate what a genre/format can be:

a green tea logo. It would be ridiculous to claim that there are a set of rules

written down that say what a green tea logo must involve. A “green tea


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Defining ANTIAnti-

The definition of anti- according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is:

1 a : of the same kind but situated opposite, exerting energy in the opposite

direction, or pursuing an opposite policy

b : one that is opposite in kind to

2 a : opposing or hostile to in opinion, sympathy, or practice

b : opposing in effect or activity

3 : serving to prevent, cure, or alleviate

4 : combating or defending against

The key definition here is the first one: “of the same kind but situated

opposite.”

Once found, adopting anti- becomes an easy choice. Consider the words

which illustrate this usage: anti-novel, anti-hero, anti-climax. These are

words that are both quickly understandable and yet have room for freedom

built in. An anti-novel is some sort of novel, yes, but what!s interesting is

how it!s not a novel. What!s especially strong about anti- is it!s a productive

prefix (like un-, non-, de- , etc.) which can be used by any English speaker

to generate a new temporary word that functions within a given context.

Temporary anti- words pop up and die in conversations all the time, but for

some more popular usages that have persisted, google something like

anti-Oscar, anti-drug or anti-villain. As such it!s perfect: both popularly

understood with no art or design baggage as well as extremely productive

within temporary contexts.

Genre/format

For the sake of succinctness, I want to introduce the term genre/format. A

genre/format is anything that is defined and framed by conventions, and

thus, can be anti!d: where common understandings exist of what something

must be, they can be violated. When words like everyone does X, typical,

archetype, standard, commonly accepted, usual, conventional, cliché,

stereotype, are used, it!s a good sign we!re hot on the tracks of a

genre/format.

A graphic design example might help illustrate what a genre/format can be:

a green tea logo. It would be ridiculous to claim that there are a set of rules

written down that say what a green tea logo must involve. A “green tea


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



logo” is hardly a genre, a form, or a format as such. But it!s reasonable to

say that there is a set of conventions associated with green tea company

logos, most notably the color green and leaf imagery. In this context, an

“anti-green tea logo” makes sense: a logo that fits within the genre/format

and yet exerts energy in some opposite direction.

Outside of design, a typical Republican politician could be a genre/format.

Sarah Palin!s popularity stemmed in part to her breaking that mold of a

typical Republican politician. To Benjamin!s point, Palin invented a

genre/format: tough lady Republicans have mushroomed throughout

United States.

As shown in the above examples, the term genre/format allows us to talk

about temporary categories that can be much more specific than standard

genres, formats or archetypes. Indeed, a genre/format can be populated by

just one thing: for example, Times Square (to be revisited). Times Square

as a genre/format is how it is popularly understood (chaotic, touristy, full of

billboards, etc.) rather than an explicit definition of it (an intersection in New

York City, etc.)

ANTI

Building on anti-, I define ANTI as a creative approach.

Take a given genre/format “X”, with its set of conventions that both frame

and define it.

Acknowledging and working with the conventions, violate one or more of

these conventions.

The resulting anti-X can be the desired end goal, or it can be a direction to

work towards.

ANTI or Mannerism?

My approach is heavily influenced by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott

Brown!s idea of Mannerism. In Architecture as Signs and Systems: For a

Mannerist Time, a little known book which summarizes the evolution of

their thought, Venturi and Scott Brown define Mannerism as their working

approach. Though Mannerism is explained over the length of the book, the

most succinct definition is a subtitle: “Mannerism as Convention Tweaked.”

In this sense, ANTI is Mannerism. Or rather, anti- is a mannerizing prefix:

any anti-object acknowledges past convention but breaks it as necessary.

Elsewhere, they elaborate:

Mannerism…as acknowledging a conventional order that is then modified

or broken to accommodate valid exceptions and acknowledge


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



logo” is hardly a genre, a form, or a format as such. But it!s reasonable to

say that there is a set of conventions associated with green tea company

logos, most notably the color green and leaf imagery. In this context, an

“anti-green tea logo” makes sense: a logo that fits within the genre/format

and yet exerts energy in some opposite direction.

Outside of design, a typical Republican politician could be a genre/format.

Sarah Palin!s popularity stemmed in part to her breaking that mold of a

typical Republican politician. To Benjamin!s point, Palin invented a

genre/format: tough lady Republicans have mushroomed throughout

United States.

As shown in the above examples, the term genre/format allows us to talk

about temporary categories that can be much more specific than standard

genres, formats or archetypes. Indeed, a genre/format can be populated by

just one thing: for example, Times Square (to be revisited). Times Square

as a genre/format is how it is popularly understood (chaotic, touristy, full of

billboards, etc.) rather than an explicit definition of it (an intersection in New

York City, etc.)

ANTI

Building on anti-, I define ANTI as a creative approach.

Take a given genre/format “X”, with its set of conventions that both frame

and define it.

Acknowledging and working with the conventions, violate one or more of

these conventions.

The resulting anti-X can be the desired end goal, or it can be a direction to

work towards.

ANTI or Mannerism?

My approach is heavily influenced by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott

Brown!s idea of Mannerism. In Architecture as Signs and Systems: For a

Mannerist Time, a little known book which summarizes the evolution of

their thought, Venturi and Scott Brown define Mannerism as their working

approach. Though Mannerism is explained over the length of the book, the

most succinct definition is a subtitle: “Mannerism as Convention Tweaked.”

In this sense, ANTI is Mannerism. Or rather, anti- is a mannerizing prefix:

any anti-object acknowledges past convention but breaks it as necessary.

Elsewhere, they elaborate:

Mannerism…as acknowledging a conventional order that is then modified

or broken to accommodate valid exceptions and acknowledge


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



unambiguous ambiguities for an evolving era of complexity and

contradiction…(Venturi and Scott Brown, 74)

The key here is the idea of acknowledging the conventions—and breaking

the rules for a purpose. Why is this thesis called ANTI rather than

Mannerism in Design? Why do I talk of an operation that anti!s rather than

mannerizes?

I found another term to be crucial because:

Using architecture terminology in graphic design seems tempting, but is

frequently problematic. (Consider the many discussions in graphic design

about what deconstructivist design might be. A term that is ambiguous in

one field becomes extremely unclear when used in another field.)

Venturi and Scott Brown!s terminology does not seem to have been widely

accepted by the architecture community. As they themselves note, it!s

important to engage convention—and neither the term Mannerism nor

Architecture as Signs and Systems (my personal favorite of the Venturi

canon books) are conventionally used.

Which brings us to their most “conventional” book—or what they are most

well-known for, the controversial Learning from Vegas. Referring to Venturi

and Scott Brown inevitably brings up associations of Learning from Las

Vegas and its defense of the American architectural vernacular which

would ultimately occlude rather than clarify the issue of Mannerism and/or

ANTI.

ANTI is everything

Once ANTI is defined, almost everything new and somehow

groundbreaking can be seen through the ANTI lens. In the context of the

academic painting reigning in France in the 19th century, Impressionism

becomes an anti-painting movement: a painting style which (beyond issues

of content) no longer attempts to hide brushstroke. Cubism becomes

anti-painting in that it consistently denies a single viewpoint to the painting,

an assumption inherent to the painting until that point (in the Western

tradition at least). Abstract Expressionism becomes anti-painting in

rejecting content—the painting, how it!s made, is the content.

It goes beyond traditional art, of course; Seinfeld is the anti-sitcom in that

there is no arc (with the Chinese Restaurant episode seeming to be the

universally acknowledged apotheosis of this) (TIME, 1998); John Cage!s

work is anti-composition in that he embraces chance as a composition tool;


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



unambiguous ambiguities for an evolving era of complexity and

contradiction…(Venturi and Scott Brown, 74)

The key here is the idea of acknowledging the conventions—and breaking

the rules for a purpose. Why is this thesis called ANTI rather than

Mannerism in Design? Why do I talk of an operation that anti!s rather than

mannerizes?

I found another term to be crucial because:

Using architecture terminology in graphic design seems tempting, but is

frequently problematic. (Consider the many discussions in graphic design

about what deconstructivist design might be. A term that is ambiguous in

one field becomes extremely unclear when used in another field.)

Venturi and Scott Brown!s terminology does not seem to have been widely

accepted by the architecture community. As they themselves note, it!s

important to engage convention—and neither the term Mannerism nor

Architecture as Signs and Systems (my personal favorite of the Venturi

canon books) are conventionally used.

Which brings us to their most “conventional” book—or what they are most

well-known for, the controversial Learning from Vegas. Referring to Venturi

and Scott Brown inevitably brings up associations of Learning from Las

Vegas and its defense of the American architectural vernacular which

would ultimately occlude rather than clarify the issue of Mannerism and/or

ANTI.

ANTI is everything

Once ANTI is defined, almost everything new and somehow

groundbreaking can be seen through the ANTI lens. In the context of the

academic painting reigning in France in the 19th century, Impressionism

becomes an anti-painting movement: a painting style which (beyond issues

of content) no longer attempts to hide brushstroke. Cubism becomes

anti-painting in that it consistently denies a single viewpoint to the painting,

an assumption inherent to the painting until that point (in the Western

tradition at least). Abstract Expressionism becomes anti-painting in

rejecting content—the painting, how it!s made, is the content.

It goes beyond traditional art, of course; Seinfeld is the anti-sitcom in that

there is no arc (with the Chinese Restaurant episode seeming to be the

universally acknowledged apotheosis of this) (TIME, 1998); John Cage!s

work is anti-composition in that he embraces chance as a composition tool;


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



ripped jeans as an item to buy are anti-jeans whose meaning is quite

different than that of complete jeans. The list could go on and on: but at

heart, the point is that anything that!s somehow new, that somehow breaks

the rules of what came before can be reformulated in terms of ANTI.

ANTI as object

Generally, I see ANTI as a movement: a direction to work in or angle to

approach from. (Which is to say, it!s unimportant if viewers recognize the

ANTI act: ANTI is a working method for the designer; when successful, its

ANTIness resonates somehow, though maybe not directly.) But based on

the definition given above, almost any object can be ANTI!d and stays an

object (rather than approach). A plastic to-go cup becomes anti-to go cup

when it!s ceramic; a t-shirt proclaims “ANTI.” rather than a band name or a

one-line joke; an old sack for rice is converted into a new bag. Put a piece

of trash into a museum, frame toilet paper, make a book out of rubber

instead of paper, make a newspaper designed for kids, not adults. These

are ready made ANTI objects, easily generated by decontextualizing or by

changing a part of the form.

The very ease of generating such objects makes them somewhat banal

after a point. Dutch design is filled with such objects—objects that function

while laughing at themselves—and both Kenya Hara and Michael Rock

begin to question this endless self-joking. (Hara, much more harshly; he

sees Dutch design as essentially empty in its tireless irony (Hara, 432)

while Rock only begins to poke at it [Rock, “Mad Dutch Disease.”])

I suspect that the Dutch design Hara objects to most, and which I, too,

begin to find boring are ANTI objects where the object is violated on just

one level—the surface/form level or context level. When these violations

are nowhere tied to a content violation, the ANTIhood is facile.

ANTI in layers

Ultimately, the discussion begins to hark back to “form follows function.” In

order for ANTI to be rich, interesting and have staying power, form and

context violations must connect with a content violation: otherwise the

treatment of form is purely stylistic.

I!ve kept the term genre/format purposefully vague so that ANTI can be

applied as broadly as possible, but a genre/format usually has some

common traits which define it at its most typical:

physical/surfaceform


4

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



ripped jeans as an item to buy are anti-jeans whose meaning is quite

different than that of complete jeans. The list could go on and on: but at

heart, the point is that anything that!s somehow new, that somehow breaks

the rules of what came before can be reformulated in terms of ANTI.

ANTI as object

Generally, I see ANTI as a movement: a direction to work in or angle to

approach from. (Which is to say, it!s unimportant if viewers recognize the

ANTI act: ANTI is a working method for the designer; when successful, its

ANTIness resonates somehow, though maybe not directly.) But based on

the definition given above, almost any object can be ANTI!d and stays an

object (rather than approach). A plastic to-go cup becomes anti-to go cup

when it!s ceramic; a t-shirt proclaims “ANTI.” rather than a band name or a

one-line joke; an old sack for rice is converted into a new bag. Put a piece

of trash into a museum, frame toilet paper, make a book out of rubber

instead of paper, make a newspaper designed for kids, not adults. These

are ready made ANTI objects, easily generated by decontextualizing or by

changing a part of the form.

The very ease of generating such objects makes them somewhat banal

after a point. Dutch design is filled with such objects—objects that function

while laughing at themselves—and both Kenya Hara and Michael Rock

begin to question this endless self-joking. (Hara, much more harshly; he

sees Dutch design as essentially empty in its tireless irony (Hara, 432)

while Rock only begins to poke at it [Rock, “Mad Dutch Disease.”])

I suspect that the Dutch design Hara objects to most, and which I, too,

begin to find boring are ANTI objects where the object is violated on just

one level—the surface/form level or context level. When these violations

are nowhere tied to a content violation, the ANTIhood is facile.

ANTI in layers

Ultimately, the discussion begins to hark back to “form follows function.” In

order for ANTI to be rich, interesting and have staying power, form and

context violations must connect with a content violation: otherwise the

treatment of form is purely stylistic.

I!ve kept the term genre/format purposefully vague so that ANTI can be

applied as broadly as possible, but a genre/format usually has some

common traits which define it at its most typical:

physical/surfaceform


4

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



content

context

Each of these traits has any number of subcharacteristics, all of which can

be ANTI!d. I see each of these main traits—form, content and context—as

a level which works somewhat independently.

Indeed, if making ANTI objects is easy—objects which easily veer towards

the flat—making sure the ANTI resonates on a content level can salvage

the design.

Periods of Activity is an example which works on a couple of levels. On the

one hand, it is an anti-book whose pages are not bound (disruption on the

form level). But really, it is also an anti-autobiography, a personal work that

is completely de-personalized (which, indeed, looks like a dossier and

consists of essentially public information). This disruption on the content

level resonates with the form level disruption: the dossier feel is reinforced

with the loose sheets and folder.

The Last Minute Signage System is another example of multi-level ANTI.

Both the poster advertising the MFA show and the map of the space are

ANTIs: the poster consists of separate sheets that could be added or

removed as necessary while the map keeps a running tally of all the

changes to the space. These are violations that take place on a form level.

But on a content level, the Last Minute Signage System is guided by an

anti-signage outlook. If most signage aims to provide a sheen of order, the

Last Minute Signage System acknowledges and flaunts chaos.

Consider also the Dutch windmill, an ANTI object I consider very

successful. It actually swaps out just one element: Arabic calligraphic

decoration for traditional windmill souvenir decoration. It!s a surface/form

level switch that functions on a content level as well—the very Dutchness

of the souvenir is questioned by the Arabic text. In the larger context of the

Netherlands trying to steer its understanding of itself as a country in light of

its large Muslim immigration and the ensuing conflict, the anti-Dutch

windmill is a joke with some depth.

Like the anti-Dutch windmill, the Comic Sans studies exploit that the

surface is the content. Early experiments using a high design treatment on

Comic Sans elicited excitement—but confusion. These were essentially a

funny form violation that didn!t offer much interest for further consideration.

A famous Helvetica poster re-done with Comic Sans is a bit more


5

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



content

context

Each of these traits has any number of subcharacteristics, all of which can

be ANTI!d. I see each of these main traits—form, content and context—as

a level which works somewhat independently.

Indeed, if making ANTI objects is easy—objects which easily veer towards

the flat—making sure the ANTI resonates on a content level can salvage

the design.

Periods of Activity is an example which works on a couple of levels. On the

one hand, it is an anti-book whose pages are not bound (disruption on the

form level). But really, it is also an anti-autobiography, a personal work that

is completely de-personalized (which, indeed, looks like a dossier and

consists of essentially public information). This disruption on the content

level resonates with the form level disruption: the dossier feel is reinforced

with the loose sheets and folder.

The Last Minute Signage System is another example of multi-level ANTI.

Both the poster advertising the MFA show and the map of the space are

ANTIs: the poster consists of separate sheets that could be added or

removed as necessary while the map keeps a running tally of all the

changes to the space. These are violations that take place on a form level.

But on a content level, the Last Minute Signage System is guided by an

anti-signage outlook. If most signage aims to provide a sheen of order, the

Last Minute Signage System acknowledges and flaunts chaos.

Consider also the Dutch windmill, an ANTI object I consider very

successful. It actually swaps out just one element: Arabic calligraphic

decoration for traditional windmill souvenir decoration. It!s a surface/form

level switch that functions on a content level as well—the very Dutchness

of the souvenir is questioned by the Arabic text. In the larger context of the

Netherlands trying to steer its understanding of itself as a country in light of

its large Muslim immigration and the ensuing conflict, the anti-Dutch

windmill is a joke with some depth.

Like the anti-Dutch windmill, the Comic Sans studies exploit that the

surface is the content. Early experiments using a high design treatment on

Comic Sans elicited excitement—but confusion. These were essentially a

funny form violation that didn!t offer much interest for further consideration.

A famous Helvetica poster re-done with Comic Sans is a bit more


5

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



interesting, but it is only as an anti-Helvetica series that the Comic Sans

pieces begin to be a full-fledged, stand-alone project. Though it is the form

that!s violated (the typeface), the explicit targeting of canonical Helvetica

designs points to the content violation (high replaced with low).

ANTI acquires a richness and depth when form and content are violated in

tandem. ANTI on a content level gives the piece both sustained

interest—and justified the ANTI in form or context.

>>Firsttheme:ANTIasawayofdealingwithconstraints


6

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



interesting, but it is only as an anti-Helvetica series that the Comic Sans

pieces begin to be a full-fledged, stand-alone project. Though it is the form

that!s violated (the typeface), the explicit targeting of canonical Helvetica

designs points to the content violation (high replaced with low).

ANTI acquires a richness and depth when form and content are violated in

tandem. ANTI on a content level gives the piece both sustained

interest—and justified the ANTI in form or context.

>>Firsttheme:ANTIasawayofdealingwithconstraints


6

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



First Theme: ANTI as a way of dealingwith constraintsDealing with constraints is how I come to ANTI. Broadly, design is

governed by the fundamental constraint of communicating with others.

Other constraints that motivate ANTI can be a frustration with the rules,

inability to cope with them, boredom with them or the sheer fact that they

cannot be cleanly applied to the situation at hand. Venturi and Scott Brown

list these reasons one might employ Mannerism:

people who know the rules well and are bored by them

naive people who misunderstand them

need: “necessary approach to architectural and urban design given the

complexity and contradiction of the situations in which we build.” (Venturi

and Scott Brown, 212)

Denise Scott Brown adds from an urban planning perspective: “You break

the rules because you can!t follow all the rules of all the systems all the

times, or at the same time.” (Venturi and Scott Brown, 212)

I want to mention these as a starting off point, while I elaborate some

reasons I!ve used ANTI in visual communication (and interpret other

designers as having as well).

Boredom

Though I!d avoid claiming I know the rules of design so terrifically well,

ANTI comes out of my search to marry experimentation and

communicative design: a search for how to avoid being bored by graphic

design. In some sense, most of my projects fall under this umbrella term.

More importantly, this is the category appropriate for any artist who, per

Scott McCloud!s categorization, is interested in matters of form and

“questioning the fundamental laws” of their art.

I can, however, mention one concrete project in which boredom as such


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



First Theme: ANTI as a way of dealingwith constraintsDealing with constraints is how I come to ANTI. Broadly, design is

governed by the fundamental constraint of communicating with others.

Other constraints that motivate ANTI can be a frustration with the rules,

inability to cope with them, boredom with them or the sheer fact that they

cannot be cleanly applied to the situation at hand. Venturi and Scott Brown

list these reasons one might employ Mannerism:

people who know the rules well and are bored by them

naive people who misunderstand them

need: “necessary approach to architectural and urban design given the

complexity and contradiction of the situations in which we build.” (Venturi

and Scott Brown, 212)

Denise Scott Brown adds from an urban planning perspective: “You break

the rules because you can!t follow all the rules of all the systems all the

times, or at the same time.” (Venturi and Scott Brown, 212)

I want to mention these as a starting off point, while I elaborate some

reasons I!ve used ANTI in visual communication (and interpret other

designers as having as well).

Boredom

Though I!d avoid claiming I know the rules of design so terrifically well,

ANTI comes out of my search to marry experimentation and

communicative design: a search for how to avoid being bored by graphic

design. In some sense, most of my projects fall under this umbrella term.

More importantly, this is the category appropriate for any artist who, per

Scott McCloud!s categorization, is interested in matters of form and

“questioning the fundamental laws” of their art.

I can, however, mention one concrete project in which boredom as such


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



played a very explicit role. An assignment from long before ANTI to choose

an object and photograph it for seven days, each day a different mise-en-

scene. I choose an orange. The first few days, I play with it, vaguely using

it a just an art material. By day five, I!m starting to get sick of it. I stitch

“PURPLE” into it. By day six, my hatred for oranges grows: I make the E-Z

Orange: an orange which opens with a zipper instead of the usual hassle of

pealing it. (Don!t miscount this hassle: a friend of mine refuses to eat them

because of the work involved). By day seven, I hate the thing and try to

make the anti-orange: a negation of all an orange might symbolize—an

anti-fresh, anti-orange, anti-healthy garbage heap. Interestingly, day

seven!s “anti-orange” is not that at all—it!s just an unrecognizable mess.

Too many of the rules of orangehood have been broken. Days five and six,

however, are a great success: in each one, just one principle of

orangehood has been broken—the purple orange and the E-Z Orange are

recognizable but different.

Incompetence/Inability

A category I know well. What Venturi and Scott Brown list as a reason for

Mannerism—a misunderstanding of the rules—I see in ANTI as a close

cousin—an inability to deal with the rules. Here I can provide example after

example of my own work; I always believe in turning your weakness into

your strength: here!s one, also long before ANTI: FALSE. In the magical

city of Atlanta where I am a designer as soon as I say I am, I am asked to

design a whole magazine. My inpreparedness for this task cannot be

overstated (indeed the results gave me a hint that I should probably further

my education), but let!s forget the inside and focus on the cover. I inherit a

logo for FALSE, a logo which is clearly ugly, barely designed, a logo which I

know I cannot stand behind. Redesigning the logo is quite frankly beyond

me, which I!m extremely aware of. Stuck with a logo I hate, I resolve to play

with it somehow for the cover of each issue. For The Poor Issue, I tape the

logo up behind a jar of pennies. For The Age Issue, I burn it. A logo which I

hate, which I destroy: an anti-logo. A destruction which takes on

meaning—but born of inability.

David Carson is frequently cited as an example of a designer who broke

the rules of typography simply because he didn!t know better.

Dissatisfaction with the restrictions

An easier category: breaking the rules because you don!t like the rules.

Irma Boom!s Best Books Catalogue cited above is a great example of

dissatisfaction with the restrictions. In a talk she gave at the Walker Art

Museum (Boom, Walker Art Channel) she talks about a book she did


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



played a very explicit role. An assignment from long before ANTI to choose

an object and photograph it for seven days, each day a different mise-en-

scene. I choose an orange. The first few days, I play with it, vaguely using

it a just an art material. By day five, I!m starting to get sick of it. I stitch

“PURPLE” into it. By day six, my hatred for oranges grows: I make the E-Z

Orange: an orange which opens with a zipper instead of the usual hassle of

pealing it. (Don!t miscount this hassle: a friend of mine refuses to eat them

because of the work involved). By day seven, I hate the thing and try to

make the anti-orange: a negation of all an orange might symbolize—an

anti-fresh, anti-orange, anti-healthy garbage heap. Interestingly, day

seven!s “anti-orange” is not that at all—it!s just an unrecognizable mess.

Too many of the rules of orangehood have been broken. Days five and six,

however, are a great success: in each one, just one principle of

orangehood has been broken—the purple orange and the E-Z Orange are

recognizable but different.

Incompetence/Inability

A category I know well. What Venturi and Scott Brown list as a reason for

Mannerism—a misunderstanding of the rules—I see in ANTI as a close

cousin—an inability to deal with the rules. Here I can provide example after

example of my own work; I always believe in turning your weakness into

your strength: here!s one, also long before ANTI: FALSE. In the magical

city of Atlanta where I am a designer as soon as I say I am, I am asked to

design a whole magazine. My inpreparedness for this task cannot be

overstated (indeed the results gave me a hint that I should probably further

my education), but let!s forget the inside and focus on the cover. I inherit a

logo for FALSE, a logo which is clearly ugly, barely designed, a logo which I

know I cannot stand behind. Redesigning the logo is quite frankly beyond

me, which I!m extremely aware of. Stuck with a logo I hate, I resolve to play

with it somehow for the cover of each issue. For The Poor Issue, I tape the

logo up behind a jar of pennies. For The Age Issue, I burn it. A logo which I

hate, which I destroy: an anti-logo. A destruction which takes on

meaning—but born of inability.

David Carson is frequently cited as an example of a designer who broke

the rules of typography simply because he didn!t know better.

Dissatisfaction with the restrictions

An easier category: breaking the rules because you don!t like the rules.

Irma Boom!s Best Books Catalogue cited above is a great example of

dissatisfaction with the restrictions. In a talk she gave at the Walker Art

Museum (Boom, Walker Art Channel) she talks about a book she did


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



compiling the best books of the year. Describing this book, she mentions

that it!s an honor to be chosen—each year, a young designer is chosen to

design it: “And it!s a one-off. You never do it twice.” Immediately after these

words, she notes: “I wanted to make two books in one.” (Boom, Walker Art

Channel) So she combines two books into one: flipping through it one

direction, you see a book which is the best book covers of the year; flipping

through the other way, it is a book cataloguing the best designed book

insides of the year. Laughing at the conventions of these best books of

year books, she wants to design two books rather than one: thus creating

an anti-book, or rather an anti-one-time-opportunity-book.

Not enough resources to deal with the rules/outsider status

Conventions often require more resources than are available. Accepting a

limitation on resources and flaunting it can become a powerful way to

compete. Periods of Activity, the auto-biography in the form of a folder with

unbound sheets mentioned above was originally to be printed as a

traditional, bound book. The size of the pages (9” x 15”), however, made

signatures too costly. Perfect binding was inappropriate. The book thus

quickly became a folder from reasons of necessity—but the unbound

sheets now became a major focal point of the project.

The rules do not allow for enough ambiguity

One of Venturi and Scott Brown!s original justifications for Mannerism.

Ambiguity gets a section of its own later on, but it!s interesting to see

ambiguity and conflict in terms of constraints.

Periods of Activity is again an excellent example. Looking back at my own

life, I began to be confused about the order of events—did I really begin to

be interested in creative work before I started dating A., the designer? Did I

really quit an education in advertising because my grandmother died—or

was it a coincidence? The book form forced events too neatly into a linear

narrative of my life which would gloss over the periods of uncertainty,

indecision and vague flailing. Unbound sheets allowed rearrangement and

hinter at the act of self-construction that writing an auto-biography actually

is. A dossier aesthetic naturally fit the content, the emphasis on events and

packaged the pages.

Against content

Sometimes the content of the genre/format you!re working in is what you

are opposing. Kenya Hara, the art director of MUJI, writes that if “If most

brands are after, MUJI should be after its opposite.” He thus explicitly

seeks for MUJI to become a sort of anti-brand. If other brands are about


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



compiling the best books of the year. Describing this book, she mentions

that it!s an honor to be chosen—each year, a young designer is chosen to

design it: “And it!s a one-off. You never do it twice.” Immediately after these

words, she notes: “I wanted to make two books in one.” (Boom, Walker Art

Channel) So she combines two books into one: flipping through it one

direction, you see a book which is the best book covers of the year; flipping

through the other way, it is a book cataloguing the best designed book

insides of the year. Laughing at the conventions of these best books of

year books, she wants to design two books rather than one: thus creating

an anti-book, or rather an anti-one-time-opportunity-book.

Not enough resources to deal with the rules/outsider status

Conventions often require more resources than are available. Accepting a

limitation on resources and flaunting it can become a powerful way to

compete. Periods of Activity, the auto-biography in the form of a folder with

unbound sheets mentioned above was originally to be printed as a

traditional, bound book. The size of the pages (9” x 15”), however, made

signatures too costly. Perfect binding was inappropriate. The book thus

quickly became a folder from reasons of necessity—but the unbound

sheets now became a major focal point of the project.

The rules do not allow for enough ambiguity

One of Venturi and Scott Brown!s original justifications for Mannerism.

Ambiguity gets a section of its own later on, but it!s interesting to see

ambiguity and conflict in terms of constraints.

Periods of Activity is again an excellent example. Looking back at my own

life, I began to be confused about the order of events—did I really begin to

be interested in creative work before I started dating A., the designer? Did I

really quit an education in advertising because my grandmother died—or

was it a coincidence? The book form forced events too neatly into a linear

narrative of my life which would gloss over the periods of uncertainty,

indecision and vague flailing. Unbound sheets allowed rearrangement and

hinter at the act of self-construction that writing an auto-biography actually

is. A dossier aesthetic naturally fit the content, the emphasis on events and

packaged the pages.

Against content

Sometimes the content of the genre/format you!re working in is what you

are opposing. Kenya Hara, the art director of MUJI, writes that if “If most

brands are after, MUJI should be after its opposite.” He thus explicitly

seeks for MUJI to become a sort of anti-brand. If other brands are about


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



creating consumerist lust, MUJI must become “not appetite, but

acceptance.” (Hara, 238) The MUJI graphic identity is famously quiet and

neutral, as much an anti-branding as possible.

Hara also introduces the concept of “exformation” which could perhaps be

situated as the anti-information. (Hara, 371) He proposes design that,

rather than telling you what to know (informing), exforms you: reminds how

“little we know.” (Hara, 376)

This concept of exformation, as well as Hara explicitly imagining what an

anti-guidebook for New York might look like inspired the Brooklyn

Notebook: a guidebook that reminded you how little you know of New York

and how much there is to discover, rather than tell you where to go.

The Comic Sans Studies are an example of work which reveals a dubious

relationship to the content. On the other hand, I respect and admire the

classic designs—and the tradition they symbolize—that are the subject of

the studies. On the other hand, I find problematic how this tradition views

vernacular design (here embodied as the consistently ridiculed Comic

Sans.) The Comic Sans Studies both acknowledge one narrative of design

while ANTIing, and thus poking fun at it.

>>Secondtheme:ANTIascreativethinking


4

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



creating consumerist lust, MUJI must become “not appetite, but

acceptance.” (Hara, 238) The MUJI graphic identity is famously quiet and

neutral, as much an anti-branding as possible.

Hara also introduces the concept of “exformation” which could perhaps be

situated as the anti-information. (Hara, 371) He proposes design that,

rather than telling you what to know (informing), exforms you: reminds how

“little we know.” (Hara, 376)

This concept of exformation, as well as Hara explicitly imagining what an

anti-guidebook for New York might look like inspired the Brooklyn

Notebook: a guidebook that reminded you how little you know of New York

and how much there is to discover, rather than tell you where to go.

The Comic Sans Studies are an example of work which reveals a dubious

relationship to the content. On the other hand, I respect and admire the

classic designs—and the tradition they symbolize—that are the subject of

the studies. On the other hand, I find problematic how this tradition views

vernacular design (here embodied as the consistently ridiculed Comic

Sans.) The Comic Sans Studies both acknowledge one narrative of design

while ANTIing, and thus poking fun at it.

>>Secondtheme:ANTIascreativethinking


4

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Second Theme: ANTI as a way of thinkingoutside the box (while still relating to thebox)

At the very beginning of this thesis, the Mea Culpa mentions smartness

and beauty that go to waste if they are not understandable. The

fundamental premise in most creative approaches is that thinking outside

the box is ideal and desirable. I want to counter that from my personal

perspective. Thinking outside the box is rarely the problem; but if you!re

flying so far out from the box that nobody can appreciate how creative you

are, there is a communication issue.

ANTI is a way to think creatively while still staying within the realm of

understandability.

Restrictions themselves are what can be opposed

In this line of thought, constraints are no longer viewed as external.

Restrictions may be added, even arbitrarily so, if other constraints are not


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Second Theme: ANTI as a way of thinkingoutside the box (while still relating to thebox)

At the very beginning of this thesis, the Mea Culpa mentions smartness

and beauty that go to waste if they are not understandable. The

fundamental premise in most creative approaches is that thinking outside

the box is ideal and desirable. I want to counter that from my personal

perspective. Thinking outside the box is rarely the problem; but if you!re

flying so far out from the box that nobody can appreciate how creative you

are, there is a communication issue.

ANTI is a way to think creatively while still staying within the realm of

understandability.

Restrictions themselves are what can be opposed

In this line of thought, constraints are no longer viewed as external.

Restrictions may be added, even arbitrarily so, if other constraints are not


1

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before.




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compromise.


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enough to facilitate a good enough solution.

In Dutch Resource, Linda van Deursen talks about restrictions:

Someone once said that design is always the product of a lot of

restrictions, Charles Eames, I think, or maybe it was Charlie Chaplin — but

it!s exactly how it is, you can!t overstate the role played by the restrictions.

But not only the ones that come with the job, I mean the given ones,

content, the project, the time, your own limits, even the expectations of the

client or whoever you are working with. They all restrict you. But I think that

you then have to introduce a set of extra restrictions based on these, that in

a way, protect you from them. I think it!s here that you in fact find find all the

decisions you need. The size, the format, whether you choose color or only

black and white, whether to use images and type or just type.

It!s a way of setting up rules to a game you are about to play. Rules that

create the game. And the clearer the rules, the more fun it is in fact to play.

Because it!s not about wanting to be dogmatic or something less free, it!s

the opposite. By knowing what the rules are or are the limits, you seem to

get a better sense of the possibilities. You react more quickly and you

make decisions more easily and effectively. You look for all the possibilities

for freedom within those restrictions and you play them out. (Quoted in

Dutch Resource, 66)

As mentioned earlier, Mevis & van Deursen are designers I believe use

ANTI as an approach. This quote makes their outlook even quite explicit:

rather than working with a genre/format whose rules they try to ANTI, they

have a set of rules of the game—within which they try to look for freedom.

For me, this is a clear example of using ANTI, though perhaps it is clearer if

I talk about it in terms of with and against: Mevis & van Deursen are

working with and against the rules they have set up. (The next section

discusses the idea of with and against further, but essentially I see it as a

reformulation of ANTI: working simultaneously with an idea and its

conventions and against it as well.)

Their work speaks to this formulation of their process. Consider also a

small project they did for the Dutch Architectural Institute given as an

example earlier. An exhibition on new three dimensional design was

designed by an architectural studio wherin all the work was hung on ropes

from rails so that the work was constantly moving. Mevis & Van Deursen

were asked to do the captions for this show. As Armand Mevis recounts in


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














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before.




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enough to facilitate a good enough solution.

In Dutch Resource, Linda van Deursen talks about restrictions:

Someone once said that design is always the product of a lot of

restrictions, Charles Eames, I think, or maybe it was Charlie Chaplin — but

it!s exactly how it is, you can!t overstate the role played by the restrictions.

But not only the ones that come with the job, I mean the given ones,

content, the project, the time, your own limits, even the expectations of the

client or whoever you are working with. They all restrict you. But I think that

you then have to introduce a set of extra restrictions based on these, that in

a way, protect you from them. I think it!s here that you in fact find find all the

decisions you need. The size, the format, whether you choose color or only

black and white, whether to use images and type or just type.

It!s a way of setting up rules to a game you are about to play. Rules that

create the game. And the clearer the rules, the more fun it is in fact to play.

Because it!s not about wanting to be dogmatic or something less free, it!s

the opposite. By knowing what the rules are or are the limits, you seem to

get a better sense of the possibilities. You react more quickly and you

make decisions more easily and effectively. You look for all the possibilities

for freedom within those restrictions and you play them out. (Quoted in

Dutch Resource, 66)

As mentioned earlier, Mevis & van Deursen are designers I believe use

ANTI as an approach. This quote makes their outlook even quite explicit:

rather than working with a genre/format whose rules they try to ANTI, they

have a set of rules of the game—within which they try to look for freedom.

For me, this is a clear example of using ANTI, though perhaps it is clearer if

I talk about it in terms of with and against: Mevis & van Deursen are

working with and against the rules they have set up. (The next section

discusses the idea of with and against further, but essentially I see it as a

reformulation of ANTI: working simultaneously with an idea and its

conventions and against it as well.)

Their work speaks to this formulation of their process. Consider also a

small project they did for the Dutch Architectural Institute given as an

example earlier. An exhibition on new three dimensional design was

designed by an architectural studio wherin all the work was hung on ropes

from rails so that the work was constantly moving. Mevis & Van Deursen

were asked to do the captions for this show. As Armand Mevis recounts in


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


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a talk at the Walker Art Center in 2006:

Actually, I was not immediately attracted to the job because then we would

also [normally] work on the catalogue, but the catalogue was done by

Jochan Benigan who is a Dutch designer who I really like, so he got to do

the catalogue which is of course the nice job and we had to deal with the

captions, which is the horrible job.

At the same time I thought, um, ok, because I think that maybe shows a

little bit the attitude we have. Because even when an assignment really

seems to be very unattractive, then I think you you just have to sit down

and see how it can become attractive job. I was also challenged by the fact

that all the designers who were in this show came up with smart and

ironical solutions. So I thought, can we come up with an equivalent of this

kind of design which is shown with these captions?

Finally, of course it!s so simple but it took us so much time to come up with

it. It became actually this catalogue which we didn!t do and we just made

the catalogue and then we cut it off like two inches from the spine. Of

course it was a fake catalogue because the real catalogue was still there

but everyone who actually went in the exhibition got this little book which

contained all the captions…. and of course we played a little bit with the

fact that it was cut off…. (Armand Mevis, Walker Art Channel Talk, 3/21/06)

Thus Armand Mevis sees the fact that they are doing the caption book and

not the catalogue as part of the rules of the game—but their end product

plays with and against these rules.

Problem setting

If Mevis & Van Deursen are typically Dutch, then Bob Gill is a striking

example of someone who uses an ANTI approach to produce a sort of

self-contained rebellion—a rebellion which can live safely within American

corporate logo-hood.

"The problem is the problem. If we as graphic designers, are to arrive at

interesting, original solutions that also communicate exactly what the client

requires, we have to start by being critical of the problem. The more

interesting the problem, the more likely the solution will be interesting.

Here!s an example:

AGM, a company which makes very small industrial models, wanted a

monogram as their logo. (A conventional, boring problem.) Original


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




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Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




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ANTI means yes



a talk at the Walker Art Center in 2006:

Actually, I was not immediately attracted to the job because then we would

also [normally] work on the catalogue, but the catalogue was done by

Jochan Benigan who is a Dutch designer who I really like, so he got to do

the catalogue which is of course the nice job and we had to deal with the

captions, which is the horrible job.

At the same time I thought, um, ok, because I think that maybe shows a

little bit the attitude we have. Because even when an assignment really

seems to be very unattractive, then I think you you just have to sit down

and see how it can become attractive job. I was also challenged by the fact

that all the designers who were in this show came up with smart and

ironical solutions. So I thought, can we come up with an equivalent of this

kind of design which is shown with these captions?

Finally, of course it!s so simple but it took us so much time to come up with

it. It became actually this catalogue which we didn!t do and we just made

the catalogue and then we cut it off like two inches from the spine. Of

course it was a fake catalogue because the real catalogue was still there

but everyone who actually went in the exhibition got this little book which

contained all the captions…. and of course we played a little bit with the

fact that it was cut off…. (Armand Mevis, Walker Art Channel Talk, 3/21/06)

Thus Armand Mevis sees the fact that they are doing the caption book and

not the catalogue as part of the rules of the game—but their end product

plays with and against these rules.

Problem setting

If Mevis & Van Deursen are typically Dutch, then Bob Gill is a striking

example of someone who uses an ANTI approach to produce a sort of

self-contained rebellion—a rebellion which can live safely within American

corporate logo-hood.

"The problem is the problem. If we as graphic designers, are to arrive at

interesting, original solutions that also communicate exactly what the client

requires, we have to start by being critical of the problem. The more

interesting the problem, the more likely the solution will be interesting.

Here!s an example:

AGM, a company which makes very small industrial models, wanted a

monogram as their logo. (A conventional, boring problem.) Original


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


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problem: design an interesting arrangement of an A, a G, and an M to be

used on their stationery, their delivery vans, and on the side of their

building.

Problem made more interesting: design an A, G, and M which

communicates that the company makes very small models, and at the

same time, is large enough so it can be easily seen on the side of their

vehicles and on their building.” (Gill, 10)

What!s striking is that in Gill!s most interesting formulation of the problem

there is a thesis/antithesis quality. In essence, Gill provides a way out of

any conventional design problem: when the rules of the game cannot really

be played against, it is up to designer to reframe the problem so that it

becomes a with and against problem. AGM probably doesn!t want

ambiguity or contradiction in their logo, but Gill frames the question as such

and comes up with a fun solution.

>>Thirdtheme:ANTIasambiguity


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compromise.


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problem: design an interesting arrangement of an A, a G, and an M to be

used on their stationery, their delivery vans, and on the side of their

building.

Problem made more interesting: design an A, G, and M which

communicates that the company makes very small models, and at the

same time, is large enough so it can be easily seen on the side of their

vehicles and on their building.” (Gill, 10)

What!s striking is that in Gill!s most interesting formulation of the problem

there is a thesis/antithesis quality. In essence, Gill provides a way out of

any conventional design problem: when the rules of the game cannot really

be played against, it is up to designer to reframe the problem so that it

becomes a with and against problem. AGM probably doesn!t want

ambiguity or contradiction in their logo, but Gill frames the question as such

and comes up with a fun solution.

>>Thirdtheme:ANTIasambiguity


4

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Third Theme: ANTI and Ambiguity

ANTI as gesture

A number of a projects I!ve talked about show ANTI at the edges. Brooklyn

Notebook shows how ANTI in approach can become something completely

different in its final form. The Once and Future Poster is another example

where it becomes more and more difficult to speak about ANTI. Though in

its final form the poster was tiled together from separate smaller sheets and

thus became an anti-poster, it works just as well as a single sheet.

If the poster is a single sheet, how then is it an anti-poster? The poster!s

hierarchy is swapped, but it would be difficult to claim that a trait of posters

is a straightforward hierarchy. Wherein lies the strength of The Once and

Future Poster?


1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




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Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Third Theme: ANTI and Ambiguity

ANTI as gesture

A number of a projects I!ve talked about show ANTI at the edges. Brooklyn

Notebook shows how ANTI in approach can become something completely

different in its final form. The Once and Future Poster is another example

where it becomes more and more difficult to speak about ANTI. Though in

its final form the poster was tiled together from separate smaller sheets and

thus became an anti-poster, it works just as well as a single sheet.

If the poster is a single sheet, how then is it an anti-poster? The poster!s

hierarchy is swapped, but it would be difficult to claim that a trait of posters

is a straightforward hierarchy. Wherein lies the strength of The Once and

Future Poster?


1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




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Introduction














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compromise.


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I suspect that it!s in the simple statement, “The poster is dead! Long

live the poster!” printed itself on a poster. It is in the strength of this

declaration, its inherent contradiction. These ambiguities and

contradictions are at the heart of the piece. This is where ANTI enters. At

its core, ANTI is about contradicting one!s own self, exposing one own!s

ambiguity. ANTI as an operation requires a genre/format to act on, but

ANTI here acts only on the internal idea.

ANTI here acts intangibly and gently, like a gesture, the trace of a stronger

move. There are no more external expectations to subvert or to

violate—only the internal ones of the artist.

I began to think of ANTI as gesture a while ago, but only recently did I

return to Venturi!s definition of Mannerism as something that “engages

ambiguity–engages ambiguity unambiguously.” (Venturi and Scott

Brown, 212) I!m struck with this full circle, from Mannerism back to

Mannerism again (which is why I see myself as partially translating

Mannerism from architecture to design). ANTI as gesture is no longer

about a genre/format and its conventions: it is about engaging ambiguity.

There!s another way to think about the ANTI gesture: the inevitable joke of

this thesis: antithesis.

Thesis and antithesis

Definition of ANTITHESIS

1a (1) : the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements

of words, clauses, or sentences (as in “action, not words” or “they promised

freedom and provided slavery”) (2) : opposition, contrast b (1) : the second

of two opposing words, clauses, or sentences that are being rhetorically

contrasted (2) : the direct opposite

2 : the second stage of a dialectic process

Seen this way, ANTI as gesture is clearly about thesis and antithesis:

building in opposition and contrast and thus exposing ambiguity. [I can!t

find the source, I seem to recall thinking of the phrase “The poster is dead!

Long live the dead” after reading about other antithetical statements. But

this might be another case of structuring the narrative ex post facto.]

With and against

Though thesis and antithesis sits in the background like a joke that I only

now get, more and more I think about ANTI as working with and against.

With and against is a simple, humble and broad way to communicate what


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



I suspect that it!s in the simple statement, “The poster is dead! Long

live the poster!” printed itself on a poster. It is in the strength of this

declaration, its inherent contradiction. These ambiguities and

contradictions are at the heart of the piece. This is where ANTI enters. At

its core, ANTI is about contradicting one!s own self, exposing one own!s

ambiguity. ANTI as an operation requires a genre/format to act on, but

ANTI here acts only on the internal idea.

ANTI here acts intangibly and gently, like a gesture, the trace of a stronger

move. There are no more external expectations to subvert or to

violate—only the internal ones of the artist.

I began to think of ANTI as gesture a while ago, but only recently did I

return to Venturi!s definition of Mannerism as something that “engages

ambiguity–engages ambiguity unambiguously.” (Venturi and Scott

Brown, 212) I!m struck with this full circle, from Mannerism back to

Mannerism again (which is why I see myself as partially translating

Mannerism from architecture to design). ANTI as gesture is no longer

about a genre/format and its conventions: it is about engaging ambiguity.

There!s another way to think about the ANTI gesture: the inevitable joke of

this thesis: antithesis.

Thesis and antithesis

Definition of ANTITHESIS

1a (1) : the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements

of words, clauses, or sentences (as in “action, not words” or “they promised

freedom and provided slavery”) (2) : opposition, contrast b (1) : the second

of two opposing words, clauses, or sentences that are being rhetorically

contrasted (2) : the direct opposite

2 : the second stage of a dialectic process

Seen this way, ANTI as gesture is clearly about thesis and antithesis:

building in opposition and contrast and thus exposing ambiguity. [I can!t

find the source, I seem to recall thinking of the phrase “The poster is dead!

Long live the dead” after reading about other antithetical statements. But

this might be another case of structuring the narrative ex post facto.]

With and against

Though thesis and antithesis sits in the background like a joke that I only

now get, more and more I think about ANTI as working with and against.

With and against is a simple, humble and broad way to communicate what


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



ANTI as gesture/Mannerism as ambiguity/thesis and antithesis might

mean.

Working with and against means acknowledging an idea and working with

that idea, while simultaneously working against that idea. With and against

sits then with ANTI or Mannerism as Convention Tweaked as the same

approach but with different wording. Like thesis and antithesis, with and

against builds into itself the idea of opposition/duality/conflict.

Whether one talks about ANTI as gesture, thesis and antithesis, working

with and against or even Mannerism, the end results work might involve:

opposition

juxtaposition

ambiguity

contrast

internal tension

internal conflict

threshold of two things

Indeed, these tensions fuel ANTI. When coming at ANTI from this angle, its

inevitable ambiguity seems obvious. Working with ANTI means at heart,

accepting a set of rules and yet opposing (some of) them. The other

themes which explore ANTI can be reformulated in terms of this conflict as

well. Dealing with constraints is about accepting the constraints and yet

trying to find a way around them; thinking outside the box means accepting

the idea of the box. That is why ANTI is not and cannot be simply against

the rules. In order to be ANTI, one must first engage with convention.Those

who are completely unconflicted or unambiguous simply do not accept,

acknowledge or engage with the rules. On a social level they may be the

hermits, sociopaths or anarchists; on a design level, they create a world of

chaos that leaves viewers lost at sea, without any bearings to navigate.

>>Conclusion


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Introduction














Anti.









before.




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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



ANTI as gesture/Mannerism as ambiguity/thesis and antithesis might

mean.

Working with and against means acknowledging an idea and working with

that idea, while simultaneously working against that idea. With and against

sits then with ANTI or Mannerism as Convention Tweaked as the same

approach but with different wording. Like thesis and antithesis, with and

against builds into itself the idea of opposition/duality/conflict.

Whether one talks about ANTI as gesture, thesis and antithesis, working

with and against or even Mannerism, the end results work might involve:

opposition

juxtaposition

ambiguity

contrast

internal tension

internal conflict

threshold of two things

Indeed, these tensions fuel ANTI. When coming at ANTI from this angle, its

inevitable ambiguity seems obvious. Working with ANTI means at heart,

accepting a set of rules and yet opposing (some of) them. The other

themes which explore ANTI can be reformulated in terms of this conflict as

well. Dealing with constraints is about accepting the constraints and yet

trying to find a way around them; thinking outside the box means accepting

the idea of the box. That is why ANTI is not and cannot be simply against

the rules. In order to be ANTI, one must first engage with convention.Those

who are completely unconflicted or unambiguous simply do not accept,

acknowledge or engage with the rules. On a social level they may be the

hermits, sociopaths or anarchists; on a design level, they create a world of

chaos that leaves viewers lost at sea, without any bearings to navigate.

>>Conclusion


3

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Introduction














Anti.









before.




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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Conclusion: Using your weakness asyour strength

From constraints to ambiguity

ANTI began as a reaction for me: a reaction to constraints; a reaction to the

very constraint of communication.

Along the way I began to see ANTI quite clearly as a creativity tool as well.

Thinking outside the box is given its own section in this thesis: it!s important

to offer up ANTI in this light, especially when it marries such differing

designers as Bob Gill and Mevis & van Deursen. But in some sense, ANTI

as a creativity tool is still within the realm of the constraints theme:

constrained by circumstances, how does one stay creative?

Only later did the theme of ambiguity emerge, as I realized that some of my

work no longer fit into the constraints pile. Or, more accurately, it still fit into

the constraints pile, but actually resonated much more on a different level.

Periods of Activity is nominally an anti-book (in the pages are not bound) or

even an anti-autobiography, but it is above all a depersonalized

autobiography. Though it can be seen as a reaction to some constraints,

Periods of Activity most exemplifies an inner tension/ambiguity.

This tension/ambiguity/thesis-antithesis aspect to ANTI was the true

discovery of the thesis. Indeed, in some ways it is the most powerful

engine of making that!s explored here. Rather than looking outward and

reacting, ANTI as ambiguity basically posits that humans cannot have

absolutist narratives. ANTI as ambiguity makes a narrative from

acknowledging the internal tension of any issue.

Times Canyon became a fitting capstone to the thesis in that it most

directly engages the question of thesis/antithesis. The simple question

behind Times Canyon was: Times Square is hated—so what does the

anti-Times Square look like? The execution of individual elements was

quite traditional: a logo, illustration, explanations, advertising. There is no

longer any need to react to any outside strictures to provide an energy to

the project. The central idea is the energy.

ANTI and Mannerism: revisited


1

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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


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Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




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ANTI means yes



Conclusion: Using your weakness asyour strength

From constraints to ambiguity

ANTI began as a reaction for me: a reaction to constraints; a reaction to the

very constraint of communication.

Along the way I began to see ANTI quite clearly as a creativity tool as well.

Thinking outside the box is given its own section in this thesis: it!s important

to offer up ANTI in this light, especially when it marries such differing

designers as Bob Gill and Mevis & van Deursen. But in some sense, ANTI

as a creativity tool is still within the realm of the constraints theme:

constrained by circumstances, how does one stay creative?

Only later did the theme of ambiguity emerge, as I realized that some of my

work no longer fit into the constraints pile. Or, more accurately, it still fit into

the constraints pile, but actually resonated much more on a different level.

Periods of Activity is nominally an anti-book (in the pages are not bound) or

even an anti-autobiography, but it is above all a depersonalized

autobiography. Though it can be seen as a reaction to some constraints,

Periods of Activity most exemplifies an inner tension/ambiguity.

This tension/ambiguity/thesis-antithesis aspect to ANTI was the true

discovery of the thesis. Indeed, in some ways it is the most powerful

engine of making that!s explored here. Rather than looking outward and

reacting, ANTI as ambiguity basically posits that humans cannot have

absolutist narratives. ANTI as ambiguity makes a narrative from

acknowledging the internal tension of any issue.

Times Canyon became a fitting capstone to the thesis in that it most

directly engages the question of thesis/antithesis. The simple question

behind Times Canyon was: Times Square is hated—so what does the

anti-Times Square look like? The execution of individual elements was

quite traditional: a logo, illustration, explanations, advertising. There is no

longer any need to react to any outside strictures to provide an energy to

the project. The central idea is the energy.

ANTI and Mannerism: revisited


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




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ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


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ANTI means yes



ANTI began as an idea that was inspired by, but not directly fed by

Mannerism. ANTI became more and more a translation of Mannerism from

architecture into design. Again and again, themes I thought I had

discovered fresh in ANTI—I discovered upon re-reading Architecture as

Signs and Systems. The thesis/antithesis angle in particular only emerged

quite late in ANTI—and it was with amazement that I later realized this had

already been treated by Venturi and Scott Brown as a fundamental tenet of

Mannerism. Again and again, they keep insisting that Mannerism is about

ambiguity and conflict. Later when I saw ANTI as a need in some

situations—when the requirements of a design solution simply could not

copy existing models—I remembered that Denise Scott Brown had noted

the same about Mannerism before.

Far from making it weaker, these parallels make ANTI stronger. I did not

start out with the intention of copying Mannerism, but independently came

to many of the same conclusions after staring at my own work and trying to

figure out how it fit in, when pieces were no longer responses to external

constraints.

One important difference between Mannerism and ANTI is that Mannerism

is not offered as a creativity tool, though Venturi does incidentally touch

upon the issue with his cry, “A bas boring originality!”

Moreover, though articulation has been a weakness in my work from the

beginning, I would venture that the language of ANTI makes it slightly more

robust than Mannerism. Anti- is a common, productive prefix in English that

speakers use; though some initially think of the opposition meaning, giving

some examples (anti-hero, anti-climax) almost immediately makes it click.

(Dare I say that ANTI!s total everydayness is actually more appropriate for

the work of Venturi and Scott Brown than the word Mannerism?) The prefix

anti- allows the conversation to expand far beyond the realms of art and

design, especially when thinking outside of the box is no longer the purview

of just artists. At heart, ANTI is not so much a creative approach as a way

of seeing the world: its articulation in common words like anti- and with and

against allows that expansion.

ANTI and Mannerism: revisited, 2

This thesis has consistently credited Venturi and Scott Brown as being an

influence and a model, at times openly questioning what the difference is

between the two programs.

This issue would have benefited from being directly engaged with. I have


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



ANTI began as an idea that was inspired by, but not directly fed by

Mannerism. ANTI became more and more a translation of Mannerism from

architecture into design. Again and again, themes I thought I had

discovered fresh in ANTI—I discovered upon re-reading Architecture as

Signs and Systems. The thesis/antithesis angle in particular only emerged

quite late in ANTI—and it was with amazement that I later realized this had

already been treated by Venturi and Scott Brown as a fundamental tenet of

Mannerism. Again and again, they keep insisting that Mannerism is about

ambiguity and conflict. Later when I saw ANTI as a need in some

situations—when the requirements of a design solution simply could not

copy existing models—I remembered that Denise Scott Brown had noted

the same about Mannerism before.

Far from making it weaker, these parallels make ANTI stronger. I did not

start out with the intention of copying Mannerism, but independently came

to many of the same conclusions after staring at my own work and trying to

figure out how it fit in, when pieces were no longer responses to external

constraints.

One important difference between Mannerism and ANTI is that Mannerism

is not offered as a creativity tool, though Venturi does incidentally touch

upon the issue with his cry, “A bas boring originality!”

Moreover, though articulation has been a weakness in my work from the

beginning, I would venture that the language of ANTI makes it slightly more

robust than Mannerism. Anti- is a common, productive prefix in English that

speakers use; though some initially think of the opposition meaning, giving

some examples (anti-hero, anti-climax) almost immediately makes it click.

(Dare I say that ANTI!s total everydayness is actually more appropriate for

the work of Venturi and Scott Brown than the word Mannerism?) The prefix

anti- allows the conversation to expand far beyond the realms of art and

design, especially when thinking outside of the box is no longer the purview

of just artists. At heart, ANTI is not so much a creative approach as a way

of seeing the world: its articulation in common words like anti- and with and

against allows that expansion.

ANTI and Mannerism: revisited, 2

This thesis has consistently credited Venturi and Scott Brown as being an

influence and a model, at times openly questioning what the difference is

between the two programs.

This issue would have benefited from being directly engaged with. I have


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



said above, in many ways ANTI is a translation of Mannerism from

architecture to design and the broader world. But in many ways it!s not.

This is perhaps most clear at the most superficial level: our aesthetics

differ. I am troubled by the fact that I find much Venturi Scott Brown

architecture unpleasant. ANTI nowhere outlines any aesthetic approach,

but every piece of ANTI work I!ve created this year has aimed to be

beautiful and appealing to eyes beyond just my own. My highly biased

judgment is that I!ve been successful (with the eventual exception of the

Exquisite Corpse Project, The Once and Future Poster and Last Minute

Signage).

This question of how Mannerism and ANTI differ in actual programs and

underlying aesthetic assumptions is non-negligible. My suspicion is that

there is something to Mannerism that is almost aggressively

combative/ugly; ANTI is a broad approach to the world which tries to

subsume the reigning aesthetic in order to communicate more easily with

others. This thesis would have profited from delving into the schism

between the two. Even divorced from Mannerism, if ANTI does indeed

implicitly espouse an aesthetic (beyond my own), a future direction may to

be articulate what it is.

Further directions

Above I!ve noted that I think that the thesis/antithesis angle may be the

most powerful engine of making to ANTI. ANTI remains a crucial tool in

dealing with constraints and approaching brainstorming, which this thesis

effectively outlines. I would start any future exploration of ANTI should

begin with this issue of thesis/antithesis/juxtaposition/ambiguity.

ANTI-ANTI

What started out as response to external constraints has ANTI!d itself:

ANTI has revealed its own internal force.

Working from a place of ambiguity, tension, opposition, unease is not an

ideal solution. But insofar as ANTI is a worldview, it does not believe in the

ideal: there is only what is and what can be done with it. A moment that is

depressing, yet full of possibility.

Post-script

I started by saying that this thesis is not a designo-political strategy, but I

will be the first to contradict myself. ANTI is about coping with the world,

about creating freedom where only rules exist.


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



said above, in many ways ANTI is a translation of Mannerism from

architecture to design and the broader world. But in many ways it!s not.

This is perhaps most clear at the most superficial level: our aesthetics

differ. I am troubled by the fact that I find much Venturi Scott Brown

architecture unpleasant. ANTI nowhere outlines any aesthetic approach,

but every piece of ANTI work I!ve created this year has aimed to be

beautiful and appealing to eyes beyond just my own. My highly biased

judgment is that I!ve been successful (with the eventual exception of the

Exquisite Corpse Project, The Once and Future Poster and Last Minute

Signage).

This question of how Mannerism and ANTI differ in actual programs and

underlying aesthetic assumptions is non-negligible. My suspicion is that

there is something to Mannerism that is almost aggressively

combative/ugly; ANTI is a broad approach to the world which tries to

subsume the reigning aesthetic in order to communicate more easily with

others. This thesis would have profited from delving into the schism

between the two. Even divorced from Mannerism, if ANTI does indeed

implicitly espouse an aesthetic (beyond my own), a future direction may to

be articulate what it is.

Further directions

Above I!ve noted that I think that the thesis/antithesis angle may be the

most powerful engine of making to ANTI. ANTI remains a crucial tool in

dealing with constraints and approaching brainstorming, which this thesis

effectively outlines. I would start any future exploration of ANTI should

begin with this issue of thesis/antithesis/juxtaposition/ambiguity.

ANTI-ANTI

What started out as response to external constraints has ANTI!d itself:

ANTI has revealed its own internal force.

Working from a place of ambiguity, tension, opposition, unease is not an

ideal solution. But insofar as ANTI is a worldview, it does not believe in the

ideal: there is only what is and what can be done with it. A moment that is

depressing, yet full of possibility.

Post-script

I started by saying that this thesis is not a designo-political strategy, but I

will be the first to contradict myself. ANTI is about coping with the world,

about creating freedom where only rules exist.


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



It!s up to you whether ANTI is fundamentally pessimistic or optimistic. ANTI

means that working with a flawed, conflicted, ambiguous narrative is

assumed. There is no ANTI in a utopia. ANTI means acknowledging the

way that humans are, for good and for bad.But ANTI means that

powerlessness can be turned into opportunity and the world can be worked

with and against for change.

We all exist within the world with our hands, to a certain extent, tied. We

can fight openly, ignoring our weakness, or we can acknowledge our

weakness and fight smart.


4

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



It!s up to you whether ANTI is fundamentally pessimistic or optimistic. ANTI

means that working with a flawed, conflicted, ambiguous narrative is

assumed. There is no ANTI in a utopia. ANTI means acknowledging the

way that humans are, for good and for bad.But ANTI means that

powerlessness can be turned into opportunity and the world can be worked

with and against for change.

We all exist within the world with our hands, to a certain extent, tied. We

can fight openly, ignoring our weakness, or we can acknowledge our

weakness and fight smart.


4

ANTI means yes



Brooklyn Notebook: anti-guidebook

Times Canyon: anti-Times Square

Bio-dossier: anti-personalautobiography


Acknowledgements

1

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

1

ANTI means yes



Dutch Design is ANTI.

Classic design is ANTI.




Acknowledgements

2

ANTI means yes








Acknowledgements

2

ANTI means yes



Comic Sans Studies: anti-Helvetica

Anti-orange

Anti-orange


Acknowledgements

3

ANTI means yes




Anti-orange

Anti-orange


Acknowledgements

3

ANTI means yes



The once and future poster: anti-poster


Last Minute Signage: anti-anti-chaoticsignage


Acknowledgements

4

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

4

ANTI means yes





Anti t-shirt


Acknowledgements

5

ANTI means yes





Anti t-shirt


Acknowledgements

5

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

6

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

6

ANTI means yes



Kenya Hara is ANTI.

Mevis and van Deursen are ANTI.

Big Little: anti-designated space


Acknowledgements

7

ANTI means yes



Kenya Hara is ANTI.


Big Little: anti-designated space


Acknowledgements

7

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

8

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

8

ANTI means yes




Anti-orange



Acknowledgements

9

ANTI means yes




Anti-orange



Acknowledgements

9

ANTI means yes




Irma Boom is ANTI



Acknowledgements

10

ANTI means yes




Irma Boom is ANTI



Acknowledgements

10

ANTI means yes



FALSE: anti-constant logo

Irma Boom is ANTI



Acknowledgements

11

ANTI means yes




Irma Boom is ANTI



Acknowledgements

11

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

12

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

12

ANTI means yes



Kenya Hara is ANTI.

Anti-orange



Acknowledgements

13

ANTI means yes



Kenya Hara is ANTI.

Anti-orange



Acknowledgements

13

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

14

ANTI means yes







Acknowledgements

14

ANTI means yes




Irma Boom is ANTI


Acknowledgements

15

ANTI means yes




Irma Boom is ANTI


Acknowledgements

15

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Annotated BibliographyAldersey-Williams, Hugh. Cranbrook Design: The New Discourse. New

York: Rizzoli, 1990. A valuable background in what deconstructivist design

was understood to be in the 1980s. Comparing it to other understandings

of what deconstructivist design is showed that deconstructivism was too

loosely defined to be a path to pursue.

Betsky, Aaron, and Adam Eeuwens. False Flat: Why Dutch Design Is

so Good. London: Phaidon, 2004.

An exploration of what makes Dutch design. Designers repeatedly use the

ideas of “restructuring” and “reality with a twist” to talk about their work,

which is often how I think of my work as well.

Boom, Irma. Walker Art Center

Irma Boom talks candidly about individual projects at length. A long talk,

but great introduction to her work and the way she operates. I recommend

leaving on in the background and listening until something catches one!s

interest.

Dutch Resource: Collaborative Exercises in Graphic Design (Dutch

Resource : Exercices De Collaboration En Graphisme.) Amsterdam: Valiz,

2005.

Interviews with a number of Dutch designers like Irma Boom and Mevis &

van Deursen.

Gill, Bob. Logomania. New York: Rockport. 2006.

Bob Gill!s books are always short, sweet and heavily illustrated: excellent

insights into how he thinks about design.

Hara, Kenya. Designing Design. Baden, Switzerland: Lars Müller

Publishers, 2007.

Amazing, well-written, thoughtful and elegant book where in Hara talks

about some projects he!s worked on while elaborating his views on design.

For western readers like me, begins to act as an introduction to some ideas

running through Eastern design.

Lupton, Ellen. “Deconstruction and Graphic Design: History Meets Theory.”


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Annotated BibliographyAldersey-Williams, Hugh. Cranbrook Design: The New Discourse. New

York: Rizzoli, 1990. A valuable background in what deconstructivist design

was understood to be in the 1980s. Comparing it to other understandings

of what deconstructivist design is showed that deconstructivism was too

loosely defined to be a path to pursue.

Betsky, Aaron, and Adam Eeuwens. False Flat: Why Dutch Design Is

so Good. London: Phaidon, 2004.

An exploration of what makes Dutch design. Designers repeatedly use the

ideas of “restructuring” and “reality with a twist” to talk about their work,

which is often how I think of my work as well.

Boom, Irma. Walker Art Center

Irma Boom talks candidly about individual projects at length. A long talk,

but great introduction to her work and the way she operates. I recommend

leaving on in the background and listening until something catches one!s

interest.

Dutch Resource: Collaborative Exercises in Graphic Design (Dutch

Resource : Exercices De Collaboration En Graphisme.) Amsterdam: Valiz,

2005.

Interviews with a number of Dutch designers like Irma Boom and Mevis &

van Deursen.

Gill, Bob. Logomania. New York: Rockport. 2006.

Bob Gill!s books are always short, sweet and heavily illustrated: excellent

insights into how he thinks about design.

Hara, Kenya. Designing Design. Baden, Switzerland: Lars Müller

Publishers, 2007.

Amazing, well-written, thoughtful and elegant book where in Hara talks

about some projects he!s worked on while elaborating his views on design.

For western readers like me, begins to act as an introduction to some ideas

running through Eastern design.

Lupton, Ellen. “Deconstruction and Graphic Design: History Meets Theory.”


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Typotheque. Web. Jan 27 2011.

A history of deconstruction in graphic design. Lupton!s description as

compared to the ideas embodied in Cranbrook Design seemed to not gel

exactly, convincing me that Deconstruction was not the path to pursue.

Malanowski, Jamie. “Television: Forgetting Nothing,” TIME. 1.12.98.

Accessed on the web, March 1, 2011.

Seinfeld as the anti-sitcom.

Marr, Andrew. (Host) (2011, February 14) “Start the Week” (podcast).

Retrieved February 15, 2011.

Discussion of the novel and whether it!s a relevant form for contemporary

society or whether the genre needs to be adjusted to be more relevant.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. Northampton, MA: Kitchen

Sink, 1993.

An interesting introduction to comics and art in general. As comics marry

image and word, many ideas are quite relevant to graphic design.

Mevis, Armand. Walker Art Center Insights Design Lecture. 3.21.06. Web.

Jan 27 2011.

Another great talk at the Walker Art Center. Like Irma Boom, Armand Mevis

is frank and open about motivations behind projects.

Poynor, Rick. No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism.

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003.

The standard introduction to postmodernism in design. When I identified

ANTI as being essentially breaking the rules, I began here, but did not find

a theory to latch onto.

Rock, Michael. “Mad Dutch Disease.” 2"4 Readings. Web. Jan 27 2011.

Another investigation of what Dutch design is and if it!s ultimately too ironic

and clever for its own good.

Venturi, Robert, and Brown D. Scott. Architecture As Signs and

Systems: For a Mannerist Time. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of

Harvard University Press, 2004.

Seems to be a completely unknown work by Venturi and Scott Brown which

summarizes their work and ideas heretofore and outlines Mannerism. In my

opinion, by far and away the best of their books: the points of other books

are made simply, accessibly and with lots of examples.


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Typotheque. Web. Jan 27 2011.

A history of deconstruction in graphic design. Lupton!s description as

compared to the ideas embodied in Cranbrook Design seemed to not gel

exactly, convincing me that Deconstruction was not the path to pursue.

Malanowski, Jamie. “Television: Forgetting Nothing,” TIME. 1.12.98.

Accessed on the web, March 1, 2011.

Seinfeld as the anti-sitcom.

Marr, Andrew. (Host) (2011, February 14) “Start the Week” (podcast).

Retrieved February 15, 2011.

Discussion of the novel and whether it!s a relevant form for contemporary

society or whether the genre needs to be adjusted to be more relevant.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. Northampton, MA: Kitchen

Sink, 1993.

An interesting introduction to comics and art in general. As comics marry

image and word, many ideas are quite relevant to graphic design.

Mevis, Armand. Walker Art Center Insights Design Lecture. 3.21.06. Web.

Jan 27 2011.

Another great talk at the Walker Art Center. Like Irma Boom, Armand Mevis

is frank and open about motivations behind projects.

Poynor, Rick. No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism.

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003.

The standard introduction to postmodernism in design. When I identified

ANTI as being essentially breaking the rules, I began here, but did not find

a theory to latch onto.

Rock, Michael. “Mad Dutch Disease.” 2"4 Readings. Web. Jan 27 2011.

Another investigation of what Dutch design is and if it!s ultimately too ironic

and clever for its own good.

Venturi, Robert, and Brown D. Scott. Architecture As Signs and

Systems: For a Mannerist Time. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of

Harvard University Press, 2004.

Seems to be a completely unknown work by Venturi and Scott Brown which

summarizes their work and ideas heretofore and outlines Mannerism. In my

opinion, by far and away the best of their books: the points of other books

are made simply, accessibly and with lots of examples.


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



>>Dedication>>CreditsandAcknowledgements


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



>>Dedication>>CreditsandAcknowledgements


3

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Credits and AcknowledgmentsIndexhibit for helping me build this site and others. Thanks also to their

forum community for support.

D. Oscar Horner, for photos of the Thesis Show

Nick Misani, photos of Thesis Show

DIY Design tool by More Good, used for Last Minute Signage

Thanks to:

My parents, for their support, and always, a point of view.

Edvin Yegir, Manuel Miranda, Mark Sanders, for teaching me to start

talking about design.

Jeff Bellantoni, for starting the MFA at just the right time.

Milosz, for keeping my bike running and me cheerful.

Kevin for much late night working company; Soum for fielding many

HTML/CSS questions.

Everyone (Katya, Armen) who encouraged me to go creative when it

wasn!t at all obvious.

All my friends and family (especially Kostya, Anna, Kate, Becky, Ilya) who

put up with me as I saw this design thing through.

All my MFA colleagues, for patience, enthusiasm, insights

Theresa Berenato

Daniel Wiggins

Rebecca Wiener

Skyler Balbus

Matt Scheer

Julian Rehani

Maria-Nefeli Stavrindi

Christie Shin

Elizabeth Kuehnen

Brenda McManus

John Chaich

Anthony Acock

Christina Latina

Nick Misani

Mira Rojanasakul

Richard Hall


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Credits and AcknowledgmentsIndexhibit for helping me build this site and others. Thanks also to their

forum community for support.

D. Oscar Horner, for photos of the Thesis Show

Nick Misani, photos of Thesis Show

DIY Design tool by More Good, used for Last Minute Signage

Thanks to:

My parents, for their support, and always, a point of view.

Edvin Yegir, Manuel Miranda, Mark Sanders, for teaching me to start

talking about design.

Jeff Bellantoni, for starting the MFA at just the right time.

Milosz, for keeping my bike running and me cheerful.

Kevin for much late night working company; Soum for fielding many

HTML/CSS questions.

Everyone (Katya, Armen) who encouraged me to go creative when it

wasn!t at all obvious.

All my friends and family (especially Kostya, Anna, Kate, Becky, Ilya) who

put up with me as I saw this design thing through.

All my MFA colleagues, for patience, enthusiasm, insights

Theresa Berenato

Daniel Wiggins

Rebecca Wiener

Skyler Balbus

Matt Scheer

Julian Rehani

Maria-Nefeli Stavrindi

Christie Shin

Elizabeth Kuehnen

Brenda McManus

John Chaich

Anthony Acock

Christina Latina

Nick Misani

Mira Rojanasakul

Richard Hall


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Anqi Li

Mariya Campwala

Janice Ramirez

Chantal Fischzang

Frances Pharr

Natalie Sims

>>Dedication>>Bibliography


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Anqi Li

Mariya Campwala

Janice Ramirez

Chantal Fischzang

Frances Pharr

Natalie Sims

>>Dedication>>Bibliography


2

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

Colophon

This book was printed from a Firefox browser with the default print settings except for the following settings modified:

These settings can be reached by typing about:config in the address bar.

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




1

ANTI means yes



Mea Culpa




Introduction














Anti.









before.




compromise.


1

Documents

ANTI means yes