- An emotional connection occurs when the design solution
includes an appropriated image or form
and the audience recognizes it.
The viewer will have a sense of delight
at the recognition of the image and subsequently
have a positive response to the design solution.
This emotional connection is even more potent
when the appropriated image or idea is specific
to a narrow audience.
Now, this doesn't work when the message
needs to reach a wide range of individuals.
But if you're talking to a smaller group
the connection will be doubly meaningful.
Let's start with an example of another poster series
I designed for a visiting artist's schedule.
Somehow word traveled amongst the students
that I like corny and overly sentimental record covers
for easy listening music.
It's an ongoing joke but it's specific to only
the graphic design students at art center.
I use this in joke to design the posters,
borrowing the greeting card-style images of nature
and typographic style of these records.
The students thought they were hilarious
and knew that I was speaking directly to them
as our community.
Outside visitors were simply confused,
assuming that I had questionable taste in design,
which may be true.
In 1830, Hokusai created the wood block print,
The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
This image is one of the most well-known and reproduced
examples of Japanese art.
There are incredible compositional and color harmonies.
This image is easily recognized by anyone
with an appreciation for art history
and/or Japanese culture.
Giant Robot is a store featuring Asian pop culture.
One may purchase toys, tee shirts, gifts,
and contemporary publications and zines.
The cover for their magazine takes advantage
of the reference to The Great Wave and subverts
the message with the addition of bunnies.
In another instance, for SHOW Magazine,
the audience who identify the connection
to The Great Wave is provided with a sense of pride.
"Oh yeah, I know that Japanese wood block print."
Those who don't will still recognize a Japanese theme.
When CA Magazine dedicated an issue to corporate identity,
the designers went directly to the yellow pages
of the telephone book for a solution.
The page is replicated exactly as-is.
They didn't modify any of the content.
Fortunately, some of the content, such as the GE
and Bell Telephone logos, are on the page.
For the civilian or non-designer, this was purely
a telephone book page.
But for the designer, this is an obvious collection
of corporate identities and the connection
between design and business.
The danger is using this approach to be exclusionary
and create an us versus them feeling, such as using
cultural symbols that caused harm
to promote hate or intolerance.
In my experience, surgically-targeted appropriation
works when the message is positive and created
to help strengthen bonds between people.