Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design

developed.... The fine artist renders in his picture the atmosphere and
pictorial value of a pine or a palm. But the designer must understand its
proportions and emphasize its natural construction. On the other hand, he
must reduce the complicated details of the object which make the picture
distinct.” Binder also believed that color was an important aspect of styling,
and taught his students that the artist must “surpass the optical effects of
nature with a limited number of colors.”
Binder wed cubist form and Bauhaus theory, and wrote frequently
about these issues. On shapes: “The sphere and cube are selected as they
will simplify the possibilities in design. [As artists we] like to bring the
visible world into rules, as scientists have always done. A design will be
most attractive when it gives the essentials in a concentrated form.” On
color: “The same concerns the use of color. Planes of pure color are placed
side by side, characteristic of the object. The perspective must not upset the
balance. Light and shade must be kept simple.” On perspective: “If we draw
perspective as it appears in nature, then the effect is too weak. We must
strengthen this effect. This will be obtained by simplifying, for which two
possibilities can be applied; the orthogonal or the parallel perspective.”
On proportion: “The individual differences between similar forms are
determined by proportion. Height and width create opposites.” And on
surprise: “[Everyone will say that they] saw a blue cow. Such are the
enormous possibilities not yet explored. What is small render large, and
vice versa. Space adds legibility.”
Today Binder’s works may appear dated, but his method is an
appropriate learning tool. In 1964 the psychologist Rollo May, Binder’s
longtime friend, summed up his practice: “Most artists have an antagonistic
point of view toward Western society and its civilization. Binder’s work has
the feeling of relationship with modern sciences....Binder always had a
positive point of view toward modern science and technical development in
relation to his aims in artistic achievement... where all established
conceptions are stripped from word until the essence of the word is
clarified. I feel it is this essence in Binder’s art which is so apparent.”