Ray Gun Magazine

David Carson

W E D N E S D A Y

Ray Gun Magazine

"Ray gun" was an alternative rock and roll magazine founded by David Carson. Using an abstract style and contemporary experimental typographic design, Carson introduced a whole new look and technique to the aesthetics of this magazine.

From researching Ray Gun i have come to really like the style in which these designs are created. The conceptual positioning of the images and wording is striking and original and i am drawn to how messy, yet perfectly placed everything is. I think with the magazine cover being different every week, this gave Ray Gun an edge which other magazines definitely did not have at the time. With that in mind, Ray Gun also covered up and coming artists, those not yet established, such as the rolling stones, which also contributed to its popularity and quirkiness. As David Carson left the magazine, I think the various other art directors did a good job in carrying on his idealistic designs while developing the magazine further. Its clear to see that the art directors had passion for creating such amazing imagery that it is ultimately still popular today. References http://www.musicman.com/00rec/rg16.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Gun_(magazine) Ray Gun, Out of control - Marvin Scott Jarrett and Dean Kuipers David Carson Paper

David Carson is often considered to be the most influential Graphic Designer of the 90’s. Utilizing unorthodox type settings and layouts, he crafted a distinct style that was often imitated and defined the grunge movement of the 90’s. His work with experimental type faces, photography, and lay outs, has not only influenced graphic designers of his era, but shifted the way graphic design is done today.

David Carson was born on September 8th, 1955 in Corpus Christi Texas. In 1980 he attended San Diego State University and graduated with honors and distinction. Being a former professional surfer he was ranked 9th during his days at college, his surfing background would influence his work with surfing lifestyle magazine. In 1990 David Carson began working with the surfing magazine known as Beach Culture. David Carson work with the magazine “shocked the design community” his use of unorthodox typefaces and odd layouts drew attention from critics who deemed his work innovative despite the criticism of him. In one issue, David Carson made the page numbers font larger then the headline, and moved them out of order. Eventually funding for Beach Culture dried up, resulting in the end of the magazine. After working with several other magazine, David Carson launched the magazine “Ray Gun” and music and lifestyle magazine. His work through this publication made Carson name well known as well as gaining attention for his unique work in graphic design. In 1995 David Carson founded his own studio in New York, called David Carson Design. From 1995 to 1998 He began to do design work for major corporate clients including Pepsi Cola, Nike, Microsoft, Budweiser, and many other major corporate clients. In 2000 he opened another private design studio in South Carolina. In 2004 Carson became the creative director for the Gibbes Museum of Art. He has written several books, including the famous “End of print” which is the best selling graphic design book of all time, selling over 200,000 copies. He most recent book, “Trek” chronicles his art and his life.

David Carson’s work can be described as highly unique and unorthodox by typical design standards. His work features, spread-out, inverted, and mixed font type. Often accompanying overlapping pictures. He has been known to mix capital and lowercase letters within words, blur letters, and place certain letters inside of boxes within the word. While working for Beach Culture, “Carson used Dingbat as the font for what he considered a dull interview with Bryan Ferry.” Carson explains: “Overall people are reading less, I’m just visually enticing them to read.”

David Carson approach to graphic design has drastically changed and influenced future graphic designers and the subsequent style of graphics design during

the 90’s

David Carson is a graphic designer from San Diego, California. Surfer Magazine, in their July ‘09 issue calls Carson “the most influential graphic designer of our times”. Carson’s first book, The End of Print, is the top selling graphic design book of all time, selling over 300,000 copies worldwide, and printed in 6 different languages. David splits his time between the Caribbean, Zurich and Del Mar California, where he keeps a small, mobile studio. He recently re-branded the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg, designed a line of products for Quiksilver, a brochure for Bark paddleboards, and assorted other projects he will no doubt show us. Ed Fella, CalArt instructor said of Carson, “he not only broke the rules, but he also made up his own that his own work followed”. Newsweek magazine said Carson “changed the public face of graphic design”. Ellen Lupton, noted American designer and educator, stated Carson “is often copied, but never matched.”

David Carson: Graphic Designer David Carson was one of the most influential graphic designers in the 1990s. Carson was born in 1952 and was raised in NYC. Traveling a lot as a child helped to spur his imagination and creativity. After going to art school, he worked as a high school teacher in San Diego, California from 82-87. The bohemian culture of Southern California became the inspiration for is newly discovered graphic design skills. By the late 80's his "dirty" signature style was fully developed. He soon became the art director for Transworld Skateboarding Magazine. Along with being a professional surfer he worked for Surfer Magazine in he early 90's. His most famous magazine was RayGun, focusing on international music and lifestyle. He was the original design consultant for Blue magazine in 1997. Carson went on to work for many big companies including: Pepsi, Nike, Microsoft, Budweiser, and MTV. His original grunge style didn't follow the "traditional" graphic design standards. David Carson's messy style of twisting typography and photographs into designs make his designs original, appealing to the eye, and stand out among the crowd.

David Carson Paper.

David Carson was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on September 8th 1955. At a very young age, his family moved to New York City, an environment that has clearly influenced his design aesthetic. He received his BFA in sociology from San Diego state university, and was a professional surfer in college, ranked in the top ten in the U.S. In the 1980’s, he taught in a California high school, and here he discovered his passion for graphic design, diving into the unconventional bohemian artistic culture of Southern California. He began his design career by branching off from his surfing career, working at a magazine called Beach Culture. Here, he developed his signature style of innovation, unusual design elements, and “dirty” type. This became the blueprint for the popular “grunge” style of design so prevalent in the 1990’s.

David Carson’s client list has included some of the most well- known companies and groups of the modern time. These include

Pepsi Cola, Ray Ban Nike, Microsoft, Budweiser, Giorgio

Armani, NBC, American Airlines, Levi Strauss Jeans, AT&T,

British Airways, Kodak, Lycra, Packard Bell, Sony, Suzuki,

Toyota, Warner Bros., CNN, Cuervo Gold, Johnson AIDS Foundation, MTV Global, Princo, Lotus Software, Fox TV, Nissan, Quiksilver, Intel, Mercedes-Benz,

MGM Studios and Nine Inch Nails.

Advertisements such as this for Kodak, and the above for Ray

Ban sunglasses shed light on David Carson’s work. His

interesting use of type is something he is very well known for. He

was unafraid to mix sizes, fonts, weights, styles, and orientations

of letters, making a statement of modernity, youth, and a laid-

back atmosphere. His work for magazines, especially Ray Gun,

also turned the traditional magazine design industry upside-down. The above photograph of a spread in Ray Gun magazine, as designed by David Carson, shows the unprecedented unconventionality of his magazine design style. The bizarre placement of type goes against any and all preset rules of design, breaking them all and not bothering to create new ones. He places pictures in places most would not think for them to go. Yet somehow, this jumble of creative regurgitation still works and creates a fresh, hip vibe.

This Ray Gun cover demonstrates

the same disregard for traditional graphic design rules and

determination to be set apart. His use of all lower-case letters

lends an air of informality and invites the reader in as an equal.

The unexpected orientation of the cover photo catches the eye of a potential reader passing a newsstand, setting Ray Gun apart from other

magazines as more interesting and unique. The design of this cover conveys

the overall attitude and message of the magazine, one that promotes counter

and subcultures and strives to defy expectations.

David Carson is best known for his use of photography in Graphic Design and

for his innovations in the field of typography. He is often referred to as the

“father of grunge.” His work created standards for a new field of graphic design based in unusual typographic elements and the incorporation of photography into design. His works do more to communicate the emotion of the product, article, or whatever subject he is designing around then they do to literally display the subject. He has won several awards, including Best Overall

Design (Society of Publication Designers in New York), Cover of the Year (Society of Publication

Designers in New York), Designer of the Year in both 1998 and 1999 (International Center of

Photography), and The most famous graphic designer on the planet, April 2004 (London Creative

Review magazine). His first book, The End of Print, published in November 1995, is the best-selling graphic design book of all time, selling over 200,000 copies in 5 languages. His other books include

2nd Sight: Grafik Design After the End of Print published in 1997, Fotografiks with Phillip B. Meggs in 1999, and Trek in 2000.

Chad Neuman David Carson on Work and Play (extended version) November/December 2007

David Carson is considered by many to be one of the world's most influential graphic designers. He describes himself as a "hands-on" designer and has a unique, intuition- driven way of creating everything from magazines to TV commercials. In addition to various awards and achievements for his graphic design and typography work, Carson has also written books on design, including The End of Print (with Lewis Blackwell), Trek: David Carson, Recent Werk, and the soon-to-be-released The Rules of Graphic Design.

Graphis magazine referred to Carson as a "Master of Typography." I.D. magazine included Carson in their list of "America's most innovative designers." In Newsweek magazine, a feature article said of Carson: "...he changed the public face of graphic design." Emigre, a graphic design journal that ran for 21 years up until 2005, devoted an entire issue to Carson. His long list of clients includes American Express, AT&T, Atlantic Records, Budweiser, CNN, Levi's, MTV, Sony, Toyota, Warner Bros., and Xerox, to name just a few. Carson travels throughout the United States and the world, speaking at seminars and conferences on topics of graphic design and typography. He also enjoys surfing and at one time was a professional surfer.

Layers: David, could you tell us a little about your new book? Carson: It's called The Rules of Graphic Design. I'm working on it now in Zurich, Switzerland, where I have a small studio, besides my one in the states. It will show a lot of the new work I've done over the past few years, and will, as the title suggests, finally get the official "rules" out on graphic design. It should be out early spring 2008. My first workshop I ever attended on graphic design was in Switzerland, so the book will no doubt be affected by my being here. I started it in the states and it will be finished there.

Layers: As one of the most well-known and influential graphic designers in the world, how do you balance work and play? Do you still get to surf often? Carson: I've always felt I make my living from my hobby, so I'm lucky in that respect. As Marshall McLuhan said, if you're totally involved in something, it is no longer work, it's "play or leisure." I surf in the Caribbean every winter. There's a perfect point break in my front yard. I watch the Internet surf reports, and when a swell is coming, I head down to the British West Indies. It's a very special place and helps me recharge.

Layers: When creating a design such as a magazine cover, article, or website, what are a few of the most important things a designer should consider? Carson: Who is the audience, what is that audience's visual language, what type of things are they seeing? How can you communicate and reinforce visually what is written or spoken, and how can you stand out from the competition in that particular field?

Layers: You redesigned Surfer Magazine in 1991 and founded Ray Gun as well. How does redesigning a medium, whether it's a magazine or advertising campaign, differ from creating something from scratch? Carson: In some ways they are very similar. You have to determine who the audience is, and what is the message you want to portray through the design. A new design gives you a bit more freedom, as you can help define the language. I think Ray Gun helped establish a certain visual language for alternative music. But redesigning, or inventing something new, both have their challenges and rewards, and I enjoy both. As long as you look for the solution in the particular thing you are working on, and not some predetermined formula or system, you will never run out of ideas.

Layers: I remember attending a seminar when you spoke at a local school here in Central Florida years ago, and you told us a story about where you had the text in a magazine article covered up or unreadable, but the layout was spectacular. Do you have any other humorous or quirky stories of editors getting mad that your layout caused the article to be unreadable? Carson: You might be referring to the article I set in the font Dingbat, largely because I found the article very boring. To start designing, I have to read the article, or brief it or listen to the music, to see where it takes me visually and emotionally. It was [a] bit funny, maybe, that at Ray Gun some of the writers complained early that their articles were hard to read. But then by the 30th issue, the same writers would complain if they thought their articles were too easy to read! The layout came to signal something worthwhile to read, so the writers came to look forward to see how their words were interpreted.

Layers: Some have said that you are heavily influenced by the ocean. Is that true, and where do you find other sources of inspiration when creating a design? Carson: My environment always influences me. I'm always taking photos and I believe things I see and experience influence the work. Not directly, but indirectly in some shape or color or something that registers. The ocean has always played a big part in my life, but it's hard to say exactly what that influence is in regards to the work. But I'm always scanning the environment I'm in, and I'm sure it ends up in the work. I think it's really important that designers put themselves into the work. No one else has your background, upbringing, life experiences, and if you can put a bit of that into your work, two things will happen: you'll enjoy the work more, and you'll do your best work. Otherwise, we don't really need designers—anyone can buy the same programs and learn to do "reasonable, safe" design.

Layers: You have branched out into directing television and video commercials. What aspects of print design do you also use when directing video? Do you often focus on typography as a major part of it? Carson: I'm often asked to direct commercials where the type plays an important role, and sometimes I add type to other peoples' work. My approach is very similar to print: who is the audience, what is the emotion of the spot, or the feeling we want the viewer to get from watching, and how visually can we make that happen?

Layers: Could you give an example of a video project that you enjoyed directing? What software do you or your associates use when creating these, and do they include Adobe After Effects? Carson: After Effects is hugely important in the commercials I work on. It's hard to imagine how we did them before. Well, actually I know—we did them in very expensive suites in post-editing houses in Los Angeles and New York! I just did some work for Saturn cars, and it was almost all done with After Effects. It's clearly the best tool for motion graphics.

I directed an in-flight commercial for American Airlines—a 90-second spot—that I enjoyed very much, from casting the actors to selecting footage to having some fun with the type. I also made a commercial for the band Nine Inch Nails for the MTV music awards, and the launching of Lucent Technologies, which were type-only spots. In general, I'm drawn more toward moving images and type, but I'll always do print, even though "print has ended."

Layers: Finally, what advice would you have for other graphic designers just starting out? Carson: Do what you love, trust your gut, your instincts, and intuition. And remember the definition of a good job: If you could afford to, if money wasn't an issue, would you do the same work? If you would, you've got a great job! If you wouldn't, what's the point? You're going to be dead a long time. So find that thing, whatever it is, that you love doing, and enjoy going to work for, and not watch the clock or wait for weekends and holidays.

For more information on David Carson, visit www.davidcarsondesign.com.