MESMERIZATION: Spellbound
Design really is half the experience here and most of the spells receive a juicy visual interpretation by Chris Curran and Geoff Williamson of Why Not Associates. Although these retain a clear connection to the Why Not house style, the book is a tour de force of graphic invention, extracting a spect...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Creative Review 2008-10, p.62 |
|---|---|
| Format: | Magazinearticle |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Design really is half the experience here and most of the spells receive a juicy visual interpretation by Chris Curran and Geoff Williamson of Why Not Associates. Although these retain a clear connection to the Why Not house style, the book is a tour de force of graphic invention, extracting a spectrum of typographic colours and moods from the badge-like circular frames used to project the themes. So the rounded type of the 'Fat Futures' spell snuggles in a nest formed by a loosely coiled tape measure, 'Big Pharma' is as cleanly efficient as a packet of Paracetamol, and 'Conspiracy Theories' rasps out its dark revelations in jittery bursts of monochromatic noise. 'Retail Therapy' concludes with the observation that the future prosperity of a nation will be marked "by the ability of its people to produce loads of stuff and (perhaps) more importantly, the ability of its people to consume loads of stuff. Concepts of retail therapy provide that powerful emotional accelerator." So this spell is ok after all, then? In the book's introduction, he seemed to want us to consume less. In the 'Playnation' section about computer games, he wonders breezily how it might be if the financial markets looked like a landscape out of Halo. Once again, an uncritical aside - and Mesmerization has plenty - undercuts the intended critical message. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0262-1037 2515-4621 |