Play & PlayGrounds, report

Play & PlayGrounds, report

Peter Bradford and Associates, 1971

Description

Juror Notes

The Los AngelesTimes, February 24, 1970, ran a full-page
ad showing the explosion of an A-bomb, with the caption:

"Even if they drop a bomb on it, you still own the hole!
And when the dust settles, it will probably go up in price."
The ad was paid for by Rand Consultants of America, Inc.,
a real estate investment firm.

What is the effect of such an ad? What relation should
design have to content? What responsibility does the
designer have for effects produced by his efforts?

The design of Play S PlayGrounds reflects its content. It
conveys a sense of movement and joy.

But what are we to say of Report to the President: White
House Conference on Children? The design itself is a
delight: Matisse-like flowers in a garden of light and color.
But the statistics tell of malnutrition, birth defects and
government indifference, hardly a garden of happiness. Is
the effect of these statistics made stronger by incongruity
or does this weaken their impact? What would the effect be
of a Guernica-like design? What image stays with us?

—Edmund Carpenter

Collections: Communication Graphics (1972)
Discipline: Corporate communications design
Format: Annual report
Loading...
Loading...