Usually, the term refers to an indignity perpetrated on young men of the less athletic persuasion by their more robust classmates, usually in the context of the men's restroom. However, i think it could also apply to a disturbing trend in graphic design.
The "swirley" is almost always a black spiral-y silhouette made up of forms that are, somehow, supposed to relate to the product, service, or concept offered. I took the first image in a gaming lounge at a European airport about six months ago. The next is the "logo" of my erstwhile French colleagues. I don't know what else to call it. It's supposed to describe their offered services in graphics and media— probably as successfully as the first image describes… gaming. Or whatever.
Is the swirley strictly a European phenominon, or are they teaching this flat, formless, and confusing solution in American design schools as well?
4 comments:
When I was young my mother gave me some of the children's book she had saved from her own and my grandmother's childhood. Their wonderful drawings had ornate borders, some of which were just silhouettes which related in some shape or form to the content of the story.
The modern take-off – the "swirleys" – seems to be influenced by the Dr. Seuss style of bending, flexing, contorting objects, but being starkly black-and-white I actually find the swirleys superficial and repulsive rather than playful. But then, I'm not the biggest fan of Dr. Seuss either...
The "swirlies" you posted are superficially related by the circular layout, (apparently inspired by a coffee ring), but that's not the reason they are bad graphics. Nor is it the use of silhouettes, which is a perfectly viable graphic technique. The problem with these designs is that they are trying to communicate way too much information. To my thinking, a graphic must convey it's message concisely and quickly. (It's sort of like a stop sign -- if you don't comprehend the meaning until after you've gone through the intersection, you may be dead). These images are so complex that I would never haver realized that they were supposed to convey a specific meaning if you hadn't told me. By attempting to cover too many ideas, the artist has, instead, told me nothing. It's what my English friend would call, a "Bossum," -- neither a bosom nor a bottom.
It's definitely not only a European trend. It's been going on for at least several years over here, too. I liked it at first, but it's looking old. Look at this (and its overblown title) for several specimens. Here's a museum-related example: the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas's splash page. It's quite lovely, and I admired it when I first saw it a year or so ago, but now that I've seen it so many other places, I'm ready for a change.
See also this web-design blog, whose own banner/head image is in this trend, and, on this page, is rounding up swirly packages of vector illustrations that you can buy.
I'm seeing it in flat and transparent colors more often than in black and white, and it's usually made up of winding, twisty organic forms, like vines, with the occasional animal popping up, as in your examples.
A style that began, I presume, in opposition to utilitarian, minimalistic, tidy grids is now so overdone that I'm sure it will breed its own opposition soon.
Jennifer Rae,
Thanks for the excellent examples. I actually liked many of them.
Years ago, i designed a wedding invite, RSVP card, etc. using a motif from an old botanic woodcut book. If i can find one, i'll post it.
Post a Comment