1 point
âAn idea is a point of departure and no more. As soon as you elaborate it, it becomes transformed by thought.â
PABLO PICASSO (SPANISH, 1881â1973) Painter, Sculptor
4 a: a geometric element that has zero dimensions and a location determinable by an ordered set of coordinates
A point is the fundamental building block of all visual communication design elements and principles. It is also the simplest and purest of all geometric elements in a graphic designerâs vocabulary and used as an essential element in geometry, physics, vector graphics, and other related fields.
Definitions
A point has many definitions. It is often considered within the framework of Euclidean geometry, where it is one of the fundamental objects. Euclid (Greek, c. 300 BCE), creator of modern geometry, originally defined the point vaguely, as âthat which has no part.â
It is an abstract phenomenon indicating a precise location; however, it cannot be seen or felt. It is a location or place without area. In typography, a point is a period. It is a dot character such as a full stop, decimal point, or radix point. It is also the smallest unit of measurement, being a subdivision of the larger picaâone point is equal to 0.0148 inches, 1/72 of an inch, whereby twelve (12) points equals one pica. It also describes the weight or thickness of paper stock.
Paris Diderot UniversitĂ©âs logotype is literally based on an âX marks the spotâ graphic representation or, in this case, the intersection of two visual elements or lines creating a singular point. Additionally, the dots of the lowercase iâs in the words Paris and Diderot are shared to create a visual focal point and integration between the two words, providing a much stronger and cohesive unity to the overall message.
CATHERINE ZASK
Paris, FR
The website for Olin, a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm, relies solely upon varied size points, or dots, as the primary navigational tools for accessing specific information, such as profile, project types, and news on the firm. It also visually symbolizes the macrocosm and microcosm of the organization through the fluid, kinetic movements of the siteâs interface, further conveying Olin as an organic, living entity.
PENTAGRAM
New York, NY, USA
1910
AEG Lamp Poster
PETER BEHRENS
Munich, DE
Peter Behrens and the AEG Brand
PETER BEHRENS (1868â1940) was a true visionary and the first Renaissance designer of the modern age, moving with ease from one discipline to anotherâpainting, architecture, product design, furniture design, and graphic design. His creative interests were boundless. Behrens was the first to pursue a seamless integration of visual communications and architecture and was an inspiration to the founders of the modernist movement.
As a young man, he worked as a fine artist, illustrator, and bookbinder in his native Hamburg. In 1899, Behrens became the second member of the recently created Darmstadt Artistsâ Colony, where he designed and built his own house as well as everything inside itâfrom furniture and textiles to paintings and pottery. While at Darmstadt, he realized that he was more interested in simplified geometric forms than the more organic and curvilinear forms of the current Jugendstil (New Art) or Art Nouveau. In the early 1900s, he became one of the leaders of architectural reform in Germany and one of the first architects of factories and office buildings utilizing a modernist materials palette of brick, steel, and glass.
As a teacher, his ideas and teachings on design for industry, as well as everyday objects and products, influenced a group of students that would ultimately alter the direction of twentieth-century architecture and design worldwide, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (German, 1886â1969), Le Corbusier (Swiss, 1887â1965), Adolf Meyer (German, 1843â1942), and Walter Gropius (German, 1883â1969), founder of the Bauhaus school in Dessau, Germany.
In 1907, Allegemein ElektricitĂ€ts-Gesellschaft (AEG), Germanyâs largest electrical utility and industrial producer, hired Behrens as its new artistic consultant. It was at AEG that he created a unified brand for every aspect of the companyâs visual environmentâoffice buildings, factories, and visual communication materials.
A primary example of Behrensâs design philosophy at AEG was a promotional poster advertising AEGâS newest product in 1910âa technologically advanced lamp or lightbulb. The design of the poster is clearly based on fundamental modernist design elements and principles. Its ortho...