Field Journal 10: Wild Plakken

Dutch graphic design cannot be easily defined. Like yin and yang, opposites can be found in Dutch graphic design; "typography and image, institutions and individuality, rules and anarchy, and art and application" (Typotheque). Due to looser regulations, graphic designers in the Netherlands were free to print material compared to their neighbors. And with less boundaries, Dutch designers were able to control what they printed and how they printed.

One of the collaborative groups that emerged from in the second half of the 20th century was Wild Plakken. Formed by three designers, Wild Plakken's main objective was to create posters that would elicit social or political change. Though the textbook didn't explicitly state this, I believe that Wild Plakken's art direction, as experimental as it was, was more on the lines of expressionism. Demonstrating a strong sense of emotion like previous expressionists, this group didn't rely on depicting the horrors and tragedies of their causes like abortion, racism, or gay rights but instead chose to use open texts and everyday images and collage them in a way for people to give their own interpretations. By doing so, Wild Plakken's posters were able to stand out in a sea of conventional print advertising with processed pictures and captured the rawness of the subject to seem more relatable and realistic.  

1984, Wild Plakken, Europe Free of Nuclear Arms,
Progressive Green Coalition

Besides the group's methods for creating posters, I was a bit shocked to learn that Wild Plakken accepted or rejected commissions based on the designer's and client's stance on issues and views. And it makes sense. How can a designer handle a commission that went against his or her's ideas and morals? Some might call it unprofessional and unrealistic for a group or company to survive constantly accepting and rejecting clients, but I admire how passionate designers at Wild Plakken were; it's either all or nothing. You can't fake passion or emotion, so what's the point? Though I don't do work regarding social issues (yet!), when I find myself making projects for any subject, I either give in my all or nothing at all. I realize how detrimental it is, but I hate the idea of forcing myself to do a "good job" on something I don't have any emotions or concrete stances on. But then I feel an adrenaline rush when I do find projects interesting or assignments that agree with my ideas and I can hit a home run. 

 

And here's another thing that strikes me about Wild Plakken; by choosing which commissions to work on, there's a sense of power shifted to graphic designers. Designers have the ability to effectively communicate to people through typography, images, collages, technology, drawings, packaging, and billboards and clients realized that. The content or the messages can be delivered, but graphic designers should be selective and consider which messages to be sent. By this time, graphic design was taken seriously and more institutions taught aspiring designers how to incorporate their studies into the real world and ultimately how to make significant contributions to the world of art and society itself. 

Sources:

https://www.typotheque.com/articles/official_anarchy_dutch_graphic_design

http://www.moma.org/collection//browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A7632&page_number=1&template_id=1&sort_order=1