My biggest design hero is David Carson. Carson is an American graphic designer, art director, and famous surfer. He was born September 8th, 1955 in Corpus Cristi, Texas. He went on to study Sociology from San Diego State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Carson’s first contact with graphic design was in 1980 at the University of Arizona during a two-week graphics course, taught by Jackson Boelts. Soon after attending this course, “Carson attended the Oregon College of Commercial Art to study graphic design and completed a three-week workshop in Switzerland as a part of his degree. He also took up a teaching job at a Californian high school where he taught for several years. Besides, his many talents include professional surfing and he was ranked 9th best surfer in the world, in 1989” (Famousgraphicdesigners.com, n.d.).
David Carson is best known for his innovative magazine design, and use of experimental typography. He was the art director for the magazine Ray Gunn, which is when he created and employed much of the typographic and layout approaches for which he is known. In particular, his widely imitated aesthetic defined the “grunge typography” era.
Like many other of the 90s’ best things, grunge typography was rooted in angst and discontent. “Grunge typography came in as a backlash, very much like how punk music came in,” Segura told me during a recent phone conversation. “It was almost like a societal complaint if you will: everything was getting too clean. Design by people like David Carson also made it a very accessible direction to go on. We, as human beings, tend to follow more than lead, and everyone just started to do that David Carson look. … And there was, for a certain period of time, a certain refreshing look to it that had not been seen before” (The Awl, 2012).
Although David Carson’s covers for Ray Gun were often radical and bold, it fascinated the young readership, thus the big corporations also hired him for their brand advertisements through both print and electronic media. In 1995, Carson quit his job at Ray Gun and established his own firm, David Carson Design. He signed contracts with a host of major corporate clients, including Nike, Pepsi Cola, Ray Bans, Levi Strauss, and MTV Global among others. Additionally, Carson published a comprehensive collection of his graphic works The End of Print: The Graphic Design of David Carson (1995) and other highly experimental works; 2nd Sight, Trek, and Fotografiks.
David Carson and his work inspires me because, no matter the circumstances, he pushed the boundaries and broke the rules of design, and created an entirely new era of art and typography. As an artist, it is important to break the design rules if it means creating something new and fresh to inspire the design community. David goes to show that there are no limits, and that should inspire anyone that is an artist, designer, or creator. My style of graphic design is inspired by the grunge era, and David Carson was a huge part of that era, which makes it even better! His work constantly reminds me that I can think outside the box, even if some people do not like it, because it could be the start of something revolutionary.
References
Famousgraphicdesigners.com. (n.d.). David Carson. Retrieved from Famous Graphic Designers: https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/david-carson
The Awl. (2012, August 21). The Rise and Fall Of Grunge Typography. Retrieved from The Awl: https://www.theawl.com/2012/08/the-rise-and-fall-of-grunge-typography/