David Carson

Who is he?

David Carson is an American graphic designer and art director. He is best know for his crazy and innovative designs for Ray Gun magazine in the 90s. His  deigns were different to say the least. They used unique typography and it defined the 'grunge typography'.  He challenged the conventions of magazine design and his layouts are extremely creative. Not every sing one of his designs is completely readable, but are instantly recognisable.

RayGun

Every single issue of this magazine was different. There was no set housestyle, was completely abstract and became known for its ever - changing style. The magazine experimented with every convention, which only resulted in the publishing 74 unique and very different issues.

What do I think?

These magazine covers are great in theory - they challenge conventions and offer something different, however in practice, the result is not so magnificent.

 

They are very abstract and artistic, but this is part of the downfall. This magazine would only have attracted a certain type of audience - and would undoubtedly become more of a collectors item rather than a magazine.  This is because the majority of the population like convention. Society today like things to conform to social normality. The avant-garde/modern art nature of these covers would be lost on most people and the abnormality would be too bizarre for people to accept. We are a society of convenience - like in how we consume things - magazines like this wouldn't last,  they are too complex, and it didn't as it only had 74 issues.

 

This defiance of convention in its - self becomes conventional. It begins to look like trying to hard to be non - conformist that it is just being done for the sake of it. It is undoubtedly unique, but it has been done now. Anyone who breaks from convention will fall into the convention of trying to be different. However, there is still the need to be different, and people wont ever stop trying to break the rules because that's what we, as humans, want to do - we are all different.

 

Consequently, RayGun is a perfect example of how wrong breaking conventions can go. The magazine became more of art, which explains why it didn't last. I personally like some of the cover designs, but to follow this designing principle would make my magazine unappealing. Conventions are there for a reason - they show what works and why, it attracts people. To stray away from this would result in a try - hard magazine that just become more of a joke than popular.