5 ms·
Ugly sign with poor typography, unbalanced spacing and low standard of English. Why not take pride in your work?
by rogual 3y ago
Ugly sign with poor typography, unbalanced spacing and low standard of English. Why not take pride in your work?
- adhesive_wombat 3y agoIn the UK, taking pride in your work is for "boffs".
- kranke155 3y agoAlmost all graphic design in England is appalling. It was one of the first things I noticed when I moved there.
- buggeryorkshire 3y agoEh? Our road signage is top drawer and leagues better than anywhere else i've been.
- martinald 3y agoYes and the TfL design standard is a real work of art: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/suppliers-and-contractors/design-standards https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/suppliers-and-contractors/design...
- kranke155 3y agoRoad signage and TFL are the exception. Most commercial ads are really bad.
- foldr 3y agoWhat are you comparing it to? Compared to the US any many European countries, I've always thought graphic design in the UK tended to be quite tasteful and restrained.
- kranke155 3y agoComparing it to my favourite countries in Europe. Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy. All have more innovative and interesting visual design (for the most part).
- foldr 3y agoHmm, I certainly can't agree in the case of Spain. Spanish ads feel quite dated to me. There's obviously a subjective component here, so probably not much to discuss.
- kranke155 3y agoMaybe take a look at Spanish Behance https://www.behance.net/search/projects?country=ES https://www.behance.net/search/projects?country=ES There's such a wealth of illustration and color. Of course this is all very personal.
- foldr 3y agoSorry, I'm not sure how I am supposed to draw any conclusions from this.
- kranke155 3y agoComparing countries in Behance is a good way to see what is the best graphic design produced in that country. Virtually all graphic designers, at least in Europe use Behance as a portfolio. So by switching between countries you can get a decent idea of what kind of graphic design is being produced.
- CraigJPerry 3y agoThe gov.uk web stuff is pretty good graphic design. They mostly managed to resist “flourishes” and made something functional that gives vibes of “you’re here to get something done, I won’t get in your way” while still keeping a pleasant aesthetic.
- kranke155 3y agoGov.Uk, TFL and road and tube Signage being the exception. There are exceptions. Bad to terrible: Commercial work in graphic design (Ad posters in the tube), flyers, small shop signage in high streets, information and calendars. All pretty bad to awful.
- tudorw 3y agoDid you move here from Helvetica?
- kranke155 3y agoPortugal. Spain, Greece, Italy, southern Europe has overall superior graphic design tradition. You ca verify this by going on Behance and scrolling through the works of individual countries. The UK is one the worse performers in graphic design, but it has very good product design and engineering. UK architecture is also almost uniformly terrible.
- tudorw 3y agoHmm, I don't agree, many countries over the decades have contributed to the field, to use geography to judge an arts field that manifests as a product of global contributions is flawed.
- kranke155 3y agoIt's not geography that determines the outcome, but a combination of the education system and what's valued and well paid. I've been told that kids these days receive almost no arts education in the UK in the government funded education. How do you expect them to compete with countries like Portugal and Greece with visual and music education is much stronger? Same thing about Germany. There is a non-trivial amount of Bauhaus books that are only available in German. Given how crucial that movement is for modern design, it's understandable that you see stronger pupils coming out of Germany since they might have had access to seminal texts that aren't even available in other languages. It would be the equivalent of Andrew Ng teaching only in Turkish. You'd likely see a good amount of Turkish AI engineers coming out of that with better training than their Western counterparts? At least until the contents were translated, which in the case of Bauhaus, they never were.
- _joel 3y agoAbsolute crap
- kranke155 3y agoI’ve posted above justifying what I said. In the commercial world all the top performing/talk of the town visual work in the Uk is very often done by foreign designers and Creative Directors and artists. I work in this so I would have some idea. Builders Club, the top agency right now is headed by a Swiss Creative Director. Panoply, whose 3D artists and directors were once the top talent at ManVsMachine, are Swedes I believe. The Uk quite simply does not have a strong graphic design tradition. They are strong in product design, fashion and engineering. They import good design.
- _joel 3y ago> Uk is very often done by foreign designers and Creative Directors and artists. I work in this so I would have some idea. So now it's not the UK but British designers that are terrible. Make your mind up.
- kranke155 3y agoIm not sure where you got the impression that I was talking about British vs UK designers. I didn’t say British designers were terrible either. The work that’s produced might not be as interesting, sometimes due to client preference as well. As I’ve explained in other comments, countries have traditions of quality and that matters. The UK is excellent at engineering, product design, and they had one of the most successful fashion designers of the century in Alexander McQueen.
- _joel 3y agoYou just said UK design is crap and only the good design here comes from foreign designers. Therefore...
- 3y ago
- flir 3y agoExamples? It could be I'm blind to it because I live here, but I'd like to see.
- kranke155 3y agoCommercial work in graphic design (Ad posters in the tube), flyers from museums and galleries, small shop signage in high streets, information posters and calendars. All pretty bad to awful in the Uk. There are exceptions like others have pointed out - public signage in Tube and roads, Gov.UK, TFL (TFL has the most consistent good design of any institution or company I’ve ever seen in the UK). Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal all have far stronger graphic design traditions. Germany and Switzerland too but different styles. (I much prefer the Barcelona/Brazil style myself). You can see this by looking up any individual country on Behance. Another piece of proof is looking up some senior designers on some of the top agencies in the UK. They are very very often from abroad - usually from the countries I’ve listed above. Most people who work in creative advertising know this (like me). The top agency in London right now - Builders Club - has a Swiss Creative Director. A top 3D studio - Panoply - is headed by Swedes I believe. The only school in the UK that consistently makes top visual designers is Central St Martins. This is not so much an insult to the country btw - each country has its own strengths. The Uk is incredibly strong in product design and fashion design, and in engineering. But graphic design is just not part of its core strengths I’d say. I’ve been told that kids these days don’t even necessarily receive arts education in public schools - is that true?
- foldr 3y ago> Senior designers [from top agencies in the UK] are very very often from abroad This is unsurprising in itself. About 40% of London residents are foreign born, and in any international industry, the chance of top talent being from the same country as the hiring company is low for obvious statistical reasons. You can see a similar effect in e.g. academia.
- kranke155 3y agoThats true. I do get the sense that I don't know of any major agency however, that employs top UK talent in visual design.
- chrisstu 3y agoWell done, one of the least accurate statements I've ever read on HN.
- kranke155 3y agoHave you ever lived in the UK?