Trend Generator
‘Trend List, the categorised blog of colour, form and compositional trends found in graphic design, has just released its image-making app, Trend Generator. Programmed to create posters 'on the fly,' you can access the palettes and elements of the moment, placed together and exportable to Facebook, Tumblr and email.
The app, released in December, is a follow-on from their online generator, which It’s Nice That reported, 'If you thought graphic design was a load of old formulaic nonsense that could be put together by a chimp, a small child or just a simple algorithm, then consider yourself proved right courtesy of Trend List and their trendy design generator.'
The website has long been a source of both visual fodder and frustration since its inception, a visit bearing an overview of international styles and unfortunate labelling of art direction and composition, neglecting the context, meaning, production or application of the work. Broken into tags, encompassing normal, centre aligned, staircase, underlined, condensed, IK blue (do they explain what IK means?), slash, waves, slant and gradients, the featured work is also edited to showcase of the most iconoclastic work being produced – and this is the work most dangerous to the understanding of graphic design when portrayed in a collection without this social context. All this, however, is immensely indicative of the image culture encouraged by the internet and the phenomenal distribution of the poster thumbnail – the seductive image prized over content, process, meaning and purpose.
The developers of Trend Generator appear to have a view of design as being something more akin to open source programming, a collection of pre-existing ideas that can be indiscriminately applied, swapped and replicated: 'Trend Generator tries to change the rules in graphic design,' TL explains. 'It provides graphic designer with the right tools to create great posters in a cool way. Developed by graphic designers with the attention to the contemporary trends. Generating posters have never been more fun before.'
'It’s fun, but it also represents big shift in the designing process.'
This ‘shift’, meaning the construction of image making, is not new, but an enduring misunderstanding of the role of graphic design that causes daily frustration between clients and designers. While the democratisation of graphic design isn’t necessarily a threat to the industry, without ample explanation or education through such popular sites, these misunderstandings are only reinforced.
Selling for $1.99, the app has only one thinly veiled user review, from Graphic designer Ryder Ripps. 'I actually went to hunter college but everyone thinks i went to RISD or Yale when they see the work i create with this wonderful app! Thank you!'
Whether this is used for compositional experimentation or visual reference, it also raises the questions – why are these images produced? Why is the creation of an image without purpose, in poster format, such a thrilling activity? What is graphic design, if you don’t have to think?’