The culture of information

Being an editor

By Willem van Weelden

The practice of today’s politician in at least one point resembles that of the information designer: the daily routine of establishing a workable compromise. An information designer is primarily concerned with the task of interpreting and communicating complexities, by abstracting information from an immense pool of raw data and by representing them visually in a 2D space. This ‘tour de force’ cannot be done without some sort of compromise, simplification and choice, nor without leaving behind an editorial signature in the design. Information designers are often not keen to admit to this; their goal is, so most of them will say, to achieve as much transparency and neutrality in the rendering of the information as possible.

Rob Schröder

biography Hoorn (NL), 1950 Directly after finishing his study of graphic design at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Rob Schröder teamed up with former classmates Lies Ros and Frank Beekers to form the designers collective Wild Plakken. During the 1970s, their work became synonymous with politically activist  design. Re-interpreting the lessons and graphic styles of the early 20th century avant-gardes, Wild Plakken developed a personal and recognizable style based on strong imagery and collage. read more ( categories: visitor ) > seduce The culture of seduction By Max Bruinsma As early as 1956, the American psychologist Vance Packard concluded that advertising was not just communicating information about products, but relied heavily on psychological strategies to seduce the reader into believing the message and thus buying the product. ‘Hidden persuaders’ Packard called these embedded seductive scripts, and his eponymous book became the first in a tradition which criticizes these scripts; Naomi Klein’s famous No Logo book is a recent variety. read more ( categories: visitor ) > themes Designers are cultural catalysts By Max Bruinsma Ji Lee The visual language of graphic design has become part of our culture — it is engraved into our lives. Whenever we open a book or magazine, whenever we look at a television or computer screen, whenever our eyes slide along a zillion advertisements in our streets, we see and read not just words and images, but the language of design. read more ( categories: visitor ) > Images exhibition Lisbon 15-09/27-11-2005 Centro Cultural de Belem in Lisbon announcing the exhibition The logo for the exhibition on poster Entrance to the exhibition Entrance to the exhibition Introduction area Design: Ed Annink Ontwerpwerk, Multidisciplinary Design read more ( categories: visitor ) call for entries The exhibition 'Catalysts!, the cultural force of communication design', curated by Max Bruinsma, is part of the 2005 International ExperimentaDesign Biennale in Lisbon. For the section on 'the culture of engagement' in the exhibition - designed by Erik Adigard - we are asking designers and visual communicators if you would be willing to send us a small visual statement (or more) that expresses your opinion about the current state of affairs in the world. read more ( categories: visitor ) 1 2 next page last page Website by: Ontwerpwerk