Dispatch #2

We talked a lot in class this week! Ahead of our session, we watched “Graphic Means,” a doc about the technological history of design production in the US. I prepared a few discussion qs for the class, like how tools influenced designs, and how the tools changed who was able to create publications.

One thing we talked about was Letraset, which democratized font access by offering inexpensive rub-on letters. When you think of bulbous, funky letters from the 1970s on printed materials, you’re often looking at Letraset. In Graphic Means, this shift is framed as a change in access. Now ordinary ppl could make things that looked less professional but were energetic & specific to their communities needs.

This led us to talking about if technical polish or production mattered if the work felt resonant?

In the AM when I was preparing, I came across Elizabeth Goodspeed’s latest It's Nice That article and shared it with the class. In the piece, she describes how designers are showing process or adding things like handwriting or grain to feel tactile, as a way to signal distance from AI, even if these gestures are digital abstractions.

Many details about this class felt like they were doing some of what the article described! For example, the “logo” of this publication is fake analogue — I traced over a script typeface with one of Kyle T. Webster’s Ultimate Brushes in Photoshop. I chose it because it felt cordial, like a dramatic letter, which felt silly since I’d be posting these on LinkedIn and Ig. In class, we talked about intent vs craft vs the tool. Canva came up with an audible groan, but perhaps what’s missing with Canva designs is more the direction.

From there, we looked at Fluxus and mail art as references for contemporary publishing. These movements centered around the idea that everyday moments could become artistic expression with a few parameters. They prioritized chance, participation, and experience rather than a finite object.

I shared a little about the choreographer Yvonne Rainer, adjacent to Fluxus, and her 1965 “No Manifesto.” In it, she describes avoiding style, spectacle, camp, seduction. In turn, her dances are one pace, silent, and she never addresses the audience.

On the other hand, I shared a little about Anna Banana, whom I profiled as a grad student and then published a book about. Anna Banana was a prolific artist in the 70s who had a very designed existence. She declared herself the “Town Fool,” wore a custom rainbow outfit and banana crown, collected thousands of banana objects through her mail art networks, and published the semi-annual Banana Rag (with Letraset letters!). I also shared the 1975 Banana Olympics in SF, a satirical public art event she organized.

Compared to Yvonne Rainer's manifesto, Anna Banana’s practice was the opposite. Even her name was one she legally changed. I shared both because they highlight honesty in different ways.