In 1984 the contents page logo in issue # 50 was a banner-like
emblem with mixed-font typographic forms. The letterforms were
sideways, but were drawn in such a way that when looking at them
straightforwardly the Ts became pluses, the Ebecame an Mand Cdoubled
as a lower case N,introducing multiple interpretation. From issue # 51
through # 55 Brody incrementally deconstructed the graphic elements within
the logoform as well as the exterior shape itself, until only abstract glyphs
in a strong rectangular shape were left. In deconstructing the contents page
logo over several issues he tested the limits of readability and the strength
of continuity.
The Face was unorthodox, but not anarchic. “Everything in The
Face was reasoned; every single mark on the page was either an emotive
response or a logical extension of the ideas,” said Brody. It was the
interweaving of two narratives, one visual and one textual on a gridded
plane. Brody’s headlines became objects, like in the February 1985 issue a
custom-designed M for the opening spread of an article on Madonna
becomes in the March issue the Wto lead into an article on Andy Warhol.
It was not a joke, or a response to a budget cutback, but a visual analog of
the way Warhol appropriated imagery. The grid was a simple system to
complement the complexity and innovation Brody brought to it, yet
definitive enough to convey unity.
Brody envisioned a magazine that would inspire other designers
to ask more questions, not provide a crib sheet for quick graphic solutions.
“Essentially, I think I failed. My ideas were weakened into style. The very
thing I used in order to get the ideas across—a strong personal style—was
the thing that defeated reception of the ideas,” Brody lamented in 1990 ,
years after leaving the magazine.The Face ultimately did become a style
guide. In 1986 he moved on to Arena,also edited by Logan, who,
disregarding market failures of larger publishing houses, like Cosmo Man
for Condé Nast, decided it was time for a magazine that targeted a male
audience.Arena was a more sophisticated version of The Face,a consumer-
oriented quarterly publication featuring upscale people-watching fashion,
sports, and travel in addition to the mainstay lifestyle articles that had
worked for The Face.
Frustrated with the appropriation of his work, Brody decided to
stop designing “the new thing.” After the first two issues of Arena,which
resembled The Face,he returned to classic modernist methods. He used
Helvetica and chose typefaces like Garamond Light Condensed and Kabel
Bold for headlines and cover lines. Photographic quality was paramount.
This was a postmodern homage to the Swiss school, yet it was not Swiss,
but rather “Swiss Tech,” the marriage of Swiss-influenced typography and
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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