April Greiman Mia Weber New Wave
The Modern Poster (1988)
Does It Make Sense?


 April Greiman is one of the first people to adopt digital tools for design on the original Macintosh computer, and is recognized for her revolutionary digital imaging work. She was born on March 22, 1948 and studied design under a well known modernist in Switzerland but her style adapted over time. Eventually, the “New Wave” movement was introduced by Greiman from Switzerland to the United States. This style involves the rejection of symmetrical and modern structures in favour of overlapping text and asymmetrical layouts with Greiman also combining type elements with digital distortion and photography. In fact, she often used type as images in designs as a new way of expression. 
 When the Macintosh was first released she embraced the technology as a designer and experimented with her new tool while other designers rejected the digital tools. Forms of this experimentation includes testing out different ways to use pixelation, layering and 3D imagery, all of which now are now key elements of her design style. She has even been featured in Apple’s documentary “Mac 30” which recognized individuals who contributed to creative fields. Her mindset challenged the norms of print formatting as demonstrated through her digital art which was expressive in many ways despite not being what was expected of a designer of her time. 
 Throughout her life she has received many awards such as a gold medal for lifetime achievement from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, in addition to four honorary doctorates. Now, as a tenured professor at the University of Southern California Roski School of Art and Design April Greiman continues to contribute to graphic design.




 Through her use of type layering and other techniques April Greiman’s most significant contribution is her striking use of digital tools which revolutionized typographic design. Allowing for typography to transition from traditional printing methods to be digitalized on a computer. When digital design was new in the 1980s, people were uncertain with it and typically viewed the new technology as a technical tool. 
 But, Greiman embraced the new attributes of the technology such as the pixelization and displayed how the computers could be used for expressive typography in an artistic way. Through blending typography with images and space, April Greiman was able to create visuals that were pieces of art, made up of distortions, colours, and images. These combinations defied the current expectations of a traditional grid system and launched a more experimental style with fluid and asymmetrical attributes. By challenging the current expectations, she allowed for other designers to reevaluate the role of typography allowing it to grow into something that would be unimaginable in the past. By going against the expectations of a designer, Greiman has remodelled typography to evolve into being emotional, concept driven and dynamic in nature.
 Furthermore, the action of defying expectations allowed for April Greiman to create new tools through her style which allowed for a shift in mindset on design, creating space for current and future designers to create new approaches.






Contribution









  April Greiman broke away from strict modernist rules, making space for her experimental and bold approach which embraced new digital technology instead of rejecting it. Despite her design education in Switzerland, she still held space for rejecting grid layouts, modest colours, and avoiding over designing. In order to reject the grid system, she ignored rigid structures of Swiss typography design elements such as order and clean lines. Some other Swiss and modernist typography elements include left alignment, modest colours, Sans Serif typography  and minimalism. Replacing these elements for layering, overlapping, and using asymmetrical features resulting in a dynamic yet freeform layout. By utilizing her tools at her disposal she viewed typography as a visual element rather than just a way for convenient communication, resulting in her compositions heavily resembling digital work rather than traditional layouts. 
  In addition, while hiding pixelation on computers was normalized in the 1980s on computers, Greiman intentionally used them and transformed the flaws into features to enhance the viewers visual experience. Her work invited the viewer to interpret the design in their own way on a deep level, further going against the expectations of clarity, readability, and hierarchy. During her time this was considered very odd as digital design was considered greatly inferior to other design types. April Greiman viewed typography as something that could be more than functional, but also emotional and conceptual which was heightened by digital imperfections. With many elements contributing to her signature style, April Greiman was a pioneer in the world of digital typography where she challenged the norms of 1980s typography with elements that can still be found in media to this day.






 Despite her many contributions to typography and digital design she never created her own typeface but she did transform how type was used through her typographic style. She did not use typeface in a traditional way but rather involved it into her design to add to her compositions. 
 Analyzing her piece Does It Make Sense? Will displays how she treats type as more than a communication device but also an emotional and visual tool. When viewing the composition it is clearly evident that she layers a multitude of elements and images to create a fluid and expressive concept. On the top head of this design piece there are many layers such as the halftone image as a base, followed by a swirl that appears abstract with jagged edges. Further on top of those components are many other images that range from halftone images to lines resembling a ruler. Greiman's distinct style is not only unique but also challenges how typography is not only for readability but also is used to create visual meaning. Her past treatment of type has influenced digital and postmodern typography with her approach allowing for other designers to see type not as separate to images in design but that type is a part of the design itself.
 Furthermore, April Greiman has made a lasting impression with her compositions inspiring future and current designers with her use of type in design, which has become her typeface.
















  With many compositions created in her lifetime, each and every one of them have their own individual attributes and elements allowing for the pieces to be their own while also following April Greiman’s style. Displayed in The Museum of Modern Art in New York, Greiman's composition The Modern Poster created in 1988 is made up of geometric shapes and was created on the Macintosh with a dark grey background. As displayed on The Museum of Modern Art’s website the eye is immediately drawn to an overlapping graphic involving two half tone rectangles, one red on top of another rectangle in white. Underneath the red, is a swirl in white that is identical to the Fibonacci sequence, upon further inspection there are faint white lines which continue to display the sequence even when the initial white swirl fades away. Many people view the Fibonacci sequence as a metaphor for future and current growth, Greiman likely understood this meaning as other attributes of this composition can be viewed as related to the passage of time. Such as the small orange and white circular objects which can be easily interpreted as planets and stars as the background is a very dark grey, resembling the night sky. But, when giving these miniscule shapes a closer look they appear to be the first iteration of emojis such as a smiley face, peace sign and the Ankh which is an Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol representing the word for life. The Ankh further supports the idea of this composition representing growth throughout time. Additionally, the rest of the composition is made up of creative ways to distort and display the title of the composition along with other information such as where it is displayed and when it was made. The final visual in this composition is a pixelated graphic which is distorted to appear to be fading away in the background, with another similar graphic in the foreground with more pronounced details.
 In conclusion, The Modern Poster is one of April Greiman's most popular works and highlights her overall style.

Citations

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