Breaking All The Rules
[A Brief Look into the Design Philosophies of David Carson]
Sarah Barber
Herzing University Online
GA212
David Carson was a 24-year-old sociology teacher and professional surfer when he stumbled into the world of graphic design. After seeing a flyer for a two week graphic design workshop for high school students, his life was forever changed (The Font, 1996). He's been called a "Master of Typography", credited with "chang[ing] the public face of graphic design" and has authored several successful graphic design books, including the highest selling graphic design book of all time, "The End of Print" (Bio, n.d.). With his reputation for breaking all the rules, it's amazing that he has become the talent that he is today. His philosophies and lack of training are what makes him who he is, and he's proud of it.
Never one to follow the rules, Carson's entire resume for formal training in graphic design consists of a couple of workshops in America and Switzerland and six months at a commercial art school in Oregon (The Font, 1996). When it comes to the subject of formal training, Carson has this to say, "There's a conformity that comes out of some of the schools (The Font, 1996)" and as we can see from his work, that's just not his style. One of the most asked questions of Carson is about his training, or lack of. "Without formal training I never learned all the things I wasn't supposed to do. I would read the article and try to express the emotion or feeling of the article. I just did what made sense to me in interpreting the writing" (Conversation, n.d.). He still works that same way today, staying away from the restrictive grid and formal systems that are taught in art schools, feeling that these systems leave the work "uninspired, emotionless and forgettable" (Conversation, n.d.). Learning in a formal environment has never been for him as he says, "The less you see of other(s) [designers], the less likely you are to be influenced by it" (Schepis, 2010), preferring to put his own spin and inflection into his design. "I never set out to break rules or boundaries, just do what makes sense to me" (Schepis, 2010.
Carson has a reputation for illegibility in his work. His main philosophy is to invoke an emotion to a piece, make the audience feel something before reading it, investing them in it. Visually impacting the audience is a higher priority for him than the actual reading of the text. "The emotion of a piece and its type are extremely important to sending your message. Hopefully the writing actually backs up the design. But I'd say pick a font that expresses the tone of the message first" (Dennis, 2008). His illegibility has become somewhat famous as he was once credited with setting an entire article in Dingbat. According to Carson, the article wasn't worth the read, he found it boring and no font choice made it any better (Helvetica, 2007). It became a running gag with the writers of Ray Gun, a music magazine he worked on for 10 years as the art director, that the more legible the article, the more interesting the writing was (Neuman, 2007). "I want to bring the reader into the article visually, and hopefully they're rewarded with some worthwhile reading" (Conversation, n.d.).
Carson also has a reputation for being quite non-technological in his work. While he does use a computer and the program QuarkXpress, his work is pretty basic, so he's not up on all the latest software and tools available. "New technology, . . . [isn't] why I went into the field -- Ray Gun was printed out of the computer onto a bad printer, then pasted down onto art boards" (Banks, 2008). "There's a fear that if you're not technically sophisticated, the design is somehow less valid . . . There's lots of ways to communicate . . . It's largely emotional and intuitive" (Shepter, n.d.). ". . .for me, it comes down more to placement and eyeing and seeing something. I'm not anti-computer, but it's not about that for me" (Shepter, n.d.).
Carson is mostly modest but at the same time, self indulgent. He uses this word to describe himself over and over again, in every interview given. In describing his own style and himself, he had this to say: "intuitive, self indulgent, emotional, experimental, expressive" (Schepis, 2010). When asked to describe himself in one word in another interview, it was déjà vu, "Self-indulgent" (Conversation, n.d.). So what kind of advice could an icon like David Carson offer a struggling graphic designer? "Passion. Love of the craft. Obsession. Attention to detail, and 'The Eye' . . . You got to love it. Ask yourself, if money wasn't an issue, . . . would you do the same work?" (Schepis, 2010). On the old wives tale 'you need to learn the rules to break them' Carson has this to say, "What matters is that you have an intuitive design sense, listen to it, and explore your uniqueness through your work. Create rules that work for you and the type of work you're doing. I never learned all the things in school I wasn't supposed to do, so I just did, and still do, what makes sense to me" (Dennis, 2008). "I appreciate anyone who is trying something different and speaking in their own voice. Design work needs to be personal and subjective to be of interest and value" (Dennis, 2008).
So where is this graphic design great now? You can find him at one of his small studios, in New York, LA, or Switzerland, working. Or maybe even at his home on the coast, surfing a wave. If you have the notion to call his studio, he might actually be the one answering the phone. These days he's as busy as ever, with the new revival of Ray Gun, being published as Carson Magazine, and branching out into new media, like film and television advertisements (Bio, n.d.). It makes you wonder, who needs to follow the rules when you've got clients like Apple Computer, Samsung, Nine Inch Nails, Toyota, and Microsoft (Bio, n.d.)? His philosophies on graphic design are apparently working for him. Just remember, in the immortal words of Carson, "Trust yer gut" (Schepis, 2010).
References
Bio, David Carson. (n.d.). David Carson Design. Retrieved May 27, 2011 from http://davidcarsondesign.com/?dcdc=top/s&p=10
Carson, David (b.1956). (2003). In The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Graphic Designers. Retrieved from http://credoreference.com/entry/thgraph/carson-david-b-1956
Conversation with David Carson. (n.d.). DesignTAXI.com. Retrieved May 27, 2011 from http://www.designtaxi.com/article.php?article_id=100699
Dennis, Tom. (2008). The Computer Arts Interview: David Carson. Computer Arts Magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2011 from http://www.computerarts.co.uk/in-depth/interviews/david-carson
Hustwit, Gary. (2007). Helvetica [Film]. Brooklyn, NY: Plexi Productions, LLC.
Neuman, Chad. (2007, November 8). An Interview with David Carson. Layers Magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2011 from http://layermagazine.com/an-interview-with-david-carson.html
Schepis, Michael. (2010). Interview with David Carson -- World Renowned Graphic Designer. Visualkontakt.com. Retrieved May 27, 2011 from http://designcollector.net/interview-with-david-carson-by-visualkontakt
Stoeffel, Kat. (2011, January 12). Ray Gun Magazine To Be Resurrected As (Duh) C A R S O N. The New York Observer. Retrieved May 28, 2011 from http://www.observer.com/2011/media/ray-gun-magazine-be-resurrected-duh-c-r-s-o-n
TEDTalks: David Carson on design, discovery and humor. (2008). TED.com. [video file]. Retrieved May 27, 2011 from http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/436
The Font of Youth. (1996, February 26). Newsweek. Retrieved May 27, 2011 from http://www.newsweek.com/1996/02/25/the-font-of-youth.print.html
