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Surrealism In Graphic Design
What do an apple and a computer have in common? Nothing in particular. However, through the power of surrealism, any graphic designer may combine seemingly unrelated ideas into an impactful, even understated, picture.
We’ll put on our x-ray vision glasses in a moment to uncover the surrealist bone structure under the surface of Apple’s emblem, but before we get into branding, it’s necessary to realise what surrealism is—beyond the melting clocks and jumbled faces. Surrealism has had an impact on art enthusiasts for nearly a century—imagine the possibilities of your own creations!
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Surrealism is explained.
Surrealism should not have to be a Salvador Dali drawing (even though Dali is probably who springs to mind when you think of surrealism). Surrealism is created when normal yet unrelated objects are juxtaposed in unexpected ways to produce something otherworldly and intense.
André Breton, a French writer/poet, published his Manifesto of Surrealism in 1924, which defines surrealism as bypassing conscious intention and disclosing how mind works. Consider how dreams work: you’ll be in a position from your memory until suddenly an individual or thing emerges that completely contradicts the circumstance. Maybe a never-before-imagined gadget, or a kid you meet who transforms into an adult, or vice versa! Surrealists experience this dreamlike flow condition when alive and articulate it via their preferred media.
Apple is friendly, but the machine is terrifying
You might be thinking that the apple icon isn’t surreal, and you’d be right. Apple’s emblem is simply an apple, but the idea of juxtaposing an apple with a robot is surrealist of nature. Remember that surrealism brings together otherwise disparate objects in unexpected juxtapositions. Consider that when Apple first launched in 1976, the concept of a digital machine frightened people. But placed an apple picture in front of it, and poof! The threatening programming concept is surrounded by a cloud of fun and friendliness!
You will do that only Apple can. And just to prove it, we’ll walk you through some inspiring designs where the surrealist approach has boosted these labels. Come on, friends, let’s take a leap into the unknown!
Logos that are surreal
Companies looking to create something innovative and exciting may want to consider using a surrealist methodology recognised as the factor of surprise. Customers can be taken aback by a starkly opposing colour palette, the blending of odd pairs of images into an unlikely composition, or typefaces that push the boundaries of how a letterform may bend. These components will combine to form a distinct visual language and jolt audiences out of their mundane daily lives and into your subjective twilight zone.
Web architecture that is surreal
Surrealists became obsessed with desire. When surrealists discussed the concept of life, the term came up often. They believed that in order to attain real liberation, ambition needed to be accepted and acted upon. In a surrealist setting, lust is not often associated with intimacy, but rather with a sincere manifestation of the inner self.
Surrealism is used in a number of ways in the following web designs to reflect attraction. Viewers are taken to exotic worlds, liberated from their own confines, or have their heads stretched into space. Surrealist designs are appropriate for companies who assist their clients in fulfilling their deepest desires.
Illustration that is surreal
Given that surrealism began as a fine art phenomenon, illustration is where it will really shine. Your canvas can transport audiences to otherworldly cities where planets float in dreamlike vicinity, or it can twist figures into unbelievable forms. If you want to invoke a transcendent experience in your audience or simply provide them with a one-of-a-kind and memorable photograph, consider surrealism.
Unusual record designs
Since poetry is such an important aspect of music, it makes sense for artists to use visual poetry in the form of dream imagery for album covers. For creators and creators, the fantasy world is as much a feature of their lives as the living world. Dreams were used by ancient Egyptian and Greek builders and physicians to help them decide where to develop or examine and manage a patient. Through adding elements snatched from dreams into your design, you will shed light on nature’s mysterious meanings.
Unusual novel covers
Businesses dealing with matters of the spirit and inner journeys should make use of a surrealist staple: the eye. Many people believe that this fascinating organ of seeing is a portal to the soul. In several cultures, the pineal gland of the brain is believed to have supernatural powers and is seen as the body’s third eye.
Suns and moons can represent the universe’s eyes in surrealism, or one eye can be separated and seen as either observing the observer or as a portal to be peered into. Are you being monitored, or are you the one being watched? Or maybe there’s a third one!
Unusual packaging
The wonderful, according to surrealists, is a moment where the veils that distort reality are removed and the true meaning of being can be seen more plainly. Companies who want to elicit a perceptive, sublime, supernatural consciousness in their consumers should tap into the marvellous. When the right things come together and the clients get that ah-ha moment, you’ve ushered them into the world of the wonderful!
Posters that are surreal
The surrealist method of dissecting the body can be used by designers who choose to highlight the frailty and mystery of creation. Humans are made up of several interconnected structures, from which limitless insights can be gleaned until they are separated. The posters below use this strategy by showing a brain outside of a shell, as well as organ-like trees in a sci-fi setting. They generate a whole new context and bring focus to how individual body processes contribute to the human being as a whole by doing so.
Enter the surrealist concept universe.
Sit with a buddy and ask them to say terms that describe your brand or company. Without stopping to reflect, say the first thing that comes to mind when you hear each phrase. For example, if your friend says the word dependability, which prompts you to say whale, find an image of a whale and cut it out. You would eventually be able to combine these sketches into a collage. This is a kind of automatism (bypassing logic and taking elements straight from the unconscious mind), and it’s a fantastic way to discover your own surrealist language.
