Humor as an element in graphic design

Rochester Institute of Technology

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5-18-1993

Humor as an element in graphic design

Jason J. Snape

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Rochester Institute

of

Technology

A

Thesis

Submitted

to the

Faculty

of

the

College

of

Imaging

Arts

and

Science

in

Candidacy

for

the

Degree

of

Master

of

Fine Arts

Humor

as an

Element in

Graphic

Design

by

Jason J.

Snape

APPROVALS

Advisor: Professor DeborJh BeJrdslee

Signature:

Date:

21

'H1111tft13

Associate Advisor: Professor John MorreJII

Signature:

Date:

i~

HIM

/94)

Associate Advisor: Professor Joe \VJtson

Signature:

Date:

---<...rn"-IJ~~-=--;r;I----Special Assistant to the DCJll ror CrJduJte A[fJirs:

Professor Philip BornJrtll

SignatLIre:

Date:

7

I~

t::y;'iC

t

S2r~

Dean, College of

·1!y~lirA[

ts ....

Dr. Margaret LUCJS

SignatLIre:

Date:

C

~/!~

'1

3

I,

Jason Snape

prefer to be conracted

each time a request for producrion is made. I can be

reached at the following address.

159 Rosedale Dr

Binghamton, NY 13905

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

1

Preface

2

Glossary

3

Introduction

5

Chapter One:

Humor

6

Humor Theories

6

The

Incongruity Theory

8

Resolution in Humor

9

Humor Types

1

1

Clarifying

Humor

12

Summary

15

Chapter

Two: Graphic Design

16

Structure

and

Interval

18

Graphic Design Elements

19

Chapter Three:

Imagery

24

Literary

and

Typographic Humor

24

Chapter Four Matrix Creation

27

Initial Matrices

27

The

Hybrid Matrix

27

Summary

29

Alternate Matrices

30

Ideation

31

Chapter Five: Application

33

Chapter Six: Evaluation

36

Chapter

Seven:

Conclusion

37

Appendices

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I

would

like

to thank

my

thesiscommittee members-

Deborah

Beardslee,

John

Morreall,

and

Joe Watson

-

for

_their

time,

_patience, and advice.

I

want

to thank

my

friends,

who

helped

me retain

my

sanity

and

my

smile.

Lasdy,

I

thank

my

family

for

seeing

me through

it

all.

My

love

of

laughter

and

humor

all

began

withthem.

I

will

dedicate

this to

Lillian

Orcutt,

whose

senseof

humor

always makes

my

day.

I

wouldalso

like

tothank the

Ministry

of

Silly

Walks,

Major

Major,

Mr.

Reavis,

the

Mummy,

Don

Glickman, Nicky, Peter, JefTRooney, Dinsdale,

Jeff

Arbegast,

Ferris

Akel,

Roman

Bozek,

Mark

Osborne,

Uncle

Bob,

Dave

Sacco,

Idiot Construction

Workers,

Uncle Dan (for

the phrase

"I'd

as soon

wipe a wildcat's

hieny

withsandpaper asaskthatwoman

for

a

dollar"),

Spam,

Ms.

Doolittle,

Goof

Gas,

Brian's

Dr. Z

and

"DUDAKi",

Denise 8c

Laurel,

Pam,

Paul, Connie,

Rod,

Inspector

Cleuseau,

Old

King,

Mr. Keith

Maniac

from

Guatemala,

Baker Baker

the

Undertaker,

Brave Sir

Robin,

Uncle

Jim,

"You

live

in

that pieceofpaper!?!?",

Mortal

Splunge,

Frank

Ramano,

Bugs

Bunny,

thesub

from

printing,

Yossarian, Pooh,

and stupid

PREFACE

My

study

of

humor

and graphic

design

began

withan

interest in

theways

anaudiencereactsandrespondstographic

design.

I

soughta mode of communication which would addresstheaudienceon a

very

personal

level

and provide a respite

from

theassault of

information

in society

today.

Humor

has

the

ability

tocreate a positiveemotional response,and

may

be

used

in

a

nonthreatening,

even

disarming,

manner.

A

simple cartoon can

help

someone

forget

a miserable

day

andsee their problems

in

new

light.

I

believe

that

if I

can

apply

thesecharacteristicstographic

design

solutions,

it

willresult

in

a potent means of

conveying

a message.

While

theuseof

humor

in

graphic

design

was not anew

idea,

I

thought that

I

might

be

abletoestablisha unique

way

of

implementing

it. One

ofthe crucial componentsofgraphic

design

is

thestructure ofthe message

presentation,

and

if I

could

find

a comparablestructure

in

humor,

the two could

be

combinedwitha

highly

effectiveresult.

This

documentation

of

my

MFA

thesispresents

my

process and progress through an

investigation

ofthe relationships

between

humor

andgraphic

GLOSSARY

analysis appropriateness attribute comparison component composition contrast effective events

form

humor

ideation

implication

incongruity

instantiation

interval

link

matrix order pattern

philosophy

presentation

relationship

resolution

theseparationof an

intellectual

or substantial whole

into its

constituent parts

for

individual

study

suitability

for

a particualarperson, condition, occasion,orplace; proper;

fitting

a

quality

or characteristic of a person or

thing

theactof

representing

assimilar, equal,or analogous a constituentelement,as of a system

a

putting

togetherof partsor elementsto

form

a whole toset

in

opposition

in

ordertoshowor emphasize

differences

producing

or

designed

to producethe

desired

impression

or response

asignificant occurence or

happening

theshape and structure of

something

as

distinguished

from

its

substance

the_abilityto perceive, enjoy,orexpress what

is

comical or

funny

the

formation

of an

idea

or

image

of;create

intimate

or

incriminating

involvement

or connection

non-corresponding;out of normal accepted sequence or context

representation

by

an

instance

the time

between

twoevents, periods,points oftime a space

between

twoobjects or a

distance between

twopoints

a

break

in

the

continuity

or course of_something;

interlude,

pause

a single

connecting

element

a situation or

surrounding

substance withinwhich

something

originates,

develops,

or

is

contained a condition of

logical

orcomprehensible

arrangement

among

theseparare elements of a

group

therepetitionof spatial and_{temporal regularities} the

investigation

of causes and

laws underlying

reality

toofferto view;

display

a

logical

ornatural association

between

twoor more things

INTRODUCTION

"Humor

as an

Element in

Graphic

Design"

as atopic

for

thesisresearch was

presentedtograduate peers and

Professor Deborah Beardslee in early

September

for

the

benefit

oftheir

feedback

andsuggestions.

Concerns

arose

pertaining

to theappropriateness of

humor

in

certaincontexts andthe

possible

limitations

of

its

use as acommunication

tool;

weretheresituations

which

had

no room

for

any

humor

whatsoever?

Should everything

be

humorous? Could humor

actually

be

aneffectivealternative

for

addressing

sensitivesocial

issues? The

most crucial

factors

appeared to

be

the

link

between humor

and

design,

the appropriatenessof

humor

in

design,

and the

implications

ofa

humorous

message.

Appendix A

The

process of

planning

the thesis

began

with

adapting my initial ideas

toa

proposal

structure,

whichestablished a

broad

senseoftheproject and

culminated

in

a

formal

statementof

my

thesis

intentions.

The

next

step

was

tomake a concise project

plan,

which was

defined

by

Professor R.

Roger

Remington. This

plan

incorporated

the creationofa problemstatement,

documentation

ofneed, mission

statement, goals,

objectives, processes and

strategies,

atime/implementation plan, pragmaticconcerns, evaluationplan,

Chapter One

HUMOR

Philosophical

writings provided asubstantial

base from

which

I

could

begin

to understand the

way

humor

worked.

At RIT

s

Wallace

Library,

I

came

across the

fact

thatnot

only

wastherea

journal

of

humor

study,

but

an

RIT

faculty

member was

listed

as

being

a regularcontributor.

I

arrangeda

meeting

with

Professor John

Morreall,

where

he

expressed

his

views of

humor

as

being

strongly

tiedto thesenseof

incongruity, humor

itself

could

be defined

as

"enjoying

incongruity".

He

encouraged metocollect examples

of

different

typesof

humor,

and suggested

exploring

politicalcartoons,

humor

in

advertising,

Surreallist

artwork,and

pop

art aspotential avenues.

At

this point

I

was

considering

all manifestationsof

humor;

with

my

visions

of a general rule or

law

for humor

which

I

could

diagram

and

apply

tovisual

communication,

I

sawno reason to

disregard

comedians,movies,

literature,

or music.

Professor Morreall

supported

my

notions that

humor

was an effectivemeans

of

communicating

and

creating

a positiveemotional

response,

and

he

added

thatmodern corporate environments

have become

anaudience

for humor

seminars.

Humor

in

theworkplace

has become

a tool

for

contending

with

employee andemployer

tensions;

it is

a

non-threatening

approachto

sensitive

issues

which enablethe

desired

messageto communicate without

embarrassmentor strife.

I

began

to collect a

bank

of

humor

examples and

imagery. These

were

reproductions

from

newspapers,

magazines,

books,

and posters.

While

I

still soughttoexaminethe

many

ways

in

which

humor

was

presented,

printed

material wasthemost

readily

accessible.

HUMOR THEORIES

In endeavoring

tounderstand

humor,

I

first

researched theories

in

an

attempttoarrive at a general consensus

from

which

I

couldwork.

My

findings

included

severalgroupsof

theories,

but

the most complete

group

came

from

The

Psychology

of

Humor:

Theoretical Perspectives

and

Empirical

Issues,

which

I

combinedwith their

"Approaches

to

Theorizing",

HUMOR

Patricia

Keith-Spiegel,

"Early

ConceptionsofHumor"in The PsychologyofHumor:Theoretical PerspectivesandEmpirical Issues. ed.

by Jeffrey

Goldstein & Paul McGhec (NewYork: Academic

Press,

1972)

Cognitive

Incongruity Theory

Surprise

Theory

Configurational

Theory

focus

onthe

thinking

process

"conflict between

thoughtand

"instantaneous

breaking

up

ot routine

courseofthoughtor

previously

unrelated elements

fall

into

place

Conative

Superiority Theory

focus

on motivational aspects

laughter

in

triumph over

Affective

Ambivalence

Theory

Relief

and

Release

Theory

focus

on emotional aspects

laughter

as a product of opposite

emotions

struggling

reflection of

inward

tensions

suddenly

resolved or

disspelled

The

final

theory,

Freud's

Psychoanalytical

Theory

of

humor,

seemed to encompassall threeapproaches.

My

interest

lay

in

the mechanicsof

humor

and

its

structure,so

I

explored thecognitiveaspects

in

more

detail.

Daniel

E. Berlyne

discussed

therole of cognition

in

humor

structure:

Daniel E.

Berlyne,

"Humorandles Kin"

in The

Psychology

ofHumor Theoretical Perspectivesand Empirical

Issues,

ed.

Jeffrey

GoldsteinandPaul McGhee(New York: Acadmeic

Press,

1

972),

p.45.

Whether

or not

they

areresponsible

for

partofthepleasure, some pleasure

invariably

comes

from

thestructure, which

means

from

comparisonor, moregenerally,

from

collation

or

interrelation

ofstimuluselements, thoughts, and

items

of

information.

For

example,

in

humor,

it

may

be

amatter of

comparing

twoobjects that are perceivedside

by

side

[thin

Laurel

and

fat

Hardy],

two events that are perceived

in

close succession

[a

pompousperson

striding arrogantly down

the road and

then

falling

flat

on

his

face],

orattributesof

something

perceived now and attributes of similarobjects that

have

been

perceived

in

thepast

[any

familiar

objectthat

is

unusually

large

or small or somehow

distorted

outof

its

usualshape].

Humor

_may, onthe other

hand,

depend

on

thecombination

in

oneobject orevent ofattributes or

lines

HUMOR

juxtapositions

ofsights orsounds,

discourse

drawing

attentionto two

normally

unconnected meanings ofa

word oroftwo

similar-sounding

words, orconvergence

oftwo

normally

unrelated

lines

of thought.

In my

notes,

I

had highlighted

objects, events, and attributes

in attempting

to visualizethe

idea

of a

humor

structure,whichcould

possibly

be

applied

to graphic

design.

Perhaps

eventscouldcorrespond with the

design

message,

layout,

or

format;

objectscould

be

theelements which composedthe

design,

andattributes could

involve

the treatmentofthe

design

elements

(color,

size,

posture, weight,etc.).

The

concept of

humor

asacomparison or contrast which

involved both

thephysicaland mental

implications

to theviewerwas

strong,

but

further

material was necessary.

Art

Fettig

In Humourand

Productivity

Vol.

II,

ed.

by

V.S.R.D.Varma

(Pune,

India: Vijakat &

Vcnkat,

1

989)

Humor is like

thecurve at theend of a straight

line. A

punch

line

is

the curve.

And

unless we can thinkstraight,

wecannot

identify

thecurve.

Humorless

peoplethink

in

wavy

lines.

This

remark

is

stillsomewhat

puzzling

tome,

but

the graphic

description

wasnotable,aswas

his

emphasison

humor

as achange orshift

in

mental activities.

This

shift, or

activity

of

noting

a

discrepancy,

was evident

in

the

majority

of

my

readings,and

led back

to

John

Morreall's

referenceto

incongruity.

At

this point

I

realizedthat

I

did

not

necessarily

need tocreate

my

own

theory

of

humor,

and that

I

should narrowthe scopeof

my

investigation

to

find

the mostusefulandeconomicmeansof

addressing

humor

andgraphic

design

simultaneously

.

Based

upon

my

general research

thus

far,

I

decided

that the

frequent

teferencesto

incongruity

warrenteda

morecritical study.

INCONGRUITY

THEORY

John Morreall defined

the

Incongruity

Theory

as

locating

John

Morreall, "The

rejectionof

humor

in Western In

Philosophy

EastandWest

39,

no.3 (1989),p.244.

. . . theessence of amusement

in

ourenjoymentof

experiencing

something

whichclasheswith ourconceptualsystems, our

HUMOR

Another

oneof

his definitions

was:

John

Morreall,

Taking

Laughter

Seriously

(Albany: State

University

ofNew York

Press, 1983),

p.15.

We

live in

an

orderly

world,where we

have

come toexpect

certainpatterns

among

things,

theirproperties, events, etc.

We

laugh

when we experience

something

that

doesn't

fit

into

these patterns.

A

humor

journal

provided athird

definition:

Giovannantonio

Forabosco,

"Cognitive AspectsoftheHumor

Process: The Conceptof Incongruity"

In

International

loumalofHumor Research

5,

No.l/2(1992),

p.46.

...thenotionsof

congruity

and

incongruity

refertothe

relationship

between

components ofanobject, event,

idea,

social expectation,

and so

forth.

When

thearrangement oftheconstituent elements

ofa possibleevent

is

incompatible

with the normal or expected

pattern,theevent

is

perceived as

incongruous.

A surprising

and

exciting

discovery

wasthat philosopher's terms to

describe

and

define

humor

were sometimes

identical

to thoseusedto express graphic

design

operations

(as

shown

in

theearlier quotation

by

Berlyne). These

included

structure,

figure-ground,

order,components,pattern, andrelationship.

The

strongestsuch example came

from

Paul

McGhee's Humor: It's Origin

and

Development:

Paul

McGhee,

Humor Its Origin

andDevelopment (San Francisco:

W.H. Freemanand

Co.,

1979),p.

12.

...Batesonstressed the

fact

that

figure

andground are reversed when wegetto the pointofa

joke.

The

structureofthe

joke

draws

attention tocertain elements while

de-emphasizing

others,

forming

a

background

or

setting

for

the apparent

focal

pointofthe

joke.

When

the punch

line

is

delivered,

the

background

material

is

suddenly

and

unexpectedly

brought

to the center of attention.

This

verbal example of

figure

and ground revived

my

idea

of

visually

interpreting

humor

structures.

Diagramming

verbal

humor

could

be

a

possibleapplication

for

my

thesis.

RESOLUTION

In

continuedreadings,problem

solving

emerged as

being

an

important

factor;

for

incongruity

to

function

in

humor,

thereceivermustcomprehend

therelation ofthe

incongruity

to therest ofthe situation

(resolving

the

HUMOR

humor flops.

As

agraphic

designer,

I

sawthe

importance

of

maintaining

close control of

incongruity

through theuse of appropriate

imagery

and

design

elements.

If,

in

anattempt touse

humor

in

design,

theaudience

became

confused

by

the

incongruity

ratherthanenlightened,

my

goals as

communicator would

have failed. Resolution,

therefore,

is

acrucial

componentof

humor.

Jerry

M.

SuJs, "Two-Stage

Model

for

theAppreciationof Jokes"

In

The

Psychology

ofHumor Theoretical Perspectivesand

Empirical

Issues,

ed.

by

Jeffrey

Goldstein & Paul McGhee (New

York: Academic

Press,

1

972),

p.82.

It is

suggested

here

thata

joke

or cartoon

is

found

to

be

funny

astheresult of atwo-stage process.

In

the

first

stage, theperceiver

finds his

expectations aboutthe text

disconfirmed

by

the

ending

ofthe

joke

or,

in

the case ofacartoon,

his

expectations about

the picture

disconfirmed

by

thecaption.

In

otherwords, the

recipientencountersan

incongruity

-thepunch

line. In

the secondstage, theperceiverengages

in

a

form

of problem

solving

to

find

acognitive rule which makesthepunch

line follow

from

themainpartofthe

joke

and reconcilesthe

incongruous

parts.

Giovannantonio

Forabosco,

"Cognitive

AspectsoftheHumor Process: The Conceptof Incongruity"

In International

lournalofHumor Research.

5,

No.

1/2(1992),

p.54.

Resolving

the

incongruity

does

not mean

eliminating

it.

It

means

having,

at the endoftheprocess, an

incongruity

"that

makes or_again,to use an oxymoron . . wemight

say

that atthe endwe

have

a congruent

incongruity.

While

these points

may

seemmoot,

they

were

extremely

helpful

in my

comprehension and use oftheresearch.

I

now wasable to summarize

my

humor

research.

Both

the

Surprise

Theory

andthe

Configurational

Theory

could

be

included

under

Incongruity

and

its

resolution.

The

conative and

affectivetheories

did

not

directly

address the senseofstructure that

1

sought.

Now,

when

I

askedthequestion

"What

makes

humor

work?",

I

could

answer

"Incongruity."

In

turn,

the effectivenessof

incongruity

could

be due

to:

norms

(a

standard,model, or pattern regardedas typical

for

aspecific

group)

expectations

(state

of

looking

forward

to a probable occurenceor

appearance)

By

recognizing

and

understanding

theseas

"givens"

in

aparticularsituation,

one cangenerate

humor

by

seeking

to

depart from

them,

interrupting

the pattern.

In recalling Bateson's

comment on

figure

and

ground,

it

appears

HUMOR

setthe stage.

The

viewer or audience must

be be

projected

into

a

"closed"

situation,

suchasa

time, place,

orpersona,

in

order

for

him/her

to

identify

withthenormsand generateappropriateexpectations.

The

ground,

in

effect,

governs the

degree

of

incongruity. If

the

incongruity

deviates from

expectations too

much,

it

will

be

impossible

for

theaudienceto

link

the

incongruity

back

to theground

(failed

resolution),andthe

incongruity

will

be confusing

ratherthan

humorous.

The

figure

is

the subjectortopicofthe situation; charactersthatpeoplethe

stage.

We

now

have

an environment and a

focus.

Incongruity

will either address the

figure

or

introduce

a newelement.

The

last

item is

perhaps a

bridge

that connects theelements,new or

otherwise,

to the ground

for

resolution.

While

I

did

not expect to

actually

see a

bridge

in

the examplesof visual

humor (resolution is

more ofamental

exercisethan_visual),

Bateson's

figure-ground

description

provided a

helpful

picture of

humor

"mechanics".

For

clarification ofthesemechanics,

I

applied

my

gathered examplesof

humor.

My

difficulty

in

successfully

discussing

and

writing

about

humor

requiredthat

I

returntoamore

familiar domain.

Using

visualexamples

would not

only

aid

my

understanding,

but

aid

in communicating my

finding

to others aswell.

HUMOR

TYPES

Evaluating

humor

as a

function

of

incongruity

wasuseful

in

focusing

my

work.

I

stillneededtonarrow

"incongruity", however,

sothat

I

could understand the

different

typesof

humor

which

fell

underthis

heading.

One

of

my intentions

for

the

future

comparisonand analysis of

humor

and graphic

design

wastoutilize amatrix,which would requirethemost

basic

and essential elements of

humor

and graphic

design

to

be

assembled

along

its

axes.

By

reducing

the

breadth

of

"incongruity"

to

"types

of

incongruity",

I

expectedto

be

ableto

clearly

identify

relationships

between

humor

and

graphic

design.

Establishing

anaccurate

listing

of

different humor

"types"

was not asimple

chore.

The

termsused to

describe humor

which

leapt

immediately

to mind

were

surprisingly

numerous:

black

comedy,

gallows

humor,

dry

humor,

HUMOR

diversity

in

an audiences perception of

humor,

which related

back

to

my

choiceto

investigate

the

Incongruity Theory

rather than the

Superiority

Theory

and othersuch

forms

of

derogative humor. The

strongly

negative

connotations ofsome

humor did

notwarrant use

in my intended

application tovisualcommunications.

Notes

from

my

earlierresearch

included

different

classifications of

humor,

and

I

examined these as possible tools

for

my

own use,so that

I

wouldnot

be

"reinventing

thewheel".

I

sought a

listing

whichwould

sufficiendy

flesh

outthe

Incongruity

Theory,

and

eventually

utilized

B.D.

Bleedorn's breakdown

of

humor

types:

B.D. Bleedorn in Humourand

Productivity.

Vol.

II,

Ed. V.R.S.D. Varma

(Pune,

India: Vijakat &

Venkat, 1989)

comic simile witticism satire impersonauon caricature pun riddle

comparison of two

very

different

thingswith

somecommon reference

spontaneouswisecrack

cleverobservations thatcriticize, expose,and

hopefully

reform throughamusement aimed at

socialpractises, persons,or

institutions

mimicry

exaggeration

in

words orpictures

play

on words similar

in

sound,

different

in

meaning

puzzling

question presented

in

obscure terms and

leading

toa

surprisingly

right answer

This

listing

wasthe most appropriate clarificationofthe

Incongruity Theory

because it did

not

incorporate

the

Superiority Theory

or

derogative

typesof

humor,

and with theexception of

"witticism",

Bleedorn's

humor

typeswere

notvague orredundant.

His

definitions

providedagood

starting

point

for

analyzing

humor,

but

during

thecourseof

study it

became

apparentthat

some

definitions

requiredclarification.

CLARIFYING HUMOR

Quotations

such as

Bateson's

commenton

humor

as a

figure-ground

problem

lent

themselves towardagraphic

representation,

which

I

attempted

as a means of

both clarifying

the conceptsand

exploring

similarities to

graphic

design.

My

first

diagram illustrated

my

senseof

how

incongruity

worked,

using Bateson's

figure-ground

theory

and

incorporating

HUMOR

AppendixB the

levels

ofnorms and expectations which made

incongruity

possible.

I

also

discovered diagrams

in

my

research which were unique and clarifying.

Jerry

Suls'

"Humor-appreciation

functioned

as a

flowchart

for

the

presentation and resolutionof

humor,

and

Eysenck's diagram

represented

the structure around varioustypesof

humor.

These,

like

my

diagram

of

Bateson's

concept,

were

broad

approachesto

humor

and

incongruity,

and

I

decided

thatthe mostuseful

diagrams

wouldnot encompass the

breadth

of

humor

or

incongruity,

but

direcdy

addressthe

humor

typeswhich

I

had

established.

I

therefore

drew up

a series ofgraphic relationships which

I

felt

represented eachofthe seven typesof

humor.

My

thesis committee

did

not

see thisexerciseas

"presenting

anything

new", and while

it

was

helpful

for

my

own comprehensionofthe

humor

types,

it

did

not

lend

itself

to

further

use.

Following

theseexercises,

I

redefinedthe

humor

types

because "comic

and

"witticism"

in

particular were confusing.

The American Heritage

Dictionary

COmiC simile (Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Co.,

1985)

witticism wit satire impersonate caricature

riddle

thepresentation of one object as

being

like

another

a

witty

saying

the

ready

perception an

happy

expression of

unexpected or

amusing

analogiesorother

relations

between

apparently

incongruous

ideas;

sudden and

ingenious

associationofwordsor

ideas

sarcasm,

irony,

or wit usetoexpose abusesor

follies;

ridicule

1.

to adopt ormimic the appearance or

mannerismsof

2.

toact or

play

thepart of

3.

torepresent

in

human

form

apictureor

description

in

which

features

are

exaggeratedor

distorted

so as toproduce an

absurd effect

a

puzzling

questionstated as aproblem to

be

solved

by

clever

ingenuity

-'

-/(

-i

-|

u

O u

""

-s.

1

?!

hi

ij

Mini

I'M:'

i;j

i;

if

l|

HI!

c a

HUMOR

Eli

Kince,

Visual Puns in Design (New York: Watson-Guptill

Publications, 1982)

p.11.

pun

1.

the use of a symbol

in

sucha

way

as tosuggest

twoor more meanings or

different

associations

2.

theuse oftwoormore symbols of the same or

nearly

the sameappearance or sound with

different

meanings

I

wanted to present the

humor

types

in

sequence which

had

more

integrity

than their originalorder of_appearance, and

based

onpastexperience with

analyzing

and

classifying

componentsofasystem,

I

decided

torank the

humor

types

from

simpleto complex.

This

would establishaprogression

and reflect

varying levels

of

humor. The ranking

wasas

follows:

See Examples

Caricature is

_an

instance

_{ofexaggeration, and seemsto}

be

_themost

basic

visual

distinction.

It is

founded

in

theviewers personal experiences with size and

"notmality".

Impersonation involves

theassociation of one object with another.

It is

perhapsa

guessing

game,with the

complexity

dependent

on

how

accurate

the

impersonation

is

and what characteristic

is

being

usedto

signify

the

actualobject.

For

instance,

in

trying

to make

something impersonate

an

elephant,

it

could

be

simply

painted grey, ormade

larger,

or given a trunk,or

allthree.

Witticism

was

difficult because

I

could not perceive

it

beyond

being

a wisecrackamidstthenormalcourseof_{conversation,} which

is,

in

fact,

just

incongruity.

Incongruities

attributed to

Witticism

tended to

be

difficult

to resolve.

Pun is generally

an act of substitution.

I

felt

that

it

wasmore complex than the

first

three

because

not

only

is it

association,

but it incorporates

words as wellas

imagery,

requiring

more than one type of problem solving.

Comic

simile can

include impersonation

and caricature to someextent,

because it

portraysone

thing

as

being

like

another.

(An

object thatwas

supposedto

simply

be

another

is

a

metaphor.)

Riddle involves

a puzzle orquestion-and-answer

format,

wheretheviewer

mustask

him

or

herself

how

the elementsrelateto each other.

HUMOR

Satire

is

counted the mostcomplextypeof

humor

because

not

only

does

it

oftenutilize caricatureor

impersonation,

it

also presents a comment on

circumstancesorsituations

surrounding

thesubject.

The

viewermustthere

fore

solve the associationsofcaricatureor

impersonation,

then,

assuming

they

have knowledge

ofthe

issues

being

commented

on,

must makethe

connection

between

allthe presentedelements ofthesatire

for

resolution.

SUMMARY

My

study

of

humor

had

now evolved

from

a

broad look

atthe rangeof

theories toa

focus

onthe

Incongruity Theory

and

its breakdown into

seven

different

typesof

humor.

This

wasthe

starting

point

I

sought

in

orderto

begin

synthesizing

thestructureof

humor

withthe structure of graphic

design.

The

next

step

wasto reach a similar

starting

point

in

graphic

design.

Chapter

Two

GRAPHIC DESIGN

My

research of graphic

design

was

intended

topresent

its

"essence", from

which

I

could

hopefully

derive

a sense of

its

structureand

subsequently

work

with

its

most

fundamental

parts.

Research began

during

thesummer of

1992,

when

I

was

inspired

to

decipher

how

"new"

design

came about

through the

decades

of

design

evolution.

I

wantedto

know how

amovement

started and what

how design

integrity

andexcellence was maintained

through theeras.

Philip

Mcggs,

AHistoryof

Graphic Design (New York: Van

Nostrand,

1992)

My

survey

of

design

movementswasaided

by Philip

Meggs'

A

History

of

Graphic

Design

,and resulted

in

a

summary

of

key

innovators

and their

perception ofvisualcommunication.

In

conclusion,

I

decided

that a graphic

design

movement emergedwith the effectivetranslationofsocial, political,

and economic

issues

ofthe

day

into

a vehicle

for

visual communication.

So

asthetimes changed,as governments and rulers roseand

fell,

as peoplegrew

richer or

poorer,

thevisual

form

of communication was also affected.

But I

felt

that there

had

to

be

a

fundamental

level

ofexpertisewhich

remainedthroughout the changes,

governing

the

designer's

decisions. I

found

design

philosophieswhich

I

noted

in my

research

did

notprovide a

direct

definition

ofgraphic

design

so much as

discuss

thecrucialapproaches

towardexecution.

Graphic Design in America: A

Visual Language History

(Minneapolis: Walker Art

Center,

1987),

p.10.

Aaron

Burns,

in Graphic Design

inAmerica: A Visual Language

History

p.21.

As

amusician

interprets

musical

compositions,

a

designer

interprets

verbalandvisual

information.

Perfect

communication

is

person-to-person.

You

seeme,

hear

me, smell _me, touch me. . .

And

then comes print.

You

can't

see or

hear

me,soyou must

be

ableto

interpret

the

kind

of

person

I

am

from

what

is

on the printedpage.

Ivan Chermayeff,

in Graphic Design in America: A Visual

Language Historyp.71.

Good

design,

at

least

part ofthe

time,

includes

the criteriaof

being

direct in

relationto theproblem at

hand

...

A

new

language,

visualorverbal, must

be

couched

in

a

language

that

is

already

understood.

Lester

Beall,

Lester Beall

(Brookfield Center,

CN: Lester

Beall

Inc., 1962)

. . . effective

design is

entirely

the resultofsound

engineering

based

upon

fundamental

principlesof

mechanics,

spatial relation

ships,

color

harmonies,

psychology,

. . . and practical

function.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

AnnC.

Tyler,

"Shaping

Belief In Design Issues.

DC,

no.1

(1992),

p.29.

Judith

Grieshader,

The Rawand

the

Cooked: The

Philosophy

of

theNew Graphic Design (Stuttgart: Edition

Cantz, 1989)

... thegoalofvisualcommunications

is

to persuade an

audience to adopta new

belief.

... theperception of

forms

andstructures,thecoordination

of concepts and

associations,

thesensation of

harmony,

all

preceed

reading

and rational

reckoning

of

information.

Donis A.

Dondis,

APrimerof Visual

Literacy

(Cambridge: MIT

Press, 1973)

p.13.

Any

visual event

is

a

form

withcontent,

but

the content

is

highly

influenced

by

the significanceofthe constituent parts,

such as

color, tone, texture,

dimension,

proportion, andtheir

compositional relationships tomeaning.

My

ownsense of graphic

design's

essence

is

"thinking

in

relationships",

which not

only

pertains to the relationships

between

elements withina

design,

but

also

includes

the

relationship between

the

design

and the

different

membersoftheaudience.

From

the

array

of

design

philosophies

listed

above,

I

deduced

that graphic

design

was the

delivery

of

information

throughvisualcommunication,with prioritiesofeffectivenessand efficiency.

The

field

of

psychology

has

also

had

much toofferto the graphic

designer,

especially

in

addressing

questionsof viewer perception.

Professors

ofthe

Gestalt

principles

(such

as

Rudolf Arnheim

and

Fritz

Perls)

contended that

"the

whole

is

greaterthan thesum of

its

parts",and

if

items

within a

grouping

were

disturbed

orremoved, thewhole would

be

changed aswell.

Daniel E.

Bcriyne,

"HumorandIts

Kin''

in

The

Psychology

ofHumor: Theoretical Perspectivesand Empirical Issues,ed.

Jeffrey

GoldsteinandPaul McGhee (New York: Acadmeic

Press, 1972),

p.45.

Donis A.

Dondis,

APrimerof

Visual

Literacy

(Cambridge: MIT

Press, 1973)

p.39.

Gestalt

psychologistswere the

first

tosensethe

far-ranging

significance ofthe principle thatcertain

structures,

certain

relations

between

elementsofa perceived orconceivedpattern,

can

be disharmonious

and

disturbing

. . . other structural

relations can

be rewarding

and pleasurable.

Its

theoretical

base

is

the

belief

thatan approach to

understanding

and

analyzing

all systems requires

recognizing

that the system

(or

objector

event)

as a whole

is

made

up

of

interacting

parts .

Gestalt theory

appliedto thecreation of a

design

composition and the mani

pulation of such variablesas the

distance between

elementsofthe

composition,

whichaffects the

ability

ofthe

human

eye to see theelementsas

awhole.

A

composition

is

the presentationof_{the entire message.}

An

GRAPHIC DESIGN

understanding

of

Gestalt theory

willaid

in

the

designer's

ability

to control theorder

in

whichthevieweraccessesthe

information.

These

philosophiescontibute to thecreation of effective graphic

design.

"Effectiveness"

refersto the

designer's

capacity

tocontrol all of the variables

in

avisual problemand

link

them together

into

asingle, comprehensive

message.

My

next

step

wasto

find

and present thecritical components of

design.

Kenneth

Hiebert,

Graphic Design

Processes (New York: Van

Nostrand

Rcinhold, 1992)

p.13.

STRUCTURE

Structure,

as mentioned

in

the

introduction,

is

one ofthe most crucial

components

in

graphic

design.

Generally,

it is

asystem

for

organizing

design

elementswithina composition.

This

system establishes relationships

between

theelements,which

in

turnaffect thecomprehension ofthe entire

message.

Kenneth Hiebert

defined

structure as

The

basis

of

formal

relationships.

When

defined

structurally,

a

form

can

be described

andanalyzed.

The

fundamental

tetms

of a structure are

difference

and

identity.

Identity

(similarity)

is

the

unifying

principle;

difference

(contrast)

is

the means

for

conveying

meaning.

Identity

unitesall ofthe

design's

elementsso that

they

will

function

as a

whole.

Difference

allowsthe

formation

ofa

hierarchy

in

the

design.

Hierarchy

is

thevisual

ordering

ofthe

design

elements

from

most to

least

important,

and

is

accomplishedthrough changes

in

size, color,and other

variables.

One

ofthesevariables,which

has

an

influencial

role

in

both

the

identity

and the

difference

ofthestructure,

is

interval.

INTERVAL

Interval

wasone ofthe termswhichsurfaced

continuously

thoughout

my

first

year of graduate study.

It

was usedto

describe

the spaceor

timing

between

elements

in

the

design. An

exampleof

interval is

the

necessary

pause

denoted

by

acomma

in

asentence, orthe amount oftime given

for

the eyetorest

between images

or

blocks

of

information

in

a poster.

It is

the

connection

between

the

different

levels

of

hierarchy

or

between

elementsof

a

design,

andalsothe

distance

- _{physical and}

intellectual

between

GRAPHIC DESIGN

messageandtheviewer.

I

hoped

to

eventually

addressthis

interval

of

interface.

In

music,

the audial experience

includes

the silence

between

thenotes.

So

it

is in

design,

wherethe

intervals

between

andaroundelement sareas

important

asthe elements themselves.

Famous designers

such as

Frank

Lloyd

Wright

and

Alexey

Brodovich

claimedthat theconsideration of negative

spacewas

just

as critical astheconsiderationof other

design

elements.

Intervals

can

have

regular,

progressive,or

irregular

_steps, and

may in

this

respect

form

a structure.

One

manifestation ofthisstructure

is

the

typographicgrid,

in

whichthe module

(basic form

which

is

duplicated)

is

based

upon the pointsize,

leading,

and

kerning

ofa

line

oftext.

Structures

are not containedtosuch amathematicalexercise,

however.

They

can

be

of

any

form,

as

long

as

they

are

functional

methods of organization.

Interval

and structure are aspects ofgraphic

design

that

do

not

define

the

entire

field,

but

embody

thecritical variables which must

be

addressed

for

comprehensivevisualcommunication.

To

viewgraphic

design

at a

level

comparable to thatof

my humor

types,

I

nowsought a to

define

the most

elemental variables of

design.

GRAPHIC

DESIGN

ELEMENTS

The fundamental

units of visual communication were

defined both

as actual

elementsand as relationships

between

elements.

Basic Design

by

Kenneth

Bates

was organized

in

the

following

manner:

Kenneth Bates. Basic Design

Simplicity

(spot,

line,

and

shape)

(Cleveland: World Publication

Relationships

(parallelism,

opposition, combination, repetition,

pattern)

Gestalt (visual

associationsandgroupings, scale,

interval)

Rendering

(perspective,

value, color,

texture)

Structure

(organization,

rhythm,

balance)

The items

of

"simplicity"

were

obviously

the most

fundamental

design

elements,

but I

was ata

loss

of whatto

do

withthem.

They

wereso

basic

that

I

had

difficulty

attributing

a senseofgraphic

design

to

them,

and

did

not

foresee

asubstancial

interaction

withthe

humor

types

I

had

established.

I

therefore took a

step

away

from

Simplicity

and addressed

Relationships.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

This

choice

fed

back

into my

research of

Gestalt

laws

and

design

philosophies.

I

looked for

a

further breakdown

of

Relationships,

and

Donis

A.

Dondis'

A Primer

of

Visual

Literacy

provided the

following

information.

Donis A.

Dondis,

APrimerof Visual

Literacy

(Cambridge: MIT

Press,

1973)

p.13.

Visual

data has

three

distinctive

and

individual

levels.

1.

thevisual

input,

which consistsof myriad symbol

systems

2.

therepresentationalvisual material we recognize

in

theenvironmentand replicate

in

drawing,

painting,

sculpting

and

film

3.

abstractunderstructure, the

form

of

everything

wesee,

whether natural orcomposed

for

intended

effects

This

formed

the

basis for

Dondis'

discussion

ofcommunication,and

he

went ontospeak ofthe componentsof visual

literacy,

which werecomprised

of

both

visual and organizational elements.

Visual

elements

included

dot,

line,

shape,

direction,

tone,

color, texture, scale/proportion,and

dimension/motion.

His

most

helpful

insights,

however,

were

in addressing

organizational elements.

He

viewedgraphic

design

as a

relationship

of either

contrast or

harmony

between

elements.

a

I

I

3

c o c .a i O

@

D

O

TO

O

4

o

o

o

c

a

O)

I

[11

I

ill

U

if

11

I

3

lit H4

U

1

GRAPHIC

DESIGN

juxtaposition

angularity

representation

verticality

singularity

roundness abstraction

horizontality

This

listing

of

design

relationshipswas

exacdy

what

I

had

been

looking

for

as graphic

design

elements,

but

its

size

discouraged

ease of use.

Another

list,

while smaller

in

size,

wasnot of the

kinetic

nature that

Dondis'

possessed;

Kenneth

Hiebert's

classification of

form,

content, context,

concept,

structure, matrix,

morphology

andexpression

did

not

conceptually

provide

the

link

to

humor

which

Dondis'

did.

Appendix c

Deborah Beardslee

offeredtheuseof

her

classroom

handout

on

Visual

Syntax,

whichproved to

be

extremely

effective

in scaling down

Dondis'

list.

Professor Beardslee

broke

down

form

emphasis

into

five

components:

Orientation

of

Parts,

Visual

Hierarchy,

Scale,

Pattern,

and

Transformation &

Translation. I

established

definitions for

the terms and ordered them

from

simple to complex

in

preparation

for

applying

them to the

listing

of contrast

and

harmony.

See Examples

Scale

(relative

sizeor_amount;one element

in

comparisonto

others)

Scale

is

the

least

complex approach

because

it

functions

as

merely

a

comparisonorcontrast

in

numerical value orsize.

This

comparison/contrast

is

relative notto real

life but

to theotherelementswithinthe composition.

Pattern

(the

repetition of spatial and temporal

regularities)

Pattern is

based

on a modulewhich

is

repeatedto simulate a change

in

scale.

While it is

a simple process and

easily

recognized,

my

tendency

to extend the

idea

ofpattern

beyond

the printed piececomplicated

its

nature.

I

retained

thesense of pattern as the

social, political,

and economic norms which

comprisethe

way

anaudienceviewsgraphic

design (such

reading

patterns).

Visual

hierarchy

(dominant/subordinate

elements)

Visual

hierarchy

incorporates

thevisualarrangementand

interrelationship

of

design

elementswithinthecompositiontocontroltheorder

in

which

they

areviewed

by

theaudience.

Scale,

pattern,

color,

andplacementare all

variables which willaid

in

determining

whichelementwill

be

seen

first,

second, third,

etc.

GRAPHIC

DESIGN

Transformation/

translation

(representational/nonrepresentational

abstract/

realistic

renderings)

Transformation/translation

is

thegraphicreintrepretation of an

object,

usually

done

to

draw

attentiontoa particular aspect or suittheobject tothe restofthe composition.

Transformation

could correspondto

humor's

impersonation,

andtranslationcould correspondtocaricature.

Both involve

use ofthe three

preceeding design

approaches, and are

in

essencean

abstractionoftheoriginal object.

Orientation (relationships

in

perspective and

position)

Orientation

wasplaced

last because

although theorientationof elements

in

the composition

is

not

difficult,

I

saw orientationasan

indication

ofthe

viewpoint whichthe

information is

presenting.

This

results

in

a

necessary

understanding

of

how

the compositionas a wholeshould

be

designed,

from

basic

structure to the elements and their treatment.

The

elementswerenow appliedto

Dondis'

list

ofrelationships.

contrast

harmony

visual syntax

accent

neutrality

visual

hierarchy

sharpness

diffusion

visual

hierarchy

angularity

roundness transf./transl.

exaggeration understatement scale

boldness

subtlety

visual

hierarchy

spontaneity

predictability

transf./transl. orpattern

irregularity

regularity

pattern ororientation

randomness

sequentiality

pattern or orientation

asymmetry

symmetry

orientationor

hierarchy

instability

balance

orientation or

hierarchy

fragmentation

unity

orientation

variation

consistency

pattern

economy

intricacy

transf./transl.

transparency

opacity

hierarchy

depth

flatness

transf./transl.

complexity

simplicity

orientation

distortion

realism transf./transl.

representation abstraction transf./transl.

activeness passiveness patternororientation

verticality

horizontality

orienation

GRAPHIC DESIGN

juxtaposition

singularity

orientation

The

essentialsof

design

philosophy

were nowpackaged

in

a

form

which

I

could

readily apply

toasynthesiswith

humor.

The

next chapter addresses

the processof

image

gathering,

which

had

been

maintainedthroughout the

proposalandresearchphasesofthethesis.

Chapter

Three

IMAGERY

The images

which

I

intended

to analyze through thematrix structurewere

advertisements, cartoons, caricatures, photographs,

graphic

design

examples,

andquotationswhich

I

had been

collecting

since the

very

beginning

ofthe

thesis.

Below is

a

listing

ofthe

many

other examples of

humor

I

had hoped

to examine.

Authors

Woody

Allen

Garrison

Keillor

Joseph

Heller

AA Milne

T.H.

White

Ken

Kesey

Erma Bombeck

Shakespeare

Norton Juster

Roald

Dahl

Sid

Fleischman

Lewis Carroll

Steinbeck

Television

Monty

Python

Saturday

Night Live

Benny

Hill

Howard Stern

football

commentators

NYNEXTVads

Bugs

Bunny

Mystery

Science Theatre 2000

Fawlty

Towers

Bob Newhart

Gallager

Steven Wright

Movies

Dr. Strangelove

Airplane

Time Bandits

Marx Brothers

Pink Panther

Monty

Python

Woody

Allen

Steve Martin

I

did

not want to

immediately

discount

any

possiblities,and also on

my

list

were games

(Pictionary,

Balderdash,

Twister),

music

(Spinal

Tap,

Weird

Al

Yankovic),

and radio ads

("I'm Tom Bodet

for

Motel

Six"). On

the

whole,

however,

examples of

humor

in

printed mediawere

my

resources.

LITERARY AND

TYPOGRAPHIC HUMOR

Humor in

literature

and

in

typographic

design

was

something

that

I

wanted

toexploretosome extent

because

of

my interest in

thepower ofthewritten

word.

The ability

of wordstocreatea picture

in

theviewersmind

is

a

characteristic

worthy

of exploration

because

oftenthismental picture

is

more vividand

humorous

than an actual

illustration.

The

concise rulesof grammarandwrittenexpression create a

different

environment

for humor

than onethatrelies on a pictorial

field

ofreference.

Pattern,

I

felt,

played asignificantrole

in

the use of written

humor,

since the

rules of

reading

depend

upona particular sequence of

letters

andsymbols.

map

map

\

|\/Ir>

%'P

Vl

'

*

XfcO**

Bavette

Grilled

Salmon

FRIEND

CHAIR

I

0a

f

c r s

C

"

M

IMAGERY

Carter, Mcggs,

&

Day,

Typographic Design: Formfr Communication (New Yorlc: Van

Nostrand

Reinhold,

1985)

p.56.

Steven

Heller,

Graphic

Wit:

Humor in

Design

(New York:

Watson-Guptill, 1991)

Visual

order

in typography

emerges

from

thepatterns of

repetition andcontrast.

Typographic

humor

commonly

utilizes

incongruity

between

the

meaning

of

the textandthe

way

in

which

it is

presented,

departing

from

thenormal

patternsof writtencommunication.

An

excellent example ofthis

is

found

in

"Mirth",

a poster

found

in

Steven Heller's Graphic Wit: Humor in Design.

Mirth

uses

typography

to

form

a visualpicture, andthe

incongruity

lies

in

the

fact

thatthewords

actually

look

like

what

they

are; not

only

aremaps

positionedon thewalls and silverwareonthe

table,

but

the

typeface,

size,

and placementofthewords

further

reinforcethewordmeaning,

replacing

theuse of adjectives.

One

"map"

is

crooked.

The

"glasses"

are tall andthin.

The

man's

"fork"

is

upside

down

and

his

"napkin"

is

(naturally)

onthe

floor.

He

has

"crumbs"

scatteredat

his

feet.

The

woman's

"napkin"

is

in

her

lap

and

her

spaceatthe table

is

neat.

The

man

"sips"

politely, thewoman "giggles"

politely.

As

acontrast to typographic

humor,

literary

humor is

not an exercise

in

visual

aesthetics,

but

an exercise

in controlling

the sequenceofwords and

their meanings.

An

intriguing

quotation

from

Winnie-the-Pooh

pushed the

line between

resolvable

incongruity

and nonsense:

AA

Milne,

Winnie-the-Pooh

(New York: E.P. Dutton &

Co.,

Inc., 1926),

p.45.

"And how

are said

Winnie-the-Pooh.

Eeyore

shook

his head

from

side toside.

"Not

very

how,"

he

said.

"I

don't

seem to

have felt

at all

how for

a

long

time."

My

fascination

in

thisquotation

lay

in its

comprehension

despite

the

completely

unexpected useof "how"

in

the answer.

In

relationto

Bateson's

commentabout

figure

and

ground,

this example takes an

item

from

the

background

(question)

andmakes

it

the subject

in

the

foreground

(reply).

The

most

interesting

factor is

that

Eeyore's

reply

makes sense.

The phrasing

oftheresponse and

Eeyore's

attitude substitute

for

a meaningful

replacement

for "how". The

situationpresentsa

normal,

acceptedpattern of

greeting,

and

is

answeredwithan

equally unsurprising

pattern of response.

The only difference from

a

"normal"

response

is

the substitutionofa

questionword

for

an adjective.

The

structure and pattern,

however,

allow

"how

" to

function

as an adjective.

IMAGERY

I

thought

that this successful

wordplay

should provide anexampleof

possible

solutions,

and spent some time

trying

to

decipher its

functionality.

A

satisfactory

or useful solution was never

found,

and

from

this point,

only

humor

in

imagery

andtypographic

humor

were utilized.

I

next

began

to

analyzethe examples

I

had

collected.

Chapter Four

MATRTX

CREATION

Analysis

of

my

research

findings

involved

the use of amatrix structureto

organize the

information. Because

I intended

touse examples of

humor

and

graphic

design for making

arguementsand

arriving

at conclusions

in

this

thesis,

the matrix wasto

be

atool

for

visualappraisal.

As

a

starting

point,

I

planned to

seperately

address

humor

and graphic

design

and,

from

my

findings,

eventually interlace

thetwo

into

asingle comparative matrix.

Appendix D

The

first

matrixcross-referenced the

humor

types

(caricature,

impersonation,

witticism,

pun,

comicsimile, riddle, and

satire)

with

"visual"

and

"verbal".

The

second combined the

design

approaches

(scale,

pattern,

visual

hierarchy,

transformation/translation,

and

orientation)

with

"imagery", "typography",

and

"image

and typography".

My

next

step

wasto combine the

humor

and graphic

design

matrices

into

a

hybrid

matrix,whichwould

directly

comparethe two.

My

thesis committee

thoughtthat the

hybrid

matrix would

be

enlightening, and advised me not

to expect that all thematrix sectionswould

be

filled.

They

also

believed

that

the presentation and analysis of the

"best

"

of each

category

would

be

valuable.

Armed

withthese

insights

andadvice,

I

set outtoconstructthe

hybrid

and establishtherelationships

between humor

and graphic

design.

AppendixE

To

constructthe

hybrid

matrix,

I

first

needed to examine and combinethe

termsthat

lined

the axis.

I

returnedtothe

listing

of_contrast,

harmony,

and

visualsyntaxand applied

"humor

types"

to the appropriate

items.

contrast/harmony

visual syntax

humor

type

accent/neutrality

visual

hierarchy

pun

sharpness/diffusion transf./transl. satire

angularity/ roundness transf./transl.

impersonation

exaggeration/understatement scale caricature

boldness/subdety

transf./transl. caricature

spontaneity/predictability

pattern witticism

irregularity/regularity

pattern witticism

randomness/sequentiality

pattern riddle

asymmetry/symmetry

orientation ofparts

instability/balance

orientation ofparts

fragmentation/unity

orientationofparts riddle

variation/consistency

pattern

econo my/

in

t

ricacy

orientation ofparts

MATRTX

CREATION

transparency/opacity

visual

hierarchy

depth/flatness

visual

hierarchy

impersonation

complexity/simplicity

orientation ofparts

distortion/realism

transf./transl. caricature

representation/abstraction transf./transl. satire

activeness/passiveness orientationofpans

verticality/horizontality

orienationofparts

impersonation

juxtaposition/singularity

orientation ofparts comicsimile

Some

ofthe categories

did

not seemto

lend

themselvestoa

humor

type,

but

I

did

notregard thatas aproblem.

One

ofthe

first

needs

in applying

theexamplesto the

hybrid

matrixwasto

weed outtheexamples whichwereeither non-humorous or were

"unresolvable"

incongruity. These

examples

included Far

Side

cartoons

Appendix F written

in

German

and

Japanese

adsthat

depicted

a

laughing

man.

Another immediate

concernwasthe

frequency

of exampleswhichwerenot

cut-and-dry

members of one matrix

category

oranother.

It

wasatthispoint

that

I

realized that matrices would not provide asolid,singletheoremof

humor

and

design.

However,

as

my

analysisof

humor

examplescontinued

and

they

wereshifted

continuously

from

category

to

category

within the

matrix,

I

gained astronger

grasp

ofthe

many

ways

in

which

humor

could

be

perceived.

I

also

became

more critical

in my

scrutiny,

and whilethis

may

not

reflectthe true

intentions

of

humor,

I

was

eventually

abletoarrive at a

satisfactory

classification of

humor

examples.

Factors

which

had

an

influence

onclassificationswerethe

clarity

ofthe

matrix

definitions (I

was

completely

misled

in my

use of

"comic

simile"

until

I

realizedthat theexamples thereinwere

contradicting

one

another,

and

subsequently

redefinedthe

category

for

myself)

andwhether

I

looked

atthe

examples

for

theirvisual presentation ortheir mental

implications.

For

instance,

"The

Most Common Pests Know

to

Trees"

functions

as asatirical

message,

but

within

it is

a man

"impersonating"

a

bug.

I

needed to make

decisions

as tothemore prominantcharacteristic.

MATRDC CREATION

SUMMARY

A

crucialpoint

in my

thesisworkcame

up in

the

form

ofaself-evaluation of

my

progress and

initial

goals.

I

wroteouta

dialog

in

hopes

of

arriving

at a

concensusof

my

position.

Is

diagramming

useless?...

its

only

establishing humor

as

being

relatedtographic

design, humor

as an element

in

design.Let's

start withpattern.

Nice

and simple.

Now

jump

to

Escher's

control overthe pattern,patternperception, and

pattern

interruption.

But interruption

has

always

been

a tool ofgraphic

design

. . .

as wellaspattern.

So is

figure

ground andstructure.

Incorporating

humor

structure

(and only

structure)

into

design

seems useless

because

withouttheactual

humor,

the

message

is

not enhanced.

So

far,

nothing is

really

new.

Things just

overlap, that's

all.

What

the

hell

am

I going

to

do?

How

would even

merely publishing

these

findings

help

anyone?

And my

matrices

-are

they

useful?

Yes. For

illustrating

thecategories . . .

I

needanapplication, right?...

So

what

if

I

come

up

withasystem

for

diagramming

humor,

(written)

Maybe

it

will

actually

come

down

to

graphically representing

humorous

texts,

using

the

lessons found

already.

I

had discovered

that thestructuresof

humor

and graphic

design

were

related.

The

basic

relationships utilized

in creating

effective

design

were

similartothose used

in

visual and

literary

humor.

I

wasat a

loss.

It

seemed

so obvious nowthata structure

for humor

would

be

useless withoutthe

humor.

I

had

expectedto

find

a concrete rule or

law

which

I

couldturn

around and

apply

toanything,and

instead I

found

acomplicatedseries of

exceptions and simultaneitieswhicheluded

being

packaged.

When I

spokewith

Joe Watson

aboutthis

realization,

he

expressed

his

belief

thatthevalueof

my

work will

be

in

how

I

present the examplesand

relationships.

There

wasnot

necessarily anything

new,

but

was

approaching

it

from

anew

direction.

As

an

example,

he

showed me apage

from

Philip

Meggs'

Type

and

Image

book,

whichprese