Week Five - Architecture and Graphic Design

Week Five – Architecture and Graphic Design

This week’s reading had a lot of new ideas, names, art movements and concepts for me to learn, but one consistent thing that kept coming up was architecture and its link(s) to graphic design. I was also surprised to learn that the influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright was also a graphic designer.

I’ve really never thought of architecture when I think of Graphic Design – and vice versa. But according to Jennifer Sage, a principal architect in New York, graphic design and architecture are linked in a very important way – in her own words:

“Incorporating a graphic message into the architecture of a project can provide a big message with minimal construction and cost.  More importantly, it can also reinforce the spatial definition.  In the case of the children’s library at Fort Washington, the graphics on the giant lampshades were used to define a series of “rooms” and create distinct environments. We were able to use the New York Public Library image data bank, which was pretty great. The graphics have created an entire little world in each of those lampshades.”

So when I learned that Frank Lloyd Wright, widely thought of as the most prominent and significant architect in modern history also was a graphic designer it really blew my mind. I’d known about some of the famous houses he built, like Fallingwater and have seen one of his buildings in real life – the King Kamehameha Golf Club on Maui.

I knew that his architectural endeavors included concepts like “organic architecture” where he designed and created buildings that were harmonious with their natural surroundings, and took advantage of the better features of the surrounding environment.  From our reading, I also know that he saw space as one of the most important elements of design, and that his work was influenced by Japanese and pre-Columbian architecture. When he was young, he had used a printing press with a friend. This experience gave him insight about using space or white in his designs and how to bring many different elements together while working within certain confines.

His graphic design work is not well known, however there was a book published by author Penny Fowler, Frank Lloyd Wright: Graphic Artist in 2002 that offers some great information and details about his overlooked contributions to graphic design.

 

A basic definition of graphic design, regardless of artist or influence, is that it is a form of communicating. Week to week, I am surprised by all of the ways that graphic design is a part of my daily life. Discovering that architecture has a place in graphic design is another eye-opening lesson for me, and one that makes me want to look a little bit closer at the details in my world. Finding out that Frank Lloyd Wright was a graphic designer is both interesting and inspiring to me and I am now looking forward to discovering more about the history of graphic design. I wonder what surprises will pop up next, and look forward to learning more.

Websites used for information and images - 
 http://www.wearedesignbureau.com/projects/graphic-design-vs-architecture/  - Images of library and quote from Jennifer Sage
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright - Information about Frank Lloyd Wright
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallingwater - Image of Fallingwater
 http://maui.golfroadwarriors.com/2013/04/26/king-kamehameha-meets-frank-lloyd-wright/ - Images of King Kamehameha Building