***Disclaimer*** This lil’ excerpt is basically how I first thought of David Carson when I saw his work. Some things were said in absolute confusion and anger, but they DON’T NECESSARILY REFLECT MY VIEWS AS OF NOW. Anyway. Read things.
David Carson. “What in the world?” is what I’m thinking every time I see his work. I don’t actually know what makes his work so amazing, but hey, it might just be a matter of preference. To me, his work just looks like a bunch of typography faux-pas, but for some reason it “revolutionized” the way people see typography. I must be missing something, because it doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. He might have one or two works that I can appreciate, but all his work just kind of melts together, like a big mess of letters. However I must respect him as a designer. I don’t doubt that that he puts work and thought into every design, and he has quite the following, so he must be doing something right.
David Carson - Samsung
Even his website is annoying for me to scan through. At the top, there is just one strip of type that says “click: dcd work,bio,clients.” I… wasn’t entertained by its quirkiness. No spaces between the commas. Why would he do that? I ventured, and clicked the “work” button, to see if I could find something I admired. It was one column, and only one item per at a time. I didn’t even like his sea foam-ish green highlights as a border round all his work. It reminded me of bad html highlights.
David Carson - Western Union Rebranding
The first piece of work was… tolerable. I It actually looked pretty interesting, and it the type wasn’t too bad to look at. I could actually tell what was going on, and I didn’t feel uncomfortable. I scrolled down and saw another piece of work: his design for a book by two people named Paul Anderson and David Salomon called “The Architecture of PatternsWhat in the world is going on here? It looks like a middle schooler’s attempt at trying his hand at Illustrator for the first time. Not appealing at all. Most everything that followed was found to be of a similar air and style, and I quickly looked for some background on the guy.
Apparently he was a teacher at a high school in San Diego. He had worked at developing his signature style, which implemented unconventionally dirty type, and photography that didn’t fit the mainstream bill. He wasn’t a conformist. I admire that. It is also said that he is the father of grunge, one of my favorite things to add into a clean design, just to give it texture and a tangible feel. Reading this, I opened my eyes a bit to his style, and began to appreciate it.
David Carson - Cougar Paper Promotion
I revisited his portfolio, and kept an open mind this time. I scrolled through his work, and actually found some pieces that I enjoyed. Even some typography I admired. I can’t say that I would use that particular style myself, but I had actually come to like it. It doesn’t look like anything else, and that is something I try to embody (though I don’t go so far as Carson himself). I began to actually like his rebel-esque style, and welcome it to the way I think. I actually found myself liking his work!
David Carson - The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg
Not to say that I will start grunging up everything I do, but I really think I can learn a lot from other designers and other styles if I keep my mind open. David Carson has probably gotten many to do this, and I’m glad I got the chance to experience it.
David Carson - '09 Bark Catalog
This is a nice read, I’ve never heard of David Carson (I fail, I know. But at least I’m trying) and I agree that some of his stuff is kinda hit or miss. But yeah, nowadays I find that it is better to try to keep an open mind about most things. There’s really no point in arguing over whats good or bad, since everyone will have a different opinion or perspective anyway. You might as well try to learn something from whats in front of you instead of just shunning it off your first impression. I like your change of perspective by the end of the excerpt.