Cannot Not Design typography + beyond	Welcome 86 G Papandreou Street 546 55 Thessaloniki Greece	Last Update: 22.08.10 T / +30 2310 801 467 F / +30 2310 801 468 E / info@cannotnot.net
Mission Statement Home About Publications Work Calligraphy Fonts Clients Lectures & Workshops Links	Paul Waltzlawick in his book Pragmatics of Human Communication refers to the first axiom of communication; ‘you cannot not communicate.’ Living in this post-modern era this quote is not just a tested statement, applied and verified in some cases. It is an inevitability. A truism.         Since the idea of the ‘I’, meaning the individual in every person, post-modernism has proved that the individuality that modernism represented, is a constructed concept. It is accepted that people understand, perceive and judge the world in a variety of ways influenced by their cultural background and their previous experiences which actually form the basis of the differences between people. ‘The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe’ says John Berger in his book Ways of Seeing, and continues to give an example; ‘In the Middle Ages when men believed in the physical existence of Hell, the sight of fire must have meant something different from what it means today.’         Our understanding of the world changes throughout time, due to evolution of technology, science, politics and economy as well as personal experiences. So to set an example the symbol of a gun, or a gun itself represents violence and aggression, but to people who have been attacked or abused, a gun may well symbolize protection and a way of defending themselves.         From a designer’s point of view the method of communication has been made more complicated ever since everything around us has already not only just a meaning but elements, characteristics, characterizations and direct or underlying references to other concepts, ideas or events. That is to say that the signifier of the object/concept/idea is loaded as Rick Poynor says in his article in his book Design without Boundaries analyzing Cornel Windlin’s work: ‘No matter the symbol or the language used it is impossible not to communicate anything to any audience.’ So in a way the process of communication has expanded its possibilities and opened up new ways of ‘reading’ the visual world.         Nevertheless, many designers nowadays are unable to set the appropriate context in order to achieve an effective communication between themselves and the public. In the name of post-modernism and the misunderstood meaning of the concept of deconstruction, they create pieces of visual communication that ultimately the only thing they manage to communicate is a sense of confusion. One can say that even confusion is a valid enough message to transmit. In the case that confusion is the result of an intended message then the communication was successful. If not is there any point in creating a visual piece of design that fails to transmit the information it intended to?         ‘Graphic designers too often define their task as having something to do with “communication”, another term more generic than specific. If one designs something and never really expects it to be read, then what kind of communication is being created? . . . The overuse (the misuse) of the word “communication” is often used as a camouflage for delivering sales messages without an idea on the page.’ says William Drenttel in his essay The Written Word: The Designer as Mediator. Drenttel is referring specifically to book design but nevertheless his point is valid enough for all forms of design. The important thing is not just to communicate but communicate with a cause and a purpose. Drenttel concludes by saying ‘In the end, writing that gets read must be intended to be read. If one imagines a contract between client and audience, then perhaps there is also an implicit contractual obligation for the designer to mediate between text and reader. This is perhaps where we begin to speak about the responsibility of designers to take seriously the role of the written word. It is here that communication starts to happen, when a reader knows that you mean it.’         It is quite an absolute and almost strict position on the matter, that affects the designer’s solution to projects. A designer should use the appropriate design method according to the target audience, the function and the form of his final outcome. It is to the designer’s advantage to be aware of the signification and the symbolisms involved in the language used by visual communicators and appropriate it in the best possible way. Interesting design work has the opportunity of being more than just a vessel of transmitting information. It can also operate as a way of expressing a point of view. A piece of visual work that communicates multiple meanings. From the simplest one, which is to effectively communicate information, to the most complicated one of expressing a concept, an idea or an ideology. An ‘intellectual’ piece of visual communication is one that can operate in layers of meaning. In this post-modern era, design has got the chance to move towards a more interesting and sophisticated channel of communication. One that allows works of visual communication to generate a variety of meanings within the work itself and in relation to the audience.
	You could also read part of Á.G. Linera’s speech on the program “El pueblo es noticia” on Channel 7 and Radio Patria Nueva, February 8, 2010. / >