Bad Content. Bad Form.

Bad Content. Bad Form. is a mini publication re-interpreting Micheal Rock's quote from 'F*ck Content' Back when Paul Rand wrote “There is no such thing as bad content, only bad form,” I remember being intensely annoyed. I took it as an abdication of a designer’s responsibility to meaning. Over time, I have come to read it differently: he was not defending hate speech or schlock or banality; he meant that the designer’s purview is to shape, not to write. But that shaping itself is a profoundly affecting form. The publication explores ideas of equally seeing content and form as one, as well as identity. I have used excerpts from Murray Stein's 'Jung's Map of the Soul: An Introduction' in order to relate shaping content with shaping identity, creating a connection between the two and integrating that into the publication.

Form. Content. Meaning. Identity.

The following book is a personal interpretation of Micheal Rock’s quote in the article ‘F*ck Content’.

Rock responds to a quote by Paul Rand,

Back when Paul Rand wrote “There is no such thing as bad content, only bad form,” I remember being intensely annoyed. I took it as an abdication of a designer’s responsibility to meaning. Over time, I have come to read it differently: he was not defending hate speech or schlock or banality; he meant that the designer’s purview is to shape, not to write. But that shaping itself is a profoundly affecting form. – Michael Rock

Pulling from this idea, I designed a book with encrypted codes (morse code) and excerpts from the book ‘Jung’s Map of the Soul: an Introduction by Murray Stein’.

When this book is seen from one perspective, it may be viewed as a book that needs to be decoded.

When seen from another perspective, it may be viewed as a book that is simply made up of linear shapes and words on a page.

In other words, the content is defined by the person’s context — depending on who you give the book to, it can change the overall meaning of the book, therefore it is the designer’s responsibility to give meaning to the content therefore shaping the form of the design.

Not only is this book a response to Rock’s thoughts and opinions on design content as content, it is also a way to respond to the connection of shaping content in which affects form and shaping identity in which creates self.

The content of book reflects a person’s perspective, just as how Carl Jung had his own opinions on identity.

The book comprises of excerpts from the book, exploring the beginning stages of the human psyche - the self, the shadow, the persona and the anima and animus. All these archetypes are part of a person’s identity.

This book is very text heavy in order to reciprocate the idea of form and content being equal, rather than form and content being two seperate things as Rand has mentioned.

BAD CONTENT. BAD FORM.

PUBLICATION/BOOK DESIGN

DESIGNER : CARLA J. ROMANA

IDEA: MIXTURE OF MORSE CODE, EXCERPTS FROM 'JUNG'S MAP OF THE SOUL' AND A SPECIAL SPREAD FEATURING PHOTOS REPRESENTING 'PERSONA'

AUTHOR OF CONTENT : MURRAY STEIN & MORE
PHOTOGRAPHY : UNSPLASH

CONSTRAINTS

- PRINTED BY BLURB

- CHOOSE OWN CONTENT

- OWN METHOD OF DELIVERY (REPRESENTATION OF CONTENT)

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