Nevena Peeva
GRD 3910
Worksheet for “Modernism” by Malcolm Barnard, in Graphic Design as Communication, Routledge
1. Barnard contrasts modernism and modernity. Explain why having a TiVo and air-cushioned
athletic shoes are an example of modernity, rather than modernism?
- First of all modernism is understood as a set of beliefs and values. In the past different
groups like the Swiss or Bauhaus chose to express different values through their work. The
biggest difference between modernity and modernism is that modernity is the actual
experience of living in a modern world. Modernism on the other hand is a movement. TiVo
and air-cushioned athletic shoes are an example of modernity because they are the after
come of modernism and a modern lifestyle. In those objects are imported the sets beliefs of
modern design. TiVo and air-cushioned athletic shoes are a product of the fast developing
industrial world. They are particles of the modern lifestyle that surrounds us.
2. Barnard breaks down modernism into five main themes, which are:
a. “aesthetic self-reflexiveness”
b. “montage”
c. “paradox”
d. “integrated individual subject”
e. belief in progress
3. Why does Barnard compare capitalist and the feudal economies? What sort of graphic design
existed under feudalism?
- The times between feudalism and modernism were times of rapid change. The development
of European cities was in its full speed. The industrial revolution and French revolution had
great influence on that development. The design under the feudalism was more detailed and
ornamented while the new modern society brought the need of a more “dynamic” feel to
design.
4. Barnard says most graphic designers have only focused on two aspects of modernism, which are:
a. Rejection of ornament and the favoring of “clean”, “simple”, “non-decorated graphics” often in
the interest of “clarity” or the function that the design is to perform.
b. “form follows function”
5. On page 115 Bernard says that “few are concerned to explain design work in terms of the
disintegration of subjectivity.” Barnard means that critics usually only discuss modern design in
terms of the designer’s personnel, subjective decisions even though the modern world was so
