Tibor Kalman: The Unapologetic Rebel
Given a list of impressive designers throughout history, I chose the wrong time to pee — or so I thought. At the beginning of the second semester of my sophomore year, we were pitched with our second project. A list of history’s most prominent and culture-rocking designers, a rich selection of talent, one for each student. Rather than taking a history class, we would create our own history textbook; a technique I thought rather clever to get students to really learn and appreciate history, as opposed to ineffective memorization and test-taking. Eyeing the list, I searching for Saul Bass, my favourite designer. Being a film lover and aspiring time-motion designer, who better to dedicate weeks of learning and researching on than Bass. However, I was under the impression that we would chose our designers at the end of the class, so during our quick break, I decided to run to the washroom. I came back to a list of claimed designers, including my idol. Bass had been chosen. Salty and a little frustrated at my bladder, I picked a female designer to fulfill my feminist side if nothing else. We had plenty of time, we had been given the list at the beginning of the semester, even though we wouldn’t be starting the project for another month. I took a few days, and decided to review the list and pick a designer I really resonated with. Going down, name by name, through history, doing a quick wiki search to get a grasp of each designer’s style and personality. Towards the end I was getting weary, though they all impressed me, few really resonated with me.
And then there was Kalman. Graphic design’s bad-ass.
Fearless, spontaneous, a rebel. Tibor Kalman was the cheeky designer that passionate about creating a better world through communication design, and didn’t care whose toes he stepped on in the process. I aspire to create provocative design that challenges the social and political ways of western culture, the way Kalman did.
Since beginning my research, I have discovered many spectacular facts about Kalman and all his endeavours.
Some notable facts about Tibor Kalman
- His daughter’s name is Lulu Bodoni
- His son’s middle name is Onomatopoeia
- He collected egg beaters, sodas, and onion rings
- His mother had visions, and his father was a precise and dapper man
- He was an NYU Journalism drop-out
- He had no design training, he is self taught
- He was the founder and editor in chief of COLORS magazine
- His wife Maira was his biggest muse and life-long collaborator and inspiration
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
A first shot at an intro for a biography
Tibor Kalman lost his battle to non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1999, a time when most Millennials were just toddlers, or yet to be conceived. That being said, few Millennials know that their hero had passed before they even knew about racism, sexism, and political correctness. The liberal youth, especially in America, tend to be impatient, constantly demanding social justice. Whether it was Kalman, and other students in New York City and across the country, protesting the Vietnam war, or the digital and physical appetite for #blacklivesmatter. This is the story about graphic design’s badass, for all those who believe in social equality, sustainability, and multiculturalism.
After reflecting, I’m not too happy about the direction I’m going in. I think I’ll take another crack tomorrow from a different perspective.
Mapping A Life — Wednesday, 17 February 2016
My first iteration of my diagram was somewhat successful, I feel that I’ve supplied a good quantity of information from a variety of fields in Kalman’s life. I like how I highlight emphasis on certain aspects that are really important using colour and bigger handwriting, however I need a clearer method of organization. This first attempt was more about figuring out the relevant and pertinent information. Now using colour and possibly a time line I’ll attempt at making it more digestible for others and easier to follow.
Reflections — Saturday, 20 February 2016
Davis on lynch had some some very interesting connections between the physical world of metropolitan organization and design composition. As a designer I am constantly trying to make connections between other worlds and the design world. Some connections are more obvious than others, such as the mathematical world, the digital world. I hadn’t previously thought that districts could be seen as paragraph styles and paths could be whitespace. Coming from a scientific and artistic background (design being the love-child), I have a strong desire for my work to be very precise and logical, while simultaneously being restless and emotional.
This significantly larger and slightly more organized diagram of Tibor Kalman’s life has improved dramatically since the last iteration, although there’s still far to go. I tried to create two linear organization methods, one in the form of a time-line from birth to death, and one categorical gradient of personal to professional. Additionally I added a colour coding method consisting of 5 categories, philosophy & rebellion, family & personal, collaborations, career landmarks, historical events. Life-changing events are in large, bold, writing, stand out the most. As text gets closer to the middle of the page (vertically), they can be understood as points that are as important as Kalman’s personal life as his professional life. While I feel that my organization methods are successful in some ways, the overall approach still lacks a coherent flow and especially an entry point.
The reading on grids was incredibly satisfying, for so many reasons, but primarily because I’m beginning to feel like I can say I really know what I’m doing when it comes to communication design. Up until this project, my design courses at CMU have taught me so many concepts and theories that I have permanently changed as a person and as a professional. I think about people and the world very differently now, and I’m sure a large part of that is due to moving to a new county, living on my own, and all the other changes that come with attending university. However, our design courses have ultimately opened my eyes, and I now know how to simply observe, and take in information, allowing me to really understand context and the environment before making judgments, assumptions or planning solutions. Yet in the past I felt that while my concepts were solid, I felt that my technical skills were only just above average. As we begin to learn more of the technicalities involved with communication design, I have been growing more confident in my work. As previously mentioned, I value precision and respect math and balance, which is why, inevitably, grids make me really happy. I admit I got pretty excited when I saw fibonacci mentioned in a design context. Throughout this project I hope I can create dynamic, yet stable grids that engage the reader’s experience. Luckily, due to the medium of COLORS, I can look to Tibor’s work for inspiration.
After reading about grids, and studying pages from COLORS, I went back to making some smaller, quick, Lynch diagrams. Some concepts I tried to play around with using an odd number of elements on the page, symmetry and asymmetry, as well as horizontals and verticals. Still not entirely confident that I’m approaching the lynch diagrams correctly, and not entirely sure if I’m using edges and paths correctly. On to a larger scale, and we’ll see how crit goes tomorrow.
Catching Up— Thursday, 3 March 2016
Alas, I’ve fallen behind in my documentation of process. As we begin March break, I am trying to capture everything I’ve done so far to make sure I don’t forget anything over the break.
Iteration 1
My first crack at the spreads was a little slow, with nothing too impressive to show. After researching Kalman’s work and reading Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me. Kalman often breaks the grid in his work, so I needed a grid that would allow me to later on work in that fashion. I decided on an 8-column grid, with the text consistently in a strong and narrow vertical.
Iteration 2
After revising my style sheet, I finally decided on a type face: Futura. The typeface feels appropriate for Kalman; he worked largely in the 80’s, 90’s, he was ahead of his time in certain ways, and his style is inspired by Barbara Kruger. I decided to also stay with Kalman’s colour palette used in Colors, a light crimson and black, to best emulate his voice. I would like to play more with using text as image, since I feel that his words speak most loudly to his work. I also appreciate his use of multiple languages in every issue of Colors, something I can relate to having grown up learning two languages at the same time (French). I feel that incorporating this aspect shows a good connection between my choice in designer and my own path to finding my own style.
Iteration 3
I decided to include a graphic timeline element to the strong vertical column of text to help give a time reference. I have more work to do with the body, I currently only have three weights for Futura, and the lightest one is Medium. My type is currently set at 9 but feels quite small since it is a condensed version of Futura. I think a lighter, non-condensed version will work better and allow for more air in the bod.
Iteration 4
I’ve begun to put more visual elements into the work, trying to chose the pieces from his vast selection of prominent work that best represent his technique, concepts and style. After a good critique, I decided to justify the large type on the second spread, and I also found an image to place behind the text. I needed to be sure that the image and the text wouldn’t conflict, or give the impression that they are one piece. In Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist I found a piece that he had given to visitors of M&Co. during the AIGA studio tours, a sketch of the layout of his firm, filled with little annotations and notes. I felt that this would be an appropriate piece to put behind the strong text of the quote. I’ve also decide to include M&Co.’s work with Canada. Again, I am trying to make these spreads have a solid balance between my own style, taste and personality, while still doing Kalman justice. Additionally I am part of a larger whole in this projects, these pages are a part of a book featuring over 20 other prominent designers, some of which were featured in the Canada work, such as Paula Scher, Saul Bass, Massimo Vignelli, Kathy McCoy, andPaul Rand. I feel that leaving this piece out would be a waste of a wonderful opportunity. And of course, how could I leave out the rebranding of my own country, by the designer I’m studying. Additionally I have remove the horizontal line graphic from the timeline to clean up the spreads a bit more.
Iteration 5
I finally started using a variety of Futura weights, including much lighter ones, to help air out the spreads a bit more. The body not fits well and is easily readable in the non-condensed Futura. I’ve also decided to remove most of the photos while trying to finalize the text elements. I enjoy the large red text on the second page and I’m trying to see if I can incorporate it into the other pages.
Experimentations with Type
Iteration 6
After much experimentation, I finally decided on a first page. I have been struggling greatly to show enough of Kalman’s work, while also including all the text I’d like to include. I thought that a compilation of photos incorporated differently into the gird would work well with a text overlay. I also enjoyed the faded sketch behind the large text on the second page and wanted to incorporate that element into other spreads, which can be seen on the first page, with sketches of the “What if…” segment of Colors 4 behind the body copy. Though this was good progress from what I previously had, I still am not happy with this work. I also decided to make the timeline much smaller, seeing as it was still taking too much attention from the body copy.
First Page Experimentations
After the first crit in a long time, I realized that my spreads were no where near where I wanted them to be. I had been working on theses spreads for weeks and I felt that I had nothing good to show for that work. I had been in a creative rut for weeks, I couldn’t think out of the box and I couldn’t think like Kalman. My work was too quite, too safe, and honestly, boring. I decided to start from near scratch. There were certain elements that I was happy with, the faded sketches, the large text on the second page, the strong vertical column of body, so keeping those elements kept me grounded during my big changes. I had a number of people comment that I shouldn’t sacrifice an entire page to one large quote, but I felt very strongly that the quote deserved an entire page. Kalman was loud, and his words were strong, and that quote wasn’t going to share that page with anything else.
I’d been extremely stressed since March break, which wasn’t really a break considering I got Bronchitis and Sinusitis. Work was consuming me; I wasn’t socializing, eating, sleeping, or exercising. In essence I wasn’t really taking care of myself. I also felt alone in the work. With so many people in studio, I felt that it was hard to get one-on-one crit time. At the time I felt like I needed a lot of support and a lot of help, but in the end having gone through the large changes of iteration 6 to my final one on my own, has really helped me grow as a designer. The first thing I had to do was take care of myself. I took a couple days off and spent time being happy with friends, working out, and eating really good food.
After I taking a couple days to myself, I had a new perspective and new-found energy. Kalman lived a very short life, and all of his work was done in his last two decades, that being said, it didn’t make sense to have the first spread cluttered with images of his work. I wanted there to be a sense of rhythm, that the reader could immediately see how much he did in a short amount of time at the end of his life.
I decided to return to the use of two languages, having my introduction in both French and English. I also decided to implement his use of contouring text boxes. Kalman uses a strong grid system but breaks it effectively, often having his text follow the shape of his images. He also tends to use a high contrast in type size, which lead me to making his name more of a graphic element that goes off the pages. I also integrate some of the body text into following the shape of the “K”.
Final Product
Spread 1: For my first spread I decided to play with layering of text and high size contrast. Thinking back to Lynch Diagrams, I tried to use Tibor Kalman’s name to help navigate the viewer through the spread. I also decided to turn the timeline by 90˚ and have it hug the body text, as well as lower the opacity. By doing so it allows the timeline to also be a path and helps indicate the flow of time more effectively. Additionally, the only piece of Kalman’s work seen on the spread is a sketch from “What If…” for Colors 4. This allows for a hint towards work that will be seen later on in the book, without feeling too out of order. This spread also creates foreshadowing, by showing Kalman’s face, including his trademark glasses and dark eyes.
Spread 2: The first page of my second ended up having a number of changes. I decided to import each of the Canadian flag designs by the designers mentioned in the book, and exclude the ones that were not (for instance, Chiat/Day), as well as include M&Co and the chosen design solution in a large size. I decided to bring the Fuck Bush piece to full opacity and to have the list of things Kalman also says “fuck” to hug the K. Additionally, I found the full speech that the quote on the right was pulled from and realized that the last line had been excluded, I though it brought the message home so I decided to include it and emphasize it.
Spread 3: The final spread took a ver long time to finalize. I wanted to have enough work shown, but I didn’t want it to feel tagged on at the last minute. I also wanted to have some consistencies present, such as a faded sketch in the background, and large red text. The cropping of the painting of Kalman brings a connection to the first spread, with the same glasses, as well as the feeling that Kalman is watching. He enjoyed playing with people’s guilt and giving clients, friends, co-workers, or anyone “reality checks”, and I feel that his eyes give that impression. I also find the eyes go well with the quote I decided to include, which further expresses his reasoning for his methods for delivering his sociopolitical views. Among the four works at the bottom I decided to include a painting of Tibor’s father, by his wife Maira; the image of the black Queen Elizabeth II from the “What If…” of Colors 4 that had been led up to by including the process sketches; a section fro Colors illustrating his use of columns, colour, composition, and contrast. The greatest struggle with this spread was determining where to place all of the citations for all the material on the page. I originally had the Colors 1 cover much larger, with no room for the citations, but making the cover smaller created an awkward white space at the bottom.To conclude my spreads, I decided to end by braking the grid with a quote, which helped deal with that awkward space, that summarizes Kalman’s phylosophy, “Rules are good. Break them.”.
Web http://angeeattar.pairserver.com/
To begin, I admit that I completed my website in one 6 hour sitting. I worked until the end on my spreads and only really began my site after my spreads had finished. I also feel that I generally ended up teaching myself a significant amount of the html and css, mostly by trial and error as well as googling specific functions. I decided to use an 8 column structure as I did in my physical prints, which I believed helped me deal with white space more easily. Though the content and general aesthetic are consistent between the media, the organization differs. While in my print piece the body reads fluidly as one story and the time line rests on the side for a general indicator of reference of time, in my web piece the structure of the site is based on time. I decided to use the timeline as a navigation bar and to have different decades lead to different parts of the site. I believe this helps convey the rhythm I communicated in the print, of having minimal work in the early years, but having high congestion in the later years. Additionally, while in the print piece the captions are someone segregated from their corresponding pieces, hovering on the web allows for the captions to stay hidden until found. It is also interesting to note that while in the print piece there is consistently large red type, in the web it is only used at the beginning and the end, to keep the content contained, in a sense. Web also allowed me to include a few more samples of work, especially in the nineties and his work with Colors. Also, in print I used two separate images of kalman, one of his face and one of simply his eyes, at the beginning and the end, web allowed me to have one image consistently present, which only helps accentuate the feeling that Kalman is watching.
Over all I am extremely happy with my work. I feel that I have learnt a tremendous amount over the past 5–6 weeks. I learnt skills to help maintain a healthy work/life balance, I feel like I have a strong understanding of grids, I learnt so much on Kalman (which has made me reflect on my own stance on design ethics), I also got a great opportunity to translate work between physical and digital platforms. This project had a lot of growing pains, but I definitely did grow and wouldn’t have changed much about the process. However, it would have been nice to get out of my creative rut about a week earlier, which meant that I could have had enough time to see how my web could influence my print, rather than only have my print influence my web. I think I also could have been stronger in dealing with my body copy. The rag can be very dramatic in some areas and +/- 15 in tracking could only help so much. I believe if I had gotten to my final iteration sooner I could have perfected those details even more.
