Graphic Design Analysis

In 1993 Jeffery Keedy made the following statement;

"The idea of borrowing in Graphic design is so pervasive that it's often done unconsciously. What is needed is awareness of what crossing cultural/historical barriers actually means, as well as an understanding of the importance of context"

It is a fair comment to make that borrowing in graphic design, as well as in almost all other areas of design is ubiquitous. Whether this is a good or bad thing could be argued at length, but generally it is widely accepted as the norm. While it seems that borrowing from another designer, culture or era lacks ingenuity and innovation, it could be argued that it is simply a form of appraisal and ratification. While both are very fair points, It
Clothing is such an everyday necessity who really takes the time to think about the culture their new top is savagely borrowing from. A good example of the commercialisation of different cultural fashions can be seen in Figure 1, the fashion page from the local Nottingham lifestyle magazine FHP. It suggests that the key look for the summer is Tribal with ‘an abundance of African overtone', ‘Middle Eastern influences', and that ‘kaftans are an essential wardrobe piece'. Although this borrowing seems harmless enough, occasionally serious repercussions can arise when cultural fashion items are taken out of their original contexts and popularized in the west by fashion designers and the models wearing their ‘borrowed' concepts. The strong interest in all that is ethnic and exotic is at serious risk of obscuring cultural identities of the Eastern and African people, and in some cases it is already too late. Culture is all too often seen as a
The recent interest in the eclectic ethnic has elevated African culture into high fashion, especially because of its jewellery, and the bigger the better. Large wooden charms, metal plated pendants, and beads have been saturating models at all the fashion shows. This body adornment, which has come straight out of Africa is an attempt by Western designers to create a real African tribal vibe and is used simply as a form of decoration, but where it originated from it has a lot more meaning. Beading and jewellery in Africa offers insight into hundreds of different cultures and tribes. It is worn to convey many different socially important symbolic messages such as religious or political beliefs. In an article written by Ettagale Blauer, she states