David Carson Term Project

David Carson is known as the master of typography. He is the expert of text design and placement. Typography is an art we witness everyday, whether it is a complex and abstract layout of words where it almost appears as illegible, or if we are reading a menu at a restaurant. The way text is laid out on a surface can really intrigue viewers and present imagery. Words can come right off the page and be put into any shape or form. Carson has had an extensive career and resume of projects and has built himself a reputation in the world of typographic design.

Carson was born in 1952 in Texas. It was not much longer until the family moved to New York; two extremely different lifestyles, which highly contributed to Carson’s outlook and influence. He grew up in a traveling family, experiencing a variety of cultures, climates, lifestyles, and design. Carson experienced many different types of pop-culture that were emerging around America. Photos were constantly taken everywhere to remember his sights. Seeing different pop-cultures is such a rich source of inspiration for design. Ever architecture and art varies in so many ways from country to country or even state to state. This remains true for tastes in music, clothing, and hobbies.

Creative talent had always been with young David, and his skills continued to develop with his experiences. In his college years, Carson really began to take interest in creative design when he took his first art course at the University of Arizona. From there on he studied more trends and developed his skills in preparation for the career world.

Carson’s client list and resume of creations is vast. The peak of his design work was influenced by the 1990’s grunge and skate/surf era. He was the art director of a short-lived magazine called Ray Gun Magazine. This project began in 1992 and lasted about 70 issues. It was the Alternative Rock and Surfer magazine of the early 90’s and mostly covered the dynamic and changing pop-culture of the Santa Monica, California area. At the time Punk and Grunge was hitting an all time high in popularity. Skateboarding and surfing were extremely “in.” The magazine featured experimental typographic design. This form of design was just being developed. Each page was a colorful collage of words and editorials covering abstract choices of subject matter. Carson’s designs were described as ahead of its time. The magazine covers featured different themes and typographical layouts each issue.

The typographical design Carson uses is so different and far out from other designs we witness in your typical magazine. These designs have a purpose to display information in shapes, layers, patterns, or anyway imaginable, sometimes to the point where only the creator can understand it. Carson uses type like a painter uses paint. You can create emotion and express the meaning of an article or picture through the placement of words alone. Abstract fonts and text are arranged in a certain way making a design within itself.

In Carson’s or other typographer’s design work, graphics are not used as much. Usually any pictures or silhouettes are background and the text is the main focus. Graphics are used to support the text, where as this may be the opposite if other forms of design. The point of typography, however, is to form the images with the words. Size, shape, and texture are key elements. Carson even arranges words upside-down or backwards. Colors vary from letter to letter even within the same words. He usually uses a variety of fonts on a given page. Depending on the mood, Carson is very successful with giving his fonts a “difficult to read,” messy and decomposed look. Flat and smooth text does not always present a certain feeling, especially for the grunge and surfer scene. Making letters look like they are breaking apart or have been roughed up is trendy.

Many of these elements are the complete opposite of principles used for creating more conservative works such as newsletters or brochures. Typographic design can be hit or miss with some people depending on their love for creativity. However, in the conservative designs, the focus is more on the information and the clear presentation of material.

After a style and a direction have been established, David Carson had begun dealing with a series of very large names in the business world. Carson had done designing and directing work for companies such as MTV, Atlantic Records, Citibank, Microsoft, AT&T, CNN, Quicksilver, and Pepsi to name a few. Carson was a director for commercials on the MTV channel and organized their presentation, giving them an abstract look from the rest of the music TV world. He had also designed the promotional can for Pepsi Cola, promoting Mundo Marino. In 1998, Microsoft had hired him to direct and design their entire advertising campaign for the year. This was a big year considering the Windows ‘98 operating system was released.

David Carson, as well as many other designers, all emphasis that a designer must know his or her audience. It is an obvious fact, but an extremely important one. Gathering ideas from pop-culture and trends can feed your thoughts for designing that can appeal to many. Carson also says to “Put yourself into the work.” Creating a reflection of yourself can give a design that much more emotion or texture. To keep these emotions new and unique from the last, one must keep an active life; gather inspiration by traveling. David Carson has inspired many through his work. Some may think that the creativity is simply a gift. However, becoming a unique designer can only come with passion.