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Critical Web Design Wiki

3.0 Context

Overview
Chapter 3 includes a contextual discussion of critical design and culture jamming to initiate a prompt for readers to create their own subversive logo redesign. The resulting web page allows viewers to hover over an image in the page and watch it change to its subversive form. Modules show how to use custom fonts via Google Fonts and incorporate additional styling through CSS.

Culture Jamming

Section titled “Culture Jamming”

Adbusters Corporate American Flag The Adbusters Corporate American Flag transforms the stars and stripes into a symbol of patriotism for a field of corporations. In money we trust. Search online to see many variations and updates to the corporate logos over the years.

spoof cigarette ad from Adbusters Magazine This spoof cigarette ad from Adbusters Magazine reinterprets the Marlboro Man as a wistful cowboy who shares nostalgia and regretful longing for his healthy lung.

Adversarial Design

Section titled “Adversarial Design”

The fake New York Times cover page by The Yes Men and others The Yes Men, Steve Lambert, Les Liens Invisibles, along with 30 writers, 50 advisors, approximately 1000 volunteer distributors, CODEPINK, May First/People Link, Evil Twin, Improv Everywhere and Not An Alternative produced and/or distributed the New York Times Special Edition (2008). Ref

Critical Web Design

Section titled “Critical Web Design”

Screenshots of the real, fake Binky app Binky by Dan Kurtz is a real, fake mobile app that lets users, like other social media apps, scroll, like, and comment on posts. Like an infant’s binky (or pacifier), it satisfies the need to use social media, except it doesn’t allow users to upload or save files, and it will not monetize your data. See https://www.binky.rocks/

Dunne & Raby’s A/B Dunne & Raby’s A/B, 2009 and ongoing.

Paula Scher’s 2008 talk, “Great Design is Serious, Not Solemn” TED Talk, 2008,

A t-shirt with the word “branding” in HTML close tag syntax next to a dark canvas-style shoe with a white circle where the brand’s logo would typically appear. Examples of un-branding from Adbusters include Owen’s t-shirt (left) and one of xtine’s Blackspot Unswoosher shoes (right).

Graphic showing examples of Ben & Jerry's logo, wordmark, and other graphics. Ben & Jerry’s uses several graphics to express their identity including 1) the simple “Arch” logo; 2) the U.S. “Arch” logo with “flavor cloud;” 3) a wordmark, “for when the ‘Arch’ cannot be used;” 4) a stacked wordmark; and 5) an icon to represent their brand on social media.

Case Study

Section titled “Case Study”

Delocator.net logo variations Delocator.net logo variations (2005, 2009) include the distressed type reference to Starbucks, and in later versions stars to emphasize wayfinding.