Dissertation

CHAPTER 4
Chalotte and Peter Fiell (2003, 287) discuss in
their book, Graphic Design for the 21st Century,
the importance of technology within graphic
design. They said that, ‘graphic design has
undergone a momentous change as pixels
have became a handy substitute for print
and software has lessened the professional’s
reliance on traditional tools of pen and paper
... In no other discipline of design has computer
technology had such a transforming impact.’
Graphic designer, Vince Frost (2003, 287)
is quoted within their book stating, ‘Today...
our high tech, busy lives mean designers are
spending more and more time in front of a
computer screen. In this sense, there is very
little difference between a bank and a design
studio. What use to be a physically creative
process has become automated to such
a degree.’
Jessica Walsh (2016) believes in the design
philosophy, that it is ‘important to integrate
play into your life.’ Meaning that removing
yourself from your technological vice can
help your creative work ‘...create through
play [craft] to allow space for experimentation
and new discoveries to form break through
with innovation and it stops you from
regurgitating old styles and techniques that
worked for us in the past. By playing we
can constantly be making new work.’ (2016)
It is unfair to argue that rejecting new
technology is the future for graphic design
and art direction for the music industry. Other
designers are embracing new technologies to
brand and advertise within the music industry.
This type of work can be seen with design
studio, Reed & Radar’s work for the VMA
Awards with the award host Miley Ray Cyrus.
This studio continually use new technologies
and experiment with moving image and virtual
reality (VR). The television advertisements
they created for the VMA Awards with Cyrus,
involved the duo creating a virtual world based
on a similar visual style to retro arcade games.
Traditional tools and new technologies are two
different approaches to graphic design and art
direction however both are a promising way
forward and can work hand-in-hand to create
new and innovative visual styles in the future
within the music industry.
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