In their book, “The Moderns”, Steven Heller and Greg D’Onofrio discuss the impact of Paul Rand on American design. Rand, an American graphic designer, played a significant role in reinventing the grammar of American design, introducing a precise yet heartfelt kind of modernism to advertising, layout, and logos. He was responsible for defining visual culture in America after World War II, transforming advertising and establishing a visual language that still holds great authority today.
Modernism transformed American graphic design in the mid-twentieth century, incorporating elements such as asymmetrical layouts, sans serif typography, photography, and montage. Rand, born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents who ran a corner grocery store, emerged as an American designer with a personal and innovative approach to modern design. He understood the vitality and symbolic power of color and shape in the work of artists like Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Pablo Picasso.
Rand was one of the most influential graphic designers in the field, introducing the American approach to modern design during the Cold War. Born to immigrant parents who ran a corner grocery store, Rand pioneered a uniquely American approach to poster design, book, and magazine design. In the 1950s, he transformed the use of graphic design and the face of American companies.
Rand was one of the first American graphic designers to apply European idealism to American consumerism, making a significant impact on the field. He helped establish Swiss Design in the United States and was a pioneer in modern graphics and industrial design.
📹 How Governments Use Design & Propaganda to Control You
All content directed and written by John Mauriello. John Mauriello has been working professionally as an industrial designer since …
Who is the father of American modern art?
Cézanne, regarded as the “father of modern art,” transformed the landscape of painting by departing from the conventional single-point perspective and embracing a multi-viewpoint approach, as evidenced in his “Still Life with Peaches and Pears” exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Who was the first person to do graphic design?
Graphic design has its roots in the earliest forms of human communication, with cave paintings and hieroglyphics being early examples. William Addison Dwiggins, an American designer and typographer, coined the term “graphic design” in 1922, recognizing the need for a separate profession for designing commercial purposes. Dwiggins was a prolific designer, creating typefaces, book designs, and advertising campaigns. He was a leader in typography, with designs like Electra and Caledonia still widely used today.
Dwiggins also wrote several books on design and typography, including “Layout in Advertising” and “An Essay on Typography”. He was an advocate for the rights of designers and was a founding member of the New York Society of Typographic Arts, which aimed to promote the work of designers and elevate the status of the profession.
Who started modernism design?
During the inter-war period, Europe faced economic inequality and social inequalities, leading to a focus on housing. Modernist architects like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Erich Mendelsohn, and Walter Gropius developed model housing estates to address this crisis. They industrialized the building process, using materials like steel, concrete, and glass to reduce costs and facilitate mass production. Many artists and architects were inspired by the endless possibilities of science and technology, envisioning a world entirely resembling machines in everything from clothing to architecture.
Henry Ford’s assembly lines inspired the idea that mechanization would eliminate wasted time and effort, provide high productivity, and solve contemporary society’s problems. Industry became not only a means to an end but also an aesthetic, with machines and machine parts seen as models of functional, unselfconscious design.
Who was the first African American to achieve prominence as a graphic designer in the era before the civil rights movement?
Georg Olden, a prominent African American graphic designer, was hired by CBS in 1945 to design on-air television visuals for the new division. Despite leaving CBS to become television group art director at BBDO advertising, Olden had a significant impact on the early development of television broadcast graphics during his 15-year tenure. He created graphics that were effective, communicated quickly and concisely, and designed from the center out to avoid cropping by the outer edges.
Olden simplified ideas into symbols, signs, and images. This accomplishment is significant as it occurred before the civil rights movement, when few African Americans held professional positions in America. Olden was also the first African American designer to be commissioned to design a United States Postage Stamp, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. His cool, clean, and sleek design influence can still be seen in graphic design today, changing the way people design television advertising.
Which designer helped popularize the term graphic design in the United States?
The history of graphic design is a complex and cyclical journey, spanning from stone tools to digital tablets. The term was coined in 1922 by William Addison Dwiggins, a book designer, to describe his role in structuring and managing visuals in book design. The roots of visual communication can be traced back to prehistoric times, with early cave paintings showcasing an inherent drive towards art. Our earliest languages were logographic, with icons representing entire words instead of phonetic sounds.
This suggests a natural ability of humans to use visual representation to communicate complex ideas, a cornerstone of modern graphic design. In a written language, a logogram or logograph is a written or drawn character representing a word or phrase. Studying the history of graphic design can inspire innovative ideas and help us understand our roots.
What influenced early modern graphic design?
Graphic design evolved significantly with the development of the printing press and consumer culture during the Western Industrial Revolution. This period also saw the rise of advertising, which had become more prominent by the mid-to-late 1800s. The birth of modern graphic design is believed to have occurred during the early 1900s, when print media dominated and designers experimented with emerging tools and techniques. Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts Movement took over, featuring organic forms and flowing elements.
Plakatstil, or Poster Style, emerged in Germany around the turn of the century, rejecting ornate styles and focusing on simplicity. Lucian Bernhard is credited with pioneering this approach, which influenced many other styles.
Who started modern design?
The Modern Movement, a style of architecture that emerged in Britain between the 1930s and the early 1960s, was defined by a number of key characteristics, including a focus on volume, the use of asymmetrical compositions, and a minimalist approach to ornamentation. The movement’s pioneers, Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, made a significant impact on the development of public housing in Britain.
Who was the first black graphic designer?
Georg Olden, born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1920, was a revolutionary designer who played a significant role in paving the way for African Americans in the field of design and the corporate world. Charles Dawson, best known for his illustrated advertisements, was an influential Chicago designer and artist during the 1920s and 30s. Born in 1898 in Georgia, Dawson attended Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee Institute before becoming the first African American to be admitted into the Arts Students League of New York.
He later gained acceptance to the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was heavily involved and became a founding member of the first black artists collective in Chicago, The Arts and Letters Collective. Both designers contributed significantly to the advancement of African American design and the corporate world.
Who initiated the American approach to modern design?
The gallery is proud to present Paul Rand, a renowned American Modernist graphic designer. Rand’s seminal book, Thoughts on Design, published in 1946, has influenced generations of designers and his teaching career at Yale University. Rand’s concept of quality is rooted in an atmosphere of receptivity, propriety, and restraint, making his design work effective and timeless. His corporate logos for IBM, ABC, Westinghouse, Cummins, and Morningstar still exist today.
Rand elevated the role of the designer and the value of design in corporate culture, bringing modern boldness and rigor to American design. The gallery presents a selection of Rand’s iconic posters, advertisements, and packaging from the past five decades.
Who is the father of modern graphic?
Paul Rand, a renowned graphic designer, began his career in 1932 as a teenager, elevating graphic design from a craft to a profession. He studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and earned his M. F. A from Yale University. Wiley’s art epiphany was a life-altering realization that influenced his career. He discovered a crumbled piece of paper with a mugshot of a black male, which he considered a portrait. Wiley’s mother enrolled him and his twin in a small art conservatory program at Cal State at age 11, and in 1989, he was sent to Russia for classical painting training.
After excelling in this program, he earned his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and his MFA from Yale University School of Art. Despite his success, Wiley did not forget the black struggle he faced growing up. Rand’s legacy continues to inspire artists today.
Who is the founder of American modernism?
Georgia O’Keeffe, known as the “Mother of American modernism”, has been a significant figure in American Modernism since the 1920s, known for challenging the boundaries of modern American artistic style. Her paintings, including Ram’s Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills, synthesize abstraction and representation, while Arthur Dove used a wide range of media and techniques to create abstract landscapes and abstractions. Me and the Moon, a 1937 abstract landscape, is a notable example of his career.
Dove also experimented with collage works and techniques, such as combining oil or tempera over a wax emulsion. African-American painter Aaron Douglas (1899-1979) is a well-known and influential African-American modernist whose works significantly contributed to the development of an aesthetic movement related to African-American heritage and culture, particularly during the Harlem Renaissance.
📹 The first secret of great design | Tony Fadell
As human beings, we get used to “the way things are” really fast. But for designers, the way things are is an opportunity … Could …
This article will probably receive fewer views than usual because of its controversial subject matter. The YouTube algorithm only promotes content that is advertiser-friendly. This will negatively impact my earnings on this article. I thought about taking out the controversial topics discussed in the article to make YT advertisers happy…but in the end, I decided that this subject is too important. If you’d like to support my work, please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/JohnMauriello, where you’ll find various benefits to being a member. By supporting me on Patreon, you will allow me to talk about these important topics uncensored. Alternatively, you can support me by liking this article and sharing it with others who might find it valuable. To date, this is the article I am most proud of. I hope you enjoy it! EDIT: Many people have commented, asking why I fail to use proper terms for certain political regimes. Once again, I’m trying to be mindful of YouTube content guidelines. When referring to the USSR, I call them “Russians”, even though that is not the proper term, for example. When referring to the 1930s/1940s political regime in Germany, I never call the political party by its name. YouTube automated systems are very sensitive to terms that might be considered even slightly controversial, even if what I am doing is well within the rules of their content policy. But an actual human may never review my article to see the full context. I find this very annoying, but if you want to post on their platform, you gotta play by their rules.
The narrative of this article reminds me of something: A KGB agent and a CIA agent meet at a bar. The CIA Agent says, “Your propaganda is incredible. It’s almost believable!”, To which the KGB Agent says, “No comrade, our propaganda is but a pale shadow compared to yours. Your people actually believe it!” to which the CIA Agent replies, aghast, “The United States doesn’t have any propaganda!”
Many years ago, I watched an interview with Nazi propagandist Fritz Hippler. He later denounced Nazism but in his comments about the effectiveness of Nazi and other forms of propaganda, he stated that “propaganda makes things simple.” To those who are “weak-minded” a simple answer to a complicated issue is extremely attractive. To paraphrase Obi Wan Kenobi, “politics/propaganda has a strong influence on the weak-minded.” The Nazis were very keen on using three primary colors in their posters and the like. Red, black, and white. These three colors had been used for centuries since the development of printing to draw the reader’s eye into headlines and messages that the publisher wanted to promote. This same tactic is widely employed in political posters and bumper stickers. Ever notice how recent presidential candidates only stick to three colors in their propaganda? It is seen all over the place now that the United States is in the midst of another presidential election, with one “candidate” using only one color on the hats they sell, the color red. It was briefly touched on in this presentation about flags and their use as idols to focus nationalism and so called “patriotism.” Most of the world’s flags have red in them to some degree. That red is meant to represent the blood shed in endless wars. When a person is able to perceive the subconscious messaging in advertisements and propaganda, they are able to “reverse hack” their mind and then able resist the influence that propaganda has on the “weak-minded.
30:29 It also contains a ryme now stucking in my head. “Leichen” (dead people) and “Reichen” (rich people) sound similar in german except for the beginning of the word. So much thought went into the visuals but also into the words and how the words affect the readers brain. Because it rymes I read it multiple times and it is like an “Ohrwurm” in music that will not leave your mind. Maybe thats also the propaganda behind military music which has easy to pick up rytms.
This is an incredible article. There is so much history and theory and it’s great how you pointed out how they remain viable today (particularly faces on coins). I’m also reminded of the bold, high contrast Obama “Hope” Poster and the bold, high contrast design of hats from Trump’s campaign. They were both attention grabbing and emotion stirring. I also remember thinking how alluring they could be as propaganda. Your article is a documentary that compels its viewer to pay close attention to, and think critically about, everything that is designed, which is basically everything. You and Dami Lee are producing works that entertain, educate, and empower. Thank you!
This was probably the best and most important article essay I have seen on YouTube ever and plan to forward it to everyone I know. Loads of interesting historical information and clear examples of the concepts. I knew about Bernays and the history of propaganda, but your breakdown of specific examples was brilliant. Thank you for helping me understand why Jackson Pollock was so “important” during the Cold War. This make me want to go back and watch the movies “Branded” and “The President’s Analyst” all over again. The only thing that irritated me, although I understand the necessity and appreciate the irony, was your beating of a dead surveillance horse. Cheers.
If knowledge is power then this is to propaganda what Kryptonite is to Superman. Well researched, cites sources to a precise degree, really opened my eyes to how much art is misappropriated to an insane degree. It’s a lot more insidious by design – and with design, literally – than I realised. It unifies topics as seemingly disparate as mass produced automobiles, heavy weaponary, voting and several others. It was a history/philosophy lesson I didn’t mind taking. Incidentally, the part about horses which is never fully explained is exceptionally clever. As a big fan of Red Dead Redemption II and an animal lover in general that did crack me up. 😂 Final thought: I find it funny that the observation about subjects being at the mercy of their patrons wasn’t used as a natural segue into the part about Patreon and the amount of craft that went into this article, which was substantial.
I just wanted to take a moment and say that this is one of the most interesting websites i find on youtube. In this unstoppable machine of commercial content, It’s rare finding something that sparks up true interest and curiosity. Thank you so much for making this articles! Few people realize how much research, work, editing goes into this articles.👍
This is a great piece. well done, great information. It has been my purpose to help others learn to see through harmful narratives and or propaganda. Im well trained and experienced in some of the most advanced trainings in persuasion/influence, conversation/communication, hypnotherapy/NLP, law/natural law, identity changework, body language/human behavior, passive and active profiling, face reading, Graphology/grapho-analysis, iridology, physiognomy, Systema/pressure point martial arts and more. And after learning, mastering and even teaching these areas I am now mostly focusing on creating art, mostly sculpture and With no substantial background or education im finding it very natural for me to create using many of the concepts/strategy’s you go over in this article to create powerful meaningful messages within each piece. Find myself often stacking provocative meaning within each provocative meaning speaking mostly to the other than conscious mind inviting those who experience to go as far and deep as they are capable. Everything has intention and meaning. There are no coincidences
The AR-15 segment is only frustrating because of the phrase “functionally similar”. There are wooden stock, “hunting style” rifles that are more than merely functionally similar. They are functionally identical . Same rate of fire. Same range. Same ammunition. It is literally only a matter of aesthetics that differentiates them. This is important. If certain guns can be outlawed based solely on such an arbitrary factor, it erodes the right to bear arms. But I really love your articles. They’re very informative.
I’ve been waiting for this article for a while and I’m loving it. The amount of research and depth made this a great and educational watch. A tip I want to give (I’m not a designer or a article editor so what do I know but) is to display numbers, dates, and other information that is hard to process by hearing it, instead of having stock footage playing. This will allow people(well, at least one person) to focus on what you’re saying
Another exceptional article John. I’m always amazed at the final content/presentation. One thing that should be noted is that your perspective as a designer is very in-depth – rooted in the nature of the word as I have come to define the role we serve as designers. The designer “DE-signs” the familiar. Taking down the signatures of the cultural norm and delivering a new signature based on client objectives. Propagandists have known the root of this practice for years as mankind has always been impacted by signs, symbols, and brands. A good designer not only de-signs the image, they study the landscape around the signage, the flow of traffic around it, and the legacy of behaviors that support it. Your article is an excellent example of this.
Great article. Just one kinda important remark. When speaking about Soviet Union, please, stop referring to citizens of Soviet Union as “russians”. Even Stalin was not russian, he was Georgian, born in a country Georgia. The proper way to refer to citizens & leadership of Soviet Union is to call them “soviet”. Otherwise, great article & keep up the good work, cheers 🙌
I used to read Adbusters magazine in the 1990s. I learned about Edward Bernays there. But ultimately I stopped reading because the magazine was so full of counter-propaganda. Thank you for this contribution to media literacy and emphasizing nuance and critical thinking. I’m always grateful to be given credit for the ability to form my own opinions as an audience member.
The AR-15 was actually originally designed as a civilian “sporting rifle”, translation-small game hunting or target practice rifle. The navy originally purchased several thousand of the civilian version with no modifications before eventually the army had colt design some changes and make the original M-16. Also the mini 14 is absolutely similar in operation and just as capable, that’s completely fair lol.
Video is a meta example of propaganda. Whole article essay was clear and concise until it reaches its end of Italian “SI” segment, and there was censorship on the words of “fascism”, and something about election. Dude censored them so that YouTube’s totalitarian surveillance could not ban it 😀 This comment probaly would be banend as well, if not my website for that simple use of the ‘F’ word, lmao. P.S: Great and amazing article essay, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Excellent article. I had heard that about Pollack before years ago (I’m an artist) but thought it was too wild to be true. The way I heard, it was to combat a social theatre movement that was getting WAY too popular for U.S. government comfort, and that was somewhat responsible for the folk music movement close to the same time. The music survived. 🙂
Great article. The currency notes/coins reminded me of a counterexample to propaganda in design – playful guilder currency notes designed by Ootje Oxenaar for Netherlands that were in circulation till Euro was introduced as currency. Another counterexample was the famous graph by Charles Joseph Minard on the Napoleon’s march to the east and back with the graph clearly demonstrating the futility of war by showing a high number of troop casualties over time. The graph does not even mention Napoleon’s name so as to not glorify him. A sad case for modern consumer design is anything from ikea and, by extension, bland nordic design sensibility. The flight security checks, specially for flights headed to US, has been a very modern case of propaganda that serves only to inconvenience people.
Just a note on the usage of the word “propaganda” – basically any and all media was called propaganda a century ago. The word had a completely different meaning and wasn’t a solely negatively used word as it now. TLDR people just knew all media was a way for the creator to influence the thoughts of the perceiver. They were more resistant to the swaying of their opinions than us.
A good article overall. I kinda cringed at the article of Tiananmen Square just because you mentioned political governments are fragile and can a single crack can leave to its unraveling. This is true but here in the US, I feel that Tianamen Square is such a stereotype and over used to project fear over governments and cultures that the US government doesn’t like. For those who don’t know (and I didn’t know either until my history professor at the University of Copenhagen had to correct me on this) Tianamen was originally a protest about inflation and anti-corruption. But eventually US sponsored student activists hijacked the legit protest and made it into a color-revolution attempt and failed. The leaders of the protest fled to the US and is now a die-hard trump supporter. Anyways, some food for thought. But overall a good article and I appreciate that you posted it even though YouTube doesn’t like these types of article.
The Armalite15 semi-automatic rifle was not designed for combat, but for general use by civilians. The military rejected it as a cheap and flimsy toy. The benefits contributing to its ease of use primarily impacted poorly trained self defenders, like your grandmother, rather than highly trained soldiers capable of handling heavier weapons. I believe it was the first weapon Armalite attempted to offer to the military, and they had to overcome several rejections to get an evaluation.
So when I was an 8yr old little girl with a bruised shoulder from my mom’s 22 rifle I should have been using an AR-15? There are so many good things on YT for your ears only, it really cuts dowm on my screen time. It’s so nice to close your eyes and listen or do something with your hands, we really have to show our grandchildren how nice it can be to do a craft but still have a good story at the same time.
The irony of putting 1930’s/40’s Germany before the movement they were responding to, 1910’s/20’s Russia (Bolsheviks), and calling the Germans horrifying and scary, but the Russian situation points to modernity, the future, and full of “that Revolutionary Spirit!” Violence is inherent in any bureaucracy, an attribute the author tries to paint as inherently German. I would like to believe this is merely an accident, except he’s spent the whole time talking about subtlety and nuance. This is not the same as his contention that “well yeah, everything is propaganda!” (You’ll notice that notion was nowhere to be found in the German discussion, or maybe at the head of the article to help guide you in a good-faith way). “The design version of elevator music,” he says about the modern movement, as he lives out every single principle of it while making a article that pretends to be subversive or dissident. I hate the current moment.
‘Having verifiable standards for a currency’ = ‘look at this propaganda or thing implemented just to remind you of government power.’ It’s such an interesting topic being presented in an interesting way, and I’m trying to keep an open mind. But it’s like very other sentence he just says something or states a conclusion in support of his topic that makes no sense.
What bugs me is how capitalism is practically praised. I get that other things haven’t worked out but we need to realize things have become this unaffordable Dystopian situation. We gotta find ways that wealthy people can live AS WELL as low income people can afford to live! Our current version of capitalism basically requires everyone to be financially well off in order to even afford the basic cost of living.. That’s just not functional. If we can incorporate certain things like Finland or other places have. Then we might be able to get ourselves out of this mess. People know the cost of living is unaffordable yet we’re still seeing news headlines on “statistics” saying our economy is doing well but the truth is a ton of people are really struggling to get by. Also If something happens to someone we currently have zero systems to help anyone other than a food bank or food stamps. Nothing related to living. Even if you are working good luck ever getting the chance to aquire stable housing.. It shouldn’t be this unaffordable and dysfunctional..
This just resurfaced the nagging thought I had after the curiosity I had with how we people document history; how is it that countless of lives has been lived but only numerous of stories has been told. How large does the story must become before a human becomes another face in the crowd. What life have they all been living only to be forgotten through passage of time.
18:55 I believe it is not only not unintentional. It is the desiged outcome. Cultural homogeny is the goal. Once achieved, whole swaths of people can be activated to respond in the desired manner, which is why its critical to do cultural forensics AFTER the material comes out, otherwise, no matter how hip to it you are, you have subjected yourself to being used by it. If your consumption of it is later, its less likely that your response will be as valuable and thus less likely to be aggregated into the machinations of whatever is fucking with us.
I can’t believe I actually made it 3/4 of the way through this piece of crap ‘essay’ .Talk about reaching to make non existent connections. There are too many to count, but one of the most ridiculous things you said the CIA having a connection with promoting abstract art. You literally said such a thing without providing any evidence how they were doing that! It makes me depressed that people are just eating this garbage up.
The AR is popular because it is an amazing platform and no other reason. It can be used for sport or defense. AR platform rifles are the pinnacle of design, vastly superior to all other rifles for cost, ease of use, compatibility, and aftermarket parts. I cannot get my head around why people flip out over them. It is just a tool.
I recently realised the reason i suck at managing my money so much is because its such a made up concept to me. When people ask me to make art for them i usually ask to swap for something they can do or do it in lieu of payment for another thing (like making something for my guitar teacher then he did a free music lesson) Hasbara needs to take a lesson here… fully charged ipads… papers folded and inserted into books… I am so glad i started going zero waste recently. Thankfully my distsin for authority makes me uninstall apps if they advertise to me all the time
I keep thinking about how literacy translates history and how not being able to comprehend what one reads will affect our future as a species. America has a miserably declining literacy rate and skyrocketing early college enrollment numbers. Far be it from me to say anyone’s baby is genuinely stupid, but how are they ready for calculus when they’ve never seen algebra? It’s kinda fishy to me.
You know you can paint a wall even though you’re renting, right? I can’t imagine living somewhere for at least a year (usual lease duration) and hating the wall colors, especially as a designer. I had 5 different colors in a studio. You paint it white again (or in your case, beige, though this is more like tan to me, beige is a lot paler) when you move out.
On the portion of the article addressing guns, it’s all a matter of perspective. You could see it as a weapon of murders or as your right as afforded to us in the constitution. Guns are only bad in the wrong hands, it’s counter intuitive but more guns equals less violence. If everyone is holding a weapon people would relax and think a little more before being disrespectful just because they feel they can. The only way guns will ever go away is if everyone agrees to destroy them all and nobody would have them, just ask the singer from the eagles of death metal after him and his band mates got shot up in Paris.
@Design Theory – You missed a very important thing only out-of-the-box thinking Germans usually find: Even the usage of wordings is very important, like at 8:32 … this German inmate card says “häftlings-PERSONAL-karte (in the example for Polish political inmate (red inverted death-pyramid with a “P”)) who is also a female “J.”) while back than the national-ID card said “PERSONEN-ausweis” … today German ID-card says “PERSONAL-ausweis” = Very important wording! PERSONEN = free people/individuums … PERSONAL = servants (like the personnal in a company) … Note: writing the “J.”-word ( & some other normal totally legal words) causes instant comment dissapearence (censorship) on Youtube
This article would have significantly more credibility if you’d ditch the pitch for Henson razors. Unless of course you’re actually that passionate about razors and shaving. I was hoping you would do a article about Edward Bernays, but doing a article about him, and having a moment of sponsorship in that article, would be a level of irony I don’t know if I could tolerate, and might cause your head to explode Mr Design Theory. You only had a segment about him here, so you’re probably safe.
Modernism is both boring…..and maddening…..to standardize the human being and push mass produced human behavior…..it makes me want to cry…..because “nobody is forcing you to work” but I know that if I don’t go back, no matter what happens, no matter what my feelings are, no matter if I’m sick or anything, still have to adhere to the standard or else my income gets revoked and thus threatens my entire lifestyle.
If you really want a red pill of propaganda the music industry post WW2 is completely contrived with only the artists that would be willing to deliver the controllers message to the mass ears would be given air time on the radio. Even the music itself is a construct of frequencies and vibration that go right to the subconscious.
Thank you John. I think a lot of your articles, especially this one and “Design Manipulation” are very important kinds of public service. What might be obvious to most curiously minded designers is not understood by the general population. These design tactics are invisible in a sense, unless broken down and ideally compared to effects of alternative design choices. Design in general is a very powerful and truly ubiquitous tool that can be a weapon, and a dangerously stealth one. It really is shaping realities. I believe it’s on us designers to explain how it works and you are doing a great job. Can’t wait to see more of these. And of course it’s going to be “controversial”, especially nowadays. You can always put these kinds of lectures on odysee or rumble and only tease with them on youtube 😉 there is always a way. As you said yourself – it’s too important.
HOW THE HELL MUCH LONGER ARE WE GONNA JUST SIT HERE ON OUR HANDS!? We are acting like school children at a play. Most of us out there don’t even have a clue as to when to clap cuz there is no illuminated applause sign I guess. Were too stupid as a race to know the show is over however. What a tank of Oscar fish we have become.
❣Loved it immensely! That’s why India’s cultural heritage of art and design was systematically destroyed by invaders, which tells How Prosperous and Mighty Indian Empire or Bharat was historically… Historians made their own propaganda about India, that’s influencing what you even think about this country, a “Golden Bird” who’s wings were cut off systematically. 💖 👉 “Advertising Influence what you buy(for Capitalistic Consumerism), while Propaganda Influence what you think.(for State Control or Totalitarianism.)”
Video was interesting up to the blatant anti-2A and anti AR-15 ironically enough propaganda. The fact you’re citing the NY Times and Washington Post, ardent opponents of the 2A and the AR-15..If you really want to understand the AR-15 popularity and legality I’d recommend Colion Noir and Four Boxes Diner websites. PS The 2A has nothing to do with hunting.
Around 24:08 The notes for the AR-15 : “This magazine has less than 30 rounds and follows all content policy guidelines of YouTube.” Really?! Lmao, that’s a good one ! haha Imagine the notes under all the articles of nuclear weapons : “This bomb contains only our finest locally produced Highly enriched uranium U235 with a pinch of our best equitably produced Pu239 added for enhanced effect and unmistakable colors approved by many YouTube Partners.” hehe ;^)
Your basic premise or thesis is like many academic type examinations and discussions that take one of the ‘sub-branches’ of a major discourse and present it as the predominant course, reason or outcome. The trick is in these enquiries – to ‘identify first and foremost the major discourse or ‘determining factor’ – usually a major argument in itself. With your thesis it has to be “What is it in the human psyche that makes us ‘SO SUSCEPTIBLE TO INDOCTRINATION AND MANIPULATION’ not the various elements of the indoctrination – like design etc. This list is vast and leads down dozens of rabbit-holes. The determining factor undermining the whole of society and its susceptibility is CHRISTIAN DOGMA AND IDEOLOGY – TWO-THOUSAND YEARS OF IT – In your small enquiry – the use of idols and symbols in religious indoctrination is so ingrained it even appears on the outlaw members of society – so wide is its influence – check modern gang insignia, symbols and tattooed markings etc out let alone the mainstream infrastructure – as for the psychological programming – when presenting anything and everything to each other – why does the number three crop up? – the father the son and the Holy Ghost. This one is so widely in calculated into our psyche’s it even defies basic mathematics. The list is endless – have a go at his ‘religion’ the root of all evil so to speak.
First, you’ve got some great insights. But, second, you’re really missing the mark on many of the points you made about the AR-15 (not all, but many). The AR-15 is more than just a rifle – it’s a platform. Most people don’t understand that Microsoft Office isn’t an office suite of productivity tools, it’s a platform. Being a platform is a huge advantage because it means that you have a lot of freedom to customize and alter. For the AR-15 as a platform, it means that it can very easily be modified for many different purposes. This makes it very inexpensive as you can change it around with no need to purchase a different firearm. For the “sharp edges”, you seem to be referring to the Picatinny rails. These are part of the platform that make it very modular. It’s easy to attach various enhancements with that system, e.g. a scope, a red dot, a foregrip, a flashlight, etc. However, one of the most attractive features of the AR-15 is that it’s generally chambered in 5.56 NATO or .223, which is very cheap ammunition. This makes it very cheap to use. Ammunition for other rifles/calibers can easily cost double, 5x, 10x, or 20x or more. Ammunition for an AR-10 (same basic type of rifle but chambered in .308 or 7.62x51mm) is at a minimum 2x, and often 3x-5x as expensive. The AR-15 is CHEAP to shoot. I could go on at length about why the AR-15 is popular for practical reasons, but I think I’ve made enough points already. And yes, you are 100% correct in saying how a lot of people are attracted to that “tacti-cool” look and feel.
Hmm its a pity that you did not talk more about Hollywood, they are the masters of it in the modern world. Just some examples: most of the “muscle guy” films (Schwarzenegger, Stallone,..) from the 80s and 90s were financed by the US Department of defense. Same for superhero comics/films, stuff like “captain America” should be the obvious even from the name if we weren’t groomed from childhood to accept it as truth.
Being exposed to advertising like we are is vulgar, inhuman ! People accept it because it’s always been there . They even say oh, that’s why we have shows, got to pay for it …..no. 😂. It’s intrusive. Over and over and over buy this product. People don’t even realize anymore how ridiculous and UN natural it is .
Everything is conveying some message in ever deeper increments, how people greet, how they look, how they speak and act, the stuff we make, the stuff we avoid…. Propaganda is like Compound interest in the Einstein quote those who understand it will becomes kings in their wisdom and those that don’t will become slaves in their folly.
oh and marketing and “regular” advertising (whatever that is) are the most common forms of propaganda since the advent or mass comm. you are NOT a thinker. stop pretending and get off the internet until you learn something about what you’re talking about.I recommend as a starting point Jacques Ellul’s celebrated classic of the field “Propaganda: the Formation of Men’s attitudes.”
Excellent article. I would encourage you to think a bit further on your criticism of mid-century art and furniture. Take note of the artwork of such people as SHAG. This designs, absolutely unknown at the time they were introduced in the 50’s, reflects a feeling of optimism and advancement, as did the earlier Art Deco.
Curious what you make of the “pod design” obsession among tech bros and digital tech venture capitalists? Everything gets rendered as a “pod”. Trains? No no, a small, white pod on magnetic rails! Stilted houses in tidal water zones? No no, a small white and green pod! What’s the ideological paradigm here? Extreme individualism? Desperate craving for softer and rounder shapes? Lack of utility for the average person – discrimination? Please let me know and please look into this a little! You are very insightful and a thinker inspiring!
With the whole “Si” and “No” thing, I’ve noticed a huge difference generational gaps and culture can have on a person. Because I’m fairly certain everyone would now vote “No” out of pure defiance, without even knowing or caring what they’re voting for. I mean if that many things are telling you to vote “Yes” or else. You just can’t help but try your luck. Or maybe that’s just me.
Sorry, but your presentation is still Europocentric. Talking about font styles, it is worth mentioning that allegedly in the year 221 BC in China there was already an attempt to unify the script (so called xiaozhuan) as separate kingdoms were united by the first “Emperor of all emperors” Qinshi Huangdi. In later epochs, for political and ideological reasons an endeavor of script unification was ascribed to a single person (i.e. Qingshi Huangdi), but in fact it was a ‘project’ that took about 3 centuries to shape. And it all evolved around the political and spiritual power interests of Ancient Chinese statesmen
Here are my thoughts for others to ponder over including the content creator:- 1. You limited the scope of the article by use of propaganda to governments only, further limited the design to symbols/art/visuals only while foregoing the audio/voice part. Sloganeering, speeches, through accents/choices of words/jargon penetrate and override consciousness as well unconsciously. Music is by design too! 2. Propaganda can be transmitted and consumed in both audio & visual forms to influence, impact & control masses! So the tools have progressed with time via technology for better consumption via more consumerism i.e radio, TV, VCR, computer, smartphone with the propaganda taking progressive forms of voice overs, dramas/ads, movie, application softwares, social media & apps respectively. 3. Look beyond the design in terms of pictures, words, fonts, art, and decipher the political, social, financial, governmental design structures that are built, own, operated, propagated by governments as a way of life to control masses! A brand of a company, to a logo moto slogan of a political party/social movement, to numbers of bank accounts/credit cards/phones, to uniforms by professionals (white for doctors, black for courts, gowns for teachers etc) with a designated title beyond the name, with a picture ID on Passport & Social Media, all serving one purpose, creation of identities and controlling them through entities by creating artificial needs, supplies and demands i.e by designs to influence lives and their psedu choices to maintain the Global Rule Based Capitalistic Financial Order i.
Talking about German documents…. Let me ask you the other way round: Why would they use a different design for concentration camps and other Holocaust elements? That’s how documents looked like at that time. All of them. I have a copy of my grandmother’s arrival card from shortly after the war. Same fonts, same structure, different color. Actually, I would consider red being a pretty alerting color. Apart from that, I am a fan of your content. Thank you!
11:39 they weren’t misguided. Automation and mass production can actually reduce workloads a lot, and actually they improved working conditions for the masses in the early Soviet Union (for example by introducing the 8-hour workday and later the 5-day workweek). And their goal went far beyond that, but progress was largely stopped with Stalinism. In general automation isn’t bad, but it can be bad if it is used soley for incrasing profits. But even in capitalism it can have great benefits, out modern, relatively comcortable livestyle, modern medicine, etc. wouldn’t be possiblen without automation. Witbout it we would still live like in tbe middle ages.
I love this! Always thought about how I’m so motivated sociologically speaking. All my own projects are somehow trying to solve sociological problems such as climate change. I guess designers always had a connection to politics and influenced change. Probably why I’m really driven by wanting change in my personal projects.
11:45 No they were not misguided, they knew exactly what they were doing. A factory with machines that does the work of 20 workers with only 10 workers is a blessing. Only in our capitalist system this becomes a curse, where 10 people loose their job and face starvation if they dont find another, while the other 10 continue to work as hard as before. Then, machinery has a negative effect on workers. In communism, from the 20 workers e.g. 15 continue to work there, and worktime is reduced by 1/3. The other 5 are assigned to other jobs (they dont have to search for themselves, but can if they wish) to further progress society. With this model, machinery has a positive effect on workers’ lifes.
What a manipulation! For starters, there were avant-garde posters both before the civil war and after, right up to Stalin’s death. The same applies to constructivism, this profound direction was particularly read in architecture and objects were built up to the 70s. And it was supported by the government The next, social realism, is a direction created within the party for the needs of the party, it has always been so, in any country, at any time. It is like government orders, WHICH AMAZING, it is aimed at glorifying the government that pays you. Regarding repression. From what I have seen the situation is the same as it is today. Working for another government, openly ridiculing the current regime, agitating for a change of power and so on. This is called slander and incitement. And in any country, at any time, they repressed for such behaviour
11:40 Machines can and was truly a savior of humanity under socialism. So, soviets were not misguided at all. Rather, the capitalist exploitation is the problem that turns machine against human condition. It is not the fault of the machines. It is the profit motive that is to blame. If my comment sounds too cliche, that is because it is true. Besides, the exact same fingers can be pointed at the propaganda by uncle Sam as under the Stalinist regime.
Brilliant. I would recommend Herman and Chomsky’s ‘Manufacturing Consent’, if you haven’t read it. They changed it from engineering consent, yet the reference is strong. ‘Social engineering’ is also a reference and extends Bernays work with modern knowledge and methods on a large scale. ‘Propaganda’ by Ellul is also really good. It’s incredible how long we’ve known about this, yet how little many people who should know better by now still just don’t come close to getting it….
I have to totally disagree with you that modern art was a backlash against Communist realism and an expression of freedom. I think modern art exists to degrade art in the eyes of the people–to the point that people no longer have a use for it. Historically, art has been used to evoke emotion or tell a story. The evolution of Western religious architecture to make churches larger, taller, brighter, and more lavish was all about evoking a sense of awe in the worshippers. The magnitude of the space–which dwarfed anything else that existed at the time–was to give you a little taste of what it must feel like to stand before the Presence of God. The light and colored glass was meant to symbolize the beautiful colors and light in Heaven. (The images within the windows illustrated Bible stories for people who had no access to the Bible, and also showcased the lives of saints, which were meant to inspire others to be more selfless and holy.) It was meant to make you feel closer to God and spurred to live your life right. Non-religious art was about highlighting beauty and virtues, like courage or sacrifice. You were supposed to feel uplifted and inspired by seeing these grand, beautiful works. You were supposed to learn the classical myths behind the pieces and become educated about Western history and culture. (A funny aside: Old cartoons, like Merrie Melodies, actually worked the same purpose from a comedic angle. They actually introduced Americans to classic pieces of music, Shakespearean and operatic themes, and sometimes works of art or different art styles.
It is interesting to see the symbolism in modern days. What was completely mundane sign for the purpose of giving the military designation of the role of the vehicle, through the internet Z quickly became a meme. However, the symbol Z now featured in significant amount of pro-army posters in Russia and it is embraced in government-approved modern (last 2 years) Russian music and artistry. Sometimes, the context under which a symbol is born is more important than the design of the symbol itself (which is literally just a Latin letter). Interestingly, it wasn’t the only one, as there was multiple vehicle roles, the famous of which was Z and V. But Z was the first to become infamous as meme and associated with Russian aggression, and thus it was what the Russian government pick to symbolize its propaganda.
Hi, im new to your website, and wondering if you have ever wondered how subliminal messages inserted into YouTube articles have an effect on the population? Im leaning towards it being a mission success, and its far beyond Youtube, Hollywood has been at it for many years, and so has NASA. Interestingly enough, im around the 9:16 mark, and have one thing to say on the matter. “Anne Frank invented the ink pen” is not just a meme. Ok im leaving now, your followers are a pretty gross crowd.
Very telling that the presenter felt the need to repeatedly self-edit certain words, like ‘facism’, or that the device in my hand spell-checks that word in to ‘racism’… People, we are in a psychological war zone right now, where leaders of orchestrated enemies dine together on the energy of their supporters.
You make some interesting points, but also some poor/questionable ones, especially on modern design. The fact that every year most smartphones have almost the same physical shape isn’t as much evidence of fear of deviating from universal appeal as it is of what’s physically and practically possible. In 20 years, phones are likely going to have radically different hardware designs, not because consumers will develop radically different tastes, but because scientific advancements will allow those designs. The recent surge in folding smartphone sales isn’t as much a result of suddenly shifting consumer tastes as it is of R&D discoveries amplified by marketing. Similarly, advancements in material science are arguably huge (but not the only) drivers behind what consumers want to wear or sit on. What’s available and what’s desirable drive each other in tandem.
Amazing piece, very well made and thought out, and also very educational with great examples. This is important work. Propaganda is made to influence what you think. As soon as a social group is larger than 150 people it needs a story or myth to establish social order. Propaganda evolves around creating ‘our side’ and ‘the other side’.
The idea that subtle propaganda techniques (like on coins) is the most effective, is widely theoretical. It could easily have far more to do with how so many people seek propaganda out. They seek out propaganda every time they unwarrantedly engage in media such as the press, TV shows, movies….and yes, youtube reaction articles, every time they seek out religion, read the bible, engage in psychiatry, embrace the school system (college aka adult school for instance, is a choice at that point), etc to etc. Media addiction, they’re hooked on their media high. Religion, they’re getting their high off G-O-D. People are bombarded and swamped over by propaganda much more by choice, than images on coins or the manner of style within an art sculpture or painting. I don’t think the American government needs to use subtle, concealed propaganda techniques to control society. They seek out the propaganda plenty of times on their own.
Somewhat sceptical about the scribes’ script being intricate and complicated to avoid copying. If anything, it was fairly formulaic exactly to make copying easier, as well as conforming to the aesthetics of the time. This is because copying by hand was what medieval people did, from government documents made and copied for various purposes (judicial, archival, etc), to books for libraries of rulers, monasteries, and so on. Many ancient texts survive today as copies made in the Middle Ages, medieval manuscripts of documents are filling private and state archives, Writing (yes, in this highly stylised fashion) was the main way of disseminating information at the time. What is also undoing the argument you are making is that literacy levels in the Middle Ages were extremely low, so the assumption that medieval script was intricate as a propaganda device makes little sense. Who could read these texts? A minuscule percentage of people, and even fewer of them cared. In fact, medieval societies relied not on script, but on image and ritual for propaganda purposes, as medieval culture was extremely visual, and only minimally textual. Otherwise, a nice primer on public and state propaganda.
Great show, I always appreciate your deeply considered and articulate writing. I would like to have seen not just ‘American’ propaganda, but to see it framed as ‘art of the Free Republic’. I guess you started touching on it with democratic propaganda, maybe it’s another article, but All the art, from folk to fine, from music to painting, sculpting and movie making, art IS culture, and when it is free, when minds and spirits are free to express whatever or however they experience their humanity, all of us are enriched by it, and the species benefits as a whole. … Think about it, all life is doing this, living and expressing what it knows to express, unbiased by any ‘propaganda’. In a way, humans are the only species that is slowing themselves down, stunting their own evolution, through a network of hierarchy, that, no matter the individual players, it’s the system that stables the population into a group of one, then concentrates power, then controls the expression of culture through a flow from the top down. That system can shape and mold culture quickly and effectively, while homegrown, grass roots expressions that lead to profound Truth are innately classified as suspect simply as a function of it having its origin in the lower classes. Still, in a free society a grass roots discovery can still take root locally, and grow slowly over time, and I think probably cz of this are stronger, of more strongly instilled in the individual. I guess it’s really probably 10 articles, isn’t it.
Re: Firearms. There is alot to mine within the subject matter. Throughout the Cold War, the FN-FAL was known as “The Right Arm Of The Free World” thanks to it’s adoption by many NATO countries. Conversely, The Warsaw Pact nations used the AK pattern and that shape with the “banana” magazine is still very much the bad guy weapon in media and culture. The M-16 (progenitor of the AR pattern) when first introduced was seen by many soldiers as a toy. It looked futuristic, used plastic parts, was lightweight, and it fired a signifigantly smaller projectile, hence the lower recoil.
Well. That is what it is all about. Look. To every country? Each person is an Asset. Am i wrong here? From the day that person born to this world. Right at that moment. No matter where u are or where u come from. Most likely that person will pop out into this world from a Village, Town, City in a country. At the moment, at this era. Each person is simply an Asset to the village, town or city that they come from. First of all? Everyone need a place to live, food to eat, water to drink, and then a job to make money and spend those money on those first needs. Then everything else will come after. Products that person going to buy, activities that person going to have, places that person going to travel to, and people that person going to meet (which create social platform). Then here you go. Propaganda = how to keep that person stay as that country’s asset. That is how they divided this world into different groups in politics, beliefs, and so on different interests. Manipulation = how to keep that person as that company’s asset. Either you are going to buy an iphone or samsung or oppo or huawei or nokia 😂 good luck. Unless u can tell you wife to agree on not teach your kids to follow what you and her are doing. 😂 if not they are going to be either one of you. 😂
Weird dogs? That meme at 22:48?! Dude!! Where has your website been for all of the YouTube surfing part of my life?!?! Better late than never, I suppose🤨 You have THE BEST delivery of topic that I have come across in far too long! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making & upkeeping this AWESOME website❣️ (edit: correction of timestamp)
Wrong and wrong: both advertising and propaganda are attempts at provoking fear, of buying or thinking or being seen consuming or being heard saying the wrong things, while distracting their target audiences from how the rules on what is correct and incorrect (otherwise known as ‘fashion’) change continually. The point of both is to have you so fearful of deciding for yourself what you buy or think that you’ll take the path of less resistance, and do what you’re told, while believing you’ve decided to.
Extremely well done and true. I read Vance Packard’s boo” Hidden Persuaders” in 1965- I recommendIs a graphic artist from 1967 I have seen everything you are speaking about ( some deviations ) in specifics. The Napoleonic pose ( I think the painting may have been by David). I saw John Tower, Texas US Senator use it in Austin,Texas after the death of MLK in 1968.
Usually love this website but this article seems overly dramatic at best, and incredibly disingenuous at worst. Very little evidence, if any, is given that most of this is as malicious as it’s made out to be. Virtually any symbol could be construed to make a government look manipulative if you try hard enough. Regardless, trying to represent yourself as something good, powerful, and so on isn’t bad. If so, I’m a sinner for smiling at people when I’m not interested, for trying to dress well and being interested in fashion, and so on. If you want to say “a government is trying to propagandize and control people with a dudes head on a coin” you gotta have evidence that that’s the intent, and no evidence was provided in this article, just theory — well thought out theory, but just that in the end. Really disappointing.
The pink and blue haired kids with rings in their noses are being taught in public school and university that America is coming to an end. This is why our holidays are being replaced with things like “indigenous people’s day” and “pride” month. It’s how they are constraining a new set of beliefs to replace what we have lost. It saddens me. My Grandparents would be sad too.
No you don’t have better than other countries, you just have the illusion that you have the agency to change the system when you have none. I would love to see the full quote with data for the Cliff Kuang book you cited. That hardly looks like a primary source, it more or less looks like a secondary source which actually might refer to a primary source (20:27).
Funny to choose the AR-15 over the AK-47. The AK-47 is at least outside the usa a much bigger icon. More history and spread much wider. When you just started about the AR-15 i thought it was just the icon of usa in wars. I did not link the weapon with freedom. heck, i did not link any weapon with freedom. But that might be my european propaganda speaking that weapons are unnecessary to achieve freedom. Anyway, i thought it was funny to choose AR-15 over the AK-47. felt like you slipped in a bit of your own propaganda there. USA! GUNS! FREEDOM! WHOOOO!!
Curious, do you rather live in chaos? Deconstructing the issues to their very core is not a bad way to navigate this reality. There isn’t any space left for pink glasses view. Such as that nobody is better than others, every person would make the same choice under the same circumstances. Socialism is enticing, but people are lazy by nature, so it would never work.
The Moynihan report was a text document that had a clinical look and spoke in very plain language as it talked about segregation alienation different family welfare checks and also the exclusion of the black American father from the family so that they could get it but a white father could be home and $49 per month for white families but $15 for black American families
I can agree on bureaucracy being inherently dehumanizing. But wtf is this segmnt about internment camp documents? Wtf did you wanted them to be? With skull & bones and pattern with word death on it or something? Did you think this could’ve made it somehow better for anyone and not turn all of the internment camp bureaucracy into a complete farce?
i think your putting way to much thought into the prison/internment documents. they look simple and ordinary because they probably had to come up with a document for that purpose quickly and so you end up with a simple, straight to the point document, i very much doubt there was any sinister agenda behind the layout and font choice. but overall great article. very informative, thanks
Your part on concentration camp docs is Orwellian. One of your given concentration camp document literally has a pink triangle, a specific symbol related to concentration camp that is very uncharacteristic to normal archieve work, plus a red stamp that on it’s own an instant marker of very special document(if not for rejection) The other is just red You said this straight up looking on evidence opposite to your words, put it in article and by comment section – nobody has questions to you
The begining of this article seemed interesting, but the moment I heard your interpretation of the design during, so called, the Stalin era, I realized that this article is not exposing propaganda; this article is propaganda. Soviet Union had to change the stragedy not because of the “dictator” Stalin, but because of the political situation. To be more specific, the politics of the imperialist west made the Soviet Union to realize that another war would be coming soon, and they needed to prepare themselves in order not to be destroyed. Shame on you for spreading propaganda lies while pretending that you are exposing it.
kinda disappointed with this one, your use of the term propaganda waters the definition down to the point of making it meaningless. when you refer to the laurels on the penny as propaganda because it is reminiscent of roman symbols of prosperity is aggravating, especially when “In God We Trust” is sitting right above it. you really dropped the second part of the definition of propaganda you cited.
Horses were actually invented by the Greeks in the trojan war. The so-called Trojan Horse was made to look like an animal, so the Trojans thought it was a harmless gift. However they hid soldiers inside, who at night crawled out and opened the city gates, so that the whole greek army could come inside and burn down the whole city. But it was crude, as it was very big and made out of wood, so this deception only worked once, so later the ancient Greeks developed mechanical horses that looked more like real animals and could be used for survaillance without being noticed.
The irony of the article being about propaganda, while the portion on the Nazi documents is a perfect example of the effect of propaganda on what we think. There’s a reason you can’t deny the Holocaust or claim polish responsibility for mass murder of germans in WW2 without going to prison in Poland. Or any kind of fact based revisionism without being trashed.
Propaganda or the influence of thought comes from one of two places pride or humility. Propaganda that comes from humility is rare but not dangerous because it is not enforced and individuals have the right to choose what to believe. Propaganda that comes from pride is the most dangerous as those that use it have the belief of “I have all the answers to the world’s problems and everyone should do whatever I tell them to!” The problem is not propaganda itself it’s what is being promoted. Can you tell the difference between good and evil, right and wrong etc.