Der Motz von Butz: The apple. More curse than blessing
The computer—arguably one of humanity's most ingenious inventions. But I also see a downside to it. It allows even amateurs to create things.
What I'm talking about: During my time as a student at the Basel graphic design class from 1961 to 1966, one tool that we take for granted today did not yet exist: the felt-tip pen. Back then, we learned a profession with the tools available at the time. So if you drew a black line 1 mm thick and 17.3 mm long on a white sheet of paper, the first thing you tried to do was to imagine in your head exactly where this line should be placed. Using a soft B2 pencil, for example, you placed the line provisionally in the desired position. Only then did you fill the black Pelikan ink into the nib and close the wheel so that the line was exactly 1 mm thick. When applying the ink to the white sheet, you could neither tremble nor hesitate, otherwise there would be a smudge on the 3-franc Schöllershammer cardboard. Why am I telling you this?
Today in 2014, only about half a century later, this 1 mm line requires no fuss, no trembling, no hesitation. Work that back then took a week and involved various subcontractors such as reprographers, lithographers, typesetters, retouchers, etc., can now be produced in, say, an hour using InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. That's a blessing and not a curse. My theory is that the curse is greater than the blessing for graphic designers. Back then, you had to prepare a sketch or layout with scissors for every idea. It wasn't possible to conjure something up quickly. It had to be planned exactly to the point. Now comes the curse. The advertising, the brochures, the posters and all the flyers that flutter into the house are 90 percent thought up by amateurs and quickly created on a Mac.
In my opinion, the computer age has damaged quality and professionally designed communication. And massively so. Unfortunately, this will not improve in the future, and the consequences will not be good for the advertising industry. The ugly posters designed by bureaucrats will disappear from the streets, as the city council has already threatened. The stop-advertising stickers are already commonplace - even on the letterboxes of marketing agencies. (Information from the Motzer.) The e-mail and text message culture is to die for... Unfortunately, we have allowed ourselves to be taken by surprise by this ingenious invention. We are now Mac slaves. My suggestion as a resolution: Think, sketch and only then join the Mac blessing.
The posters for the iPhone 5c are my stand-up display for the last week. The medium is the message.
Theophil Butz, graphic designer, advertising agency owner, inspirer and, for the last three years, also mothballs for Werbewoche readers. Please send any relevant information to [email protected]
