Defining Culture for Graphic Design

The first thing everyone thinks about when they think of culture are far flung cultures with very iconic symbols, modes of dressing, and yearly celebrations that are “strange” or “different” from our own. Some might think of more remote places such as in the wilds of the Amazon, or the heights of the Himalayas. Others might think of those cultural festivals that occur in our cities such as the Chinese New Year or a Greek festival. I will define culture for the graphic design narrative through the lens of anthropology.

Culture for anthropologists is defined as “the shared set of (implicit and explicit) values, ideas, concepts, and rules of behavior that allow a social group to function… it is dynamic and evolving” (Hudelson, 2004). So really, culture is any established social group that shares strong values and ideas between its members. These ideas morph over time as individual concepts come into fashion and fade.

These shared concepts and values, likes and dislikes, can be articulated into visual manifestations either from the history of the group or the desires for the future. In Sean Adam’s book, “How Design Makes Us Think and Feel and Do Things” he uses the coffee table, a furniture item ubiquitous throughout all of history to illustrate how cultural, technological, and ideological trends shaped the visual manifestation of the table. Individuals from the baroque period in Rome created a lavish golden legs with flour-de-lis and marble counter top was designed as a status symbol, so only the rich could afford and display it. The coffee table continued to transform throughout history, using more metal and glass through the industrial age to display the modern values of the Bauhaus, emphasizing minimalism, clarity, and simple appreciation for the materials. The coffee table continued to change throughout the decades and will continue to change in the years to come to reflect our societal values whether they be economic, ideological, or technological.

Societies, businesses, and institutions today seek to display their own social group values through their branding and marketing. Take the logo and branding that i conducted for Mike Benson, horsemanship trainer. Horsemanship has its own cultural world with a history of compassion and learning about horse behavior, being subversive to the original cowboy teachings of “breaking” a horse. Historically horsemanship is famous throughout the western part of the United States, as many horsemanship trainers are based in California or the surrounding states. I sought to bring the “kind western cowboy” theme into Mike’s logo while also calling back to the cowboy fantasy of working with cattle and riding all day. I used shades of brown that are found in the arid desert, the cattle hides, and the saddle and gear that cowboys use daily. The logo was also inspired by the practice of branding cattle in a unique pattern that could not be easily altered by cattle thieves. Mike’s logo embodies the compassion through the soft brown, the history through the brand, and the animals through the dark brown.

All companies have values and outlooks, a culture that can be portrayed through color and font. As a graphic designer, my goal is designing values with representation and forethought.