4) IMAGE RECEPTION INTERFERENCES

Design.tv / IMAGE RECEPTION INTERFERENCES – Transfers of Photography in Design 1960–1990 (Croatia)

I visited this exhibition two years ago, but I recently came across a YouTube video that offers a full explanation of it. What’s interesting is that one of the featured designers, Duško Bekar, makes an appearance in the video.

The exhibition’s curator, Marko Golub, mentions:

„The relationship between graphic design and photography is a very broad topic. Photography is used extensively in graphic design.“

But this exhibition doesn’t just explore the relationship between graphic design and photography—it also delves into the media processes that happen between the two.

Here are some of the most interesting works featured in the exhibition:


1. Boris Bućan

Bućan’s works often focus on self-referentiality, where the design reflects on itself. For example, one poster visually suggests the concept of photography through its own design (like the edges of the poster mimicking a photograph).

Bućan’s collaboration with Mihajlo Arsovski also stood out. They were among the most creative and provocative figures in graphic design at the time. One of Bućan’s posters for an Arsovski exhibition uses a photo of a billboard for posters—but ironically, none of the posters on the billboard are by Arsovski.


2. Željko Borčić

Borčić plays with the concept of “an image within an image,” creating a self-referential design.


3. Duško Bekar

Bekar’s work features abstract circular forms, created by shining a flashlight onto light-sensitive photo paper. Here, photography—normally used to capture reality—is turned into a tool to create something abstract.


4. Boris Ljubičić

The main poster for the 8th Mediterranean Games in Split (1979) showcases a bold MIS ’79 logo on a gradient blue background. Interestingly, this gradient wasn’t created digitally (computers weren’t widely used in design back then). Instead, Ljubičić used a photographic trick—deliberately blurring two Pantone blue color swatches to create the gradient effect.


5. Sanja Iveković & Dalibor Martinis

This duo experiments with the visual distortions typical of television screens, playing with the imperfections and glitches of electronic media.


Across the exhibition, you’ll notice how designers use photography in diverse ways—sometimes multiplying a single image in a “pop art” style, other times layering a series of photos to create cinematic effects. Photography itself is also explored in a variety of genres, from documentary and portrait photography to artistic experiments using techniques like high-key lighting, double exposures, wide-angle lens distortions, solarization, and more.

Two key magazines from the period, Danas and Polet, were also crucial in showcasing these creative intersections of design and photography.

This exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into how photography and graphic design interacted during this period, featuring works by designers like Ivan PiceljMihajlo ArsovskiBoris BućanBoris LjubičićMirko IlićGorki ŽuvelaDalibor MartinisGoran TrbuljakSanja IvekovićSanja Bachrach Krištofić, and Greiner & Kropilak. It also highlights contributions from photographers like Luka MjedaAnte VerzottiSlobodan Tadić TecŽeljko Stojanović – ŽikaBoris CvjetanovićMario Krištofić, and many others.

3) In reality and in the fiction

Photography Exhibition ‘In reality and in the fiction’ of the artist Sanja Merćep.

In the photographic series In Reality and Fiction, Sanja explored the (de)construction of the representation of mountain landscapes by creating a personal perspective on mountain landscapes and documenting various forms of societal imagination of mountains. Focusing on private objects that serve as mediators of her personal mountaineering experience, Sanja depicted the symbolic and imaginary dimensions of mountain landscapes that are less visible in the public sphere. In the second, documentary part of the project, she focused on recording various ways of representing mountain landscapes in different (non)mountaineering contexts, emphasizing their constructed nature.

What I enjoyed most about this exhibition is how Sanja portrayed representations of mountain landscapes. For example, there’s a chipped piece of rock (visible right in the center of the upper image). What I mean by how she depicted it is that she chose to photograph this piece in what is clearly an art studio or a space designed for photoshoots. These photographs of representations almost resemble product photography.

2) Adventures in Latent Space – Exploring LLMs and Real-Time Image Generation

Session 2: Real-Time Image Generation and Interactive Practice

Time: Thursday, 12th December 2024, 6-9pm

Duration: 3 hours

What we did at second session:

  • Overview of Real-Time Image Generation Tools such as DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and RunwayML
  • Generating images based on text prompts
  • Examples and exercises for creating thematic connections between visual and textual outputs

Outcome of the workshop:

I got a practical understanding of how to navigate and use latent spaces in LLMs and real-time image generation for creative projects. I gained insights into combining AI-driven text and visuals for innovative storytelling and artistic practices, using accessible, open-source models.

My opinion:

I didn’t realize that Real-Time Image Generation even exists, because at first I thought that we will be learning more about general Image Generation with AI tools.

At one point, I was fascinated with some tools and how quickly they process visual data instantly as it is received.

The workshop was interesting but it wasn’t that useful, at least not for my thesis.

1) Adventures in Latent Space – Exploring LLMs and Real-Time Image Generation

I took part in an international online workshop on AI titled ‘Adventures in Latent Space – Exploring LLMs and Real-Time Image Generation’ led by Marlon Barrios Solano.

I was particularly interested in learning more about Image Generation.

Workshop Overview:

Adventures in Latent Space is an interactive, no-code workshop designed to introduce participants to the creative potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) and real-time image generation using open-source models. This workshop aims to provide a hands-on exploration of AI’s latent space through engaging activities and conceptual discussions, perfect for artists, creative technologists, and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and the arts.

The workshop was free of charge.

Duration: 6 hours total, divided into two online sessions (3 hours each)

Session 1: Navigating Latent Spaces with LLMsTime:

Tuesday, 10th December 2024, 6-9pm

Duration:

3 hours

Core Concepts that we learned:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI): The simulation of human intelligence in machines.
  • Machine Learning (ML): Algorithms that learn from data to make predictions or decisions.
  • Deep Learning: Advanced ML using multi-layered neural networks.
  • Neural Networks, Perceptron, and Latent Space: Key elements of AI architecture and abstract data representation.
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP): AI’s ability to understand and generate human language.
  • Large Language Models (LLMs): AI trained on massive datasets to generate human-like text (e.g., GPT).
  • Generative Adversarial Network (GAN): AI models that create new data by pitting two networks against each other.
  • Transformer & Attention Mechanism: The architecture enabling GPT and similar models to excel in tasks like translation and text generation.

I didn’t expect to learn or to hear about so many AI concepts. What was most useful for me was that I learned how to make my own GPT, which could be useful for my thesis and for finding articles, books and information.

IMPULS #8 Feedback

Nach einigen Feedback-Runden mit Kommiliton*innen, Frau Lagger und Herrn Phillip Raunigg, habe ich mein Expose nun überarbeitet und konkretisiert. Mein vorläufiger Titel lautet nun: Handgemachtes Design & Politik. Warum analoge Gestaltung ein unverzichtbares Werkzeug des Aktivismus bleibt.

Der Grund weshalb ich mich mit diesem Thema befasse ist, das handgemachtes Design aktuell oft eingesetzt wird, um Authentizität und ethische Werte zu vermitteln – teils auch ungerechtfertigt. Im politischen Aktivismus spielt es allerdings gerade deswegen eine wichtige Rolle, da beides mit Ehrlichkeit und Individualität assoziiert wird. Historisch war es durch Bewegungen wie Zines und Craftivism immer eng mit Protestkultur verbunden. Neben seiner Wirkung beeinflusst auch der kreative, kollaborative Prozess die politische Kommunikation. In meiner Thesis möchte ich untersuchen, ob die Art der Gestaltung (analog/digital) aktivistischer Medien einen merklichen Unterschied auf rezipierende Personen hat und wie hoch der empfundene Unterschied je nach Gestaltungsmethode ist. Welchen Einfluss hat speziell der analoge Prozess für das Ergebnis? Ich möchte außerdem herausarbeiten, welche Gestaltungsmittel Aktivist*innen für besonders wirksame Kampagnen nutzen können. Denn gerade in politischen Aktivismus halte ich die Wirkung und Reichweite für sehr wichtig, und leider fehlt gerade hier das Geld und die Zeit für die Gestaltung.

Um meine Fragestellungen zu beantworten, werde ich historische Hintergründe herausarbeiten, aktivistische Kampagnen analysieren und untersuchen, welche Assoziationen mit handgefertigten Designs verbunden sind. Ein zentraler Bestandteil meiner Forschung ist eine Studie, in der ich verschiedene Protestposter gestalte – analog und digital – und ihre Wirkung teste.

Mein Ziel ist es, herauszuarbeiten, warum analoge Gestaltung so eng mit Aktivismus verbunden bleibt und ob sie tatsächlich als authentischer und überzeugender wahrgenommen wird. Am Ende soll ein praxisnaher Leitfaden entstehen, der Gestalter*innen hilft, ihre Botschaften effektiver zu kommunizieren.

Insgesamt hat mir das Feedback viel gebracht, und vor allem auch der verbale Austausch im Dialog. Auch einen Zeitplan habe ich bereits erstellt, und freue mich mit der Bearbeitung zu starten.

IMPULS #7 Designing Activism

Während meiner Recherche bin ich auf das Video „Designing Activism“ des Wolfsonian-FIU, einem Museum, Bücherei und Research Center in Miami, gestoßen. Es handelt sich um ein Gespräch zwischen den Designern Steve Saiz und Lillian Saiz Banderas und der Kuratorin Kuratorin Shoshana Resnikoff. Die Designer arbeiteten zur Zeit der Aufnahme an einer innovativen Datenbank von Designvorlagen, die speziell für aktivistische Zwecke entwickelt wurden. Diese Designs stehen kostenlos zur Verfügung und können angepasst und wiederverwendet werden. Das Projekt entstand während der Proteste in Miami, die durch die Morde an George Floyd und Breonna Taylor ausgelöst wurden. Ihr Ziel ist es, ikonische und sofort verständliche visuelle Elemente zu schaffen, die in Protesten effektiv kommunizieren.

Hier erläutern die beiden ihren kreativen Prozess, der stark von der visuellen Kultur vergangener Jahrzehnte inspiriert ist. Sie greifen auf Designelemente zurück, die an politische Filme und Poster aus der Vergangenheit erinnern, und passen diese an die heutige Zeit an. Ein zentraler Aspekt aktivistischer Arbeiten, der während dem Gespräch hervorgehoben wird, ist die starke Nutzung von Farbe und Collagen als Stilmittel. Texturen und laute Schriftarten spielen ebenfalls eine wichtige Rolle. Die Designer betonen zudem die Bedeutung von Typografie und visueller Hierarchie – die zentralen Botschaften eines Posters müssen sofort ins Auge fallen und klar erkennbar sein. Provokante und kraftvolle Bilder sind ein weiteres Merkmal ihrer Arbeit. Motive wie zerrissene Ketten, sich befreiende Menschen, Menschengruppen sowie die ikonische in die Luft gestreckte Faust sind wiederkehrende Symbole. Diese visuellen Elemente wurden früher teils sogar eins zu eins zu verschiedenen Zwecken wiederverwendet, um sowohl die Produktionskosten gering zu halten als auch eine breitere Verbreitung zu ermöglichen. Die Arbeit der beiden Designer zeigt, wie politisches Design durch Anleihen aus der Vergangenheit und den gezielten Einsatz visueller Mittel eine starke und nachhaltige Wirkung entfalten kann.

Im Bezug auf meine Masterarbeit halte ich das Projekt von Steve Saiz und Lillian Saiz Banderas für sehr interessant. Die beiden verfolgen einen ähnlichen Ansatz wie ich, und möchten aktivistische Botschaften möglichst effektiv gestalten. Sie möchten Mitgliedern der Protestbewegung einen einfachen Zugang zu aussagekräftigen Designs geben. Ich finde es außerdem sehr interessant, dass sie sich so stark an Designs aus dem analogen Zeitalter orientieren und diese Ästhetik gezielt einsetzen. Es weist darauf hin, das auch sie der Meinung sind, das die analoge Ästhetik die Wirkung aktivistischer Botschaften verstärken kann.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jCBhmWMotU&ab_channel=TheWolfsonian%E2%80%93FIU

https://wolfsonian.org

https://www.dalezine.com

IMPULS #6 Greg Bunbury

Im Zuge meiner Recherche bin ich auf das Video „How to build an authentically activist career in graphic design“ gestoßen. Es handelt sich um einen Talk von Greg Bunbury, auf einer Veranstaltung der Kreativ-Plattform „It’s nice that.“. Der in London ansässige Grafikdesigner Greg Bunbury erzählt über seine Karriere im Gestalten von Protestplakaten. Er betont, wie wichtig es ist, soziale Ungerechtigkeiten sichtbar zu machen, und teilt seine Erfahrungen bei der Gestaltung von Plakaten während der Black Lives Matter-Bewegung. Er arbeitet hauptsächlich mit Typografie und hat auch selbst Schriften gestaltet und herausgebracht, die von aktivistischer Arbeit inspiriert sind. Er gestaltete auch eine Schrift die sich an Protestschildern aus den 70er orientiert, und somit an handgemachtes Design erinnert. Die digitale Reproduktion eines handgemachten Looks kann als Brücke zwischen traditioneller und moderner Protestkunst dienen. Durch die digitale Verbreitung solcher Designs können sie eine größere Reichweite erzielen, während sie gleichzeitig die Wärme und Authentizität bewahren, die mit handgefertigten Werken assoziiert werden. Dies unterstreicht die anhaltende Bedeutung des handgemachten Stils, selbst in einer zunehmend digitalen Welt. Außerdem arbeitete er gemeinsam mit anderen Designern an großen aktivistischen Plakat Kampagnen. Er erwähnte die Arbeiten von Jahnavi Inniss, Nadina Ali und Harkiran Kalsi, die alle einen unterschiedlichen Stil für ihre Plakate verwendeten.

Ich finde es sehr spannend, wie Grafik Design aktuell im Aktivismus eingesetzt wird, und halte es auch für sehr relevant für mein Masterarbeitsthema. Ich werde im Zuge meiner Studie sowohl analoge als auch digitale aktivistische Poster gestalten und werde die genannten Namen und deren aktivistische Design dafür weiter recherchieren.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW9OTfO8G0k&ab_channel=It%27sNiceThat

IMPULSE #7

A Look on Risography and Sustainability

Sustainability is a persisting concern of today, and some consider risography to be relatively eco-friendly printing method. Why is that?

Low Energy Consumption

Risography has low energy consumption. Unlike traditional digital or offset printing, which often require high heat or extensive processing, riso printers use a stencil-based method that consumes minimal electricity. This makes it a more energy-efficient alternative for producing prints, zines, and posters.

Soy-Based Inks

Riso printers use soy-based inks, which are much more environmentally friendly compared to petroleum-based inks used in other printing techniques. Soy ink is biodegradable and produces fewer harmful emissions, reducing its environmental impact. It also doesn’t require toner or fusing agents, which further minimizes chemical waste.

Minimal Waste

It is designed for duplicating large batches with minimal material waste. The master stencils used in risograph printing are made of rice paper, which is more biodegradable than plastic-based alternatives. Riso also doen’t use plates or screens, cutting down on excess materials. I have also heard that masters are made of banana peel – this seems to be untrue and the master is in fact rice-based.

Recyclable and Uncoated Paper

Risograph printing works best with uncoated, recycled, or FSC-certified paper. Unlike digital printing, which often relies on glossy or coated paper that is difficult to recycle, risography thrives on rough, natural-textured paper, making it an ideal choice for eco-conscious designers. Many risograph studios prioritize the use of responsibly sourced paper, which further reduces the environmental footprint.

Encourages Small Batch Printing

By it’s nature, it encourages small-batch, on-demand printing. It allows for efficient production runs, ensuring that materials are used responsibly. This is particularly valuable for independent artists, zine makers, and small publishers who want to minimize waste while maintaining high-quality prints. In commercial printeries, small clients, the ones that don’t want a thousands copies printed, are frowned upon. Of course, they don’t generate any real income for the business. But this leads to problems that I have encountered many times as a student needing a preview print of small university project. Problems like being ignored or being received rudely. When I was a baby designer and had no clue about anything, I had a shop tell me on the phone I should come at 7 in the morning, and I did, and then they let me wait until 9, because that’s when the graphic comes to work, and then he arrived and he let me wait another half an hour while he had his coffee, and then he priority took in some other client who just arrived. A short story for you on the side, to appreciate wie cool it is, that being a small client is no issue for riso printers.

A More Sustainable Alternative to Screen Printing

Screen printing is another popular method for independent printmakers, BUT it requires rather extensive setup, chemical emulsions, and water usage. Risography, on the other hand, eliminates the need for these resources while still producing bold, layered prints with rich textures and vibrant colors. It is basically automated screenprinting.

IMPULSE #6

The Books

So, what books are there on risography? Generally, the know-how of this printing method is widely scattered across the internet, but I was interested to see what has been printed. Because books tend to put all the nice info together in one place.

I discovered 4 that I could get.

  • Risomania – The New Spirit of Printing

    I got my hands of the 3rd edition from 2021. Risomania starts of with discussing a past, present and future of stencil duplicating processes. Risograph is a stencil duplicator machine. It talks about its origins, its cousin the mimeograph, and how it all came to be. Then it talks about how it entered the arts and design context. And its most extensive part focuses on the state of the art today, and gives a comprehensive overview of applications of riso printing by todays artists and designers. Most of the risography books focus on that – they serve as a collection to look through.

  • Risography – Loving Imperfections

    This book from 2017 is bilingual (English/Spanish) and it is a comprehensive collection of some of the best known riso artists and studios of today. It helped to identify some of the riso art I have stumbled upon, but didn’t have the information about it. From the artist represented there, I particularly liked Jacqueline Colley’s work. She is a pattern designer and illustator with background in fashion, and her work translated through risograph is rather charming.

  • Riso Art – A Creative’s Guide to Mastering Risography

    Published in 2023, this book is about the only practical guideline for riso printing out there. It shortly covers the history of risograph and then proceeds to explain it’s workings and provides few useful tips and tricks. The rest of the book is dedicated to a gallery of works by various riso studios around the world, but this time with a twist – each is accompanied by a short interview with the people involved, which provides a nice insight into the world of risography.

  • No Magic in Riso

    I so far don’t own this book, as it is on the more expensive side, at about 55 euro for a copy. I have, however, seen it in person. It’s small. It is so small. I mean, I should not have been so surprised, because this one is actually printed on risograph, and that is rather format limited. But it looks so majestic in all the product photos I’ve seen! it was first published in 2019.

It also greatly differs from the rest content-wise. Here, look for yourselves: https://odotoo.com/NO-MAGIC-IN-RISO

This book is a color separation study. It provides a comprehensive overview of methods to approach the color separation process in risography, and comes with a hefty bundle of color charts, that demonstrate quite impressively what can be achieved with riso inks.

A picture for your convenience:

IMPULSE #5

Riso Printing Photos 02

I had another opportunity to do some risoprinting, when I joined Lucia for her workshop she holds with her students every year. Because this wasn’t one of my private printing sessions, I didn’t have time to tweak and adjust on spot depending on results, so I went with whatever I prepared and observed the problems that arose.

I selected 3 of my old photos, of which I thought they might look cool risoprinted with the blue and pink riso inks at FH, and one illustration in 2 colors, of which I don’t have layers separated, so I applied color separation method to it too.

The photos are rather monochromatic, so I expected trouble when color separation. I also struggled to find a good profile to apply here. Just as previously when I needed black+fluo orange profile, and there was none, there was none for medium blue+fluo pink. I substituted it with teal+fluo pink one.

It still required much color tweaking and in the end I think the prints would be best just monochromatic, but this was color separation experiment, and things have been learned from it. Specifically, things about our FH risograph. I had my suspicions before from previous project printed there I wrote about in another blog post, and this session confirmed my suspicions.

The little risograph we have hardly differentiates between 100% to about 80% opacity. The photos, while clearly with a variety of grayscale levels, came too dark.

Lucia, however, does something I didn’t really try much before, and perhaps it would be interesting to see, it it works the same. Why I mostly print straight from computer, she utilizes the risograph scanner. Next time I will test this.

Back to the prints and colors. One photograph turned out great. One okay-ish. One terrible. The illustation is boring. The one good photograph I have also tried in black and fluo pink, because it seemed to me it might be a nice fit for it.

The preparation of layers was even less clean process than my previous photo printing, because of previously mentioned monochromatic nature of the pictures.