Have our senses become dull from overexposure, or honed to razor sharp keenness?

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen some graphic works that have elicited strong, and sometimes violent, reactions to the designers and movements (and sometimes a typeface) simply because of the style… the way the design looked; in Germany with the Bauhaus School (“cultural Bolsheviks”, “revolutionaries”) and the New Typography led by Jan Tschichold (arrested by Nazis, called an “anarchist”). We’ve also seen how by mid-century in American graphic design, Madison Avenue and avant-garde design firms like Doyle Dane Bernbach revolutionized the world of graphic communication and spawned a wave of new ideas, new voices to communicate to the public, new methods of presenting content that also elicited strong reactions. Form (style) and content… the foundation of graphic design. So I wonder if our visually astute generation (and especially we cosmopolitans who are inundated with hundreds of pieces of graphic design on an almost daily basis) has the capacity to experience such strong reactions (whether positive or negative) to graphic design anymore? Have our senses become dull from overexposure, or honed to razor sharp keenness? Choose one (preferably contemporary) graphic work that you have had a strong reaction to, either visually or conceptually, or (preferably) both. This could have been a positive reaction, or a negative one. Aim to choose a graphic work of exceptional quality, or, well, one that you think is an exceptional failure. Ideally your choice could be any work we may (generally) consider “graphic design”: firstly, any printed work (posters, flyers, or billboards, book/magazine/or newspaper covers, ads, or editorials, etc.), web sites, web ads, logos, app design including icons… I’d expand the field here to include package design as well; album covers, food packages, etc..This could be a favorite piece of graphic design you have, or just something you see or have seen, if you can remember it. Think about form and content, and their effect on the viewer…on you, personally. What is it about the look of it that attracts or repels you? Specifically explain your answer in detail. Describe the visual elements of the work (line, shape, color, balance, harmony, etc), and explain WHY you think (you may not know, or have given it much thought) it attracts/repels you. What is it about the content that elicits a strong reaction? Remember our discussion in class regarding “identity” and how our individual identity is linked to design, and “familiarity’ with graphic elements that we associate with. This may include observations on your personal sense of style, and how this work reflects or contrasts that. Try to define your “demographic’ that advertisers and designers are targeting. Think about the idea of “conspicuous consumption”, and how image and product are linked through graphic design. Students must answer the initial question: Have our senses become dull from overexposure, or honed to razor sharp keenness?, Explain your answer as it pertains to your choice. All external references must be properly cited. Remember, information from other sources is necessary, but I want you to discuss the work in your own words as much as possible. Work will be thoroughly checked for plagiarism. Assignment:Choose example. Write an essay (min. 500 words) describing your choice, why you have chosen it, and answer the initial question: Have our senses become dull from overexposure, or honed to razor sharp keenness?