A03

'북한의 디자인은 일반적으로 경쟁자보다 한 제품을 명시 적으로 홍보 할 것으로 예상되지 않습니다 (대부분의 경우 경쟁이 없기 때문에). 라벨링은 단순히 물건이 무엇을하는지 또는 무엇인지를 구매자에게 알리기위한 것입니다. '

니콜라스 보너 - 제작북한

'Design in North Korea is generally not expected to explicitly promote one product over its competitor (as there is, in most cases, no competition). Labelling is more to inform the buyer simply what the object does or what it is.' 

Nicholas Bonner - Made In North Korea

In 1993 on a study trip to China, Nicholas Bonner and his friend Joshua Green Visited North Korea for the first time, Since then he has visited the Democratic People's Republic many times and has collected one of the largest collections of North Korean art in the world and has published two books on the topic of design in North Korea, 'Made in North Korea' and 'Printed in North Korea' both published by Phaidon, These books are the sources of all the images within this article and I would highly recommend both of them as excellently compiled encyclopedias of the design and art of the otherwise alien and unknown world of the DPRK.

With the Japanese surrender and the ending of the Second World War, the Korean Peninsula was split along the 38th parallel between the Soviet Union and the United States. When unification talks failed, Soviet general Terentii Shtykov suggested the creation of the 'Soviet Civil Authority' in the latter months of 1945 whilst also supporting former communist guerilla fighter Kim Il-Sung as Chairman for the Provisional People's Committee for North Korea. 

The Democratic Peoples Republic has proved to be elusive and isolationist for many over the years with very little news coming in or out of its Northern portion of the Korean Peninsula and as such, the DPRK has developed its own unique style of graphic design, untainted by the international community. As such the crucial themes of Graphical Design in North Korea are different from that of the rest of the world, this article is intended as an exploration of these key themes as well as a broad look into the art and design of the Hermit Kingdom. 

During an interview with Ceros.com Bonner argues that there are five key themes of North Korean Graphic Design:

- Illustrations -

Many of the older examples of graphic design from North Korea include watercolor painting as a key element as, according to Bonner, until the mid-2000s all designers drew labels by hand rather than using methods of computer-assisted design seen as required by graphic designers in the rest of the world. In the early 2000s, economic reforms in North Korea allowed for a degree of product competition and at the same time digital photography began to seep its way into the hands of North Korean designers, these two factors seem to have lead to a reduction of watercolour within the designs of the DPRK.

- Utility-

While those of us living in the highly globalised world of capitalism and consumerism may be used to advertisements depicting hyper airbrushed versions of reality where good looking people are depicted having fun whilst using the product, North Korea takes a different approach to graphic design, rather than being used to make a consumer want to buy the product, design is nearly purely used to inform the user of what the product is and how to use it. 

- Vibrance -

Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the more modern examples of North Korean Design may well be the striking colours. Korea has a long history of using very strong colours within their art and this remained even with the Juche takeover of the Kim Family. 'the colouring is not what you'd expect from what you hear about North Korea. If you look at the traditional colours from North Korea they're wild! They're not frightened of using colour. And big blocks of it.'

- Symbolism -

North Korean Design often implements symbols of particular pride to the North Korean people, this may be Paektu Mountain, a peak of mythical importance to the Korean People and the supposed birthplace of Kim Jong-Il. These icons of 'recognisable Koreanness' are used to reinforce the superiority complex of the North Korean State through a sort of everyday propaganda. An equivalent would be if the only brand of hotdogs available in the United States were called, Freedom Hotdogs and had the stars and stripes and bald eagle emblazoned on their packaging.

- Bilingualism -

In 2011 Kwangbok Supermarket opened in North Korea. This supermarket was designed to represent what the DPRK government wanted to show the world about the state of shopping in North Korea, the market unusually stocked imported goods from China. To adapt to their newfound competition, the North Korean designers began including English language labelling on the packaging of their products, something Bonner calls, 'otherworldly and a little bit posh.' 

Propaganda

As well as consumer goods, Propaganda is a key source of work for the artists and graphic designers of North Korea, these slightly alien posters exemplify the extreme nationalism of the DPRK, often playing on the styles of Mao-era Chinese propaganda posters they are designed to celebrate the values of North Korea. Key themes of such posters often include workers, soldiers, the Kim family, and the landscape of North Korea.

The Hermit Kingdom is a time capsule of the Cold War, a final struggling relic of a time when communism covered half the world. Because of it's unique nature, the graphical design and art of it are totally unique, alien to the modern world. the art of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is quite possibly the most graceful face of an otherwise brutal regime, a beautifully unique veneer to cover the rotten state that is North Korea.

A02

'I hated to see wonderful machines badly directed.'

Gordon Russell - Designer's Trade

In November 1942, The Second Battle of El Alamein has just been won, seeing Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps pushed back effectively halting the Axis' advance in North Africa, and with the Russians fighting bloodily to defend Stalingrad, the allies were by no means out of the proverbial woods of war. Back on the homefront, food had been rationed since January of 1940, however with the increasing demands of the war economy the United Kingdom saw a shortage of materials critical in the manufacture of Furniture and Clothing, to help reduce waste and conserve material reserves, rationing was introduced in both of these markets.

CC41

Throughout this article, numerous references will be made to the 'CC41' Logo, standing for, 'Controlled Commodity 1941' it was a state-controlled system for designating products as meeting the requirements of rationing, however, throughout and after the Second World War the logo became most known being a symbol of quality and value for money for clothing and furniture

Utility Clothing

The wartime economy of Great Britain required everyone to do their bit and conserve where possible, this ethos was extended to the clothing industry when the Government took control of the supply of raw materials such as cloth, leather, and wool. Quotas and Regulations were imposed upon the nation to ensure no material went to waste, part of this was the introduction of the Utility Clothing Scheme. 

Leading fashion designers such as Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell were commissioned to design clothing that fit the specifications required by the Government. These Specifications included details such as the amount of material permitted for each piece, the specific blends of cloth that were permitted to use the CC41 mark, the number of buttons or pockets allowed pr even the height of heels on footwear. Perhaps one of the dystopic sounding examples of these pieces of clothing was the rather unfortunately named, 'IncSoc Gown' by Bianca Mosca, shown below photographed by the Ministry of Information in 1945. Another example being the 'National Footwear' 

Utility Furniture

Set up in 1942, the Utility Furniture Advisory Committee's job was to ensure effective use of materials and was comprised of a series of British Designers including Gordon Russel and John Gloag. The Committee began by rationing new furniture and restricting the purchase of it to newlyweds and those who had been bombed during the Blitz. Utility Furniture also published a catalogue of approved designs in 1943, These Designs were to be of quality production, able to last for as long as possible whilst at the same time, minimising wastage of materials. Although the Arts and Crafts movement held some influence over the aesthetics of these designs, they were generally devoid of decorative elements with function taking priority over form.

The Second World War truly altered the British Zietgiest in all facets gone were the excesses of pre-war life and people while people struggled in many regards, the CC41 ideology of production lead to a series of well designed, cheap, and materially efficient products, perhaps in some ways this could be considered a proto-eco-minded concept. After all, Britain was conserving materials to protect what it held dear, that being democracy whereas the modern movement towards eco-design is conserving materials to protect what we all hold dear, our planet itself.

A01

'You just can't differentiate between a robot and the very best of humans.'

Issac Asimov - I, Robot

As the steady technological progression of the Fourth Industrial Revolution marches on, it brings with it possibilities for innovation in all areas of life. Many industries far becoming obsolete with the advent of automation of Artificial Intelligence, however, those in the Creative Industries may feel secure in the belief that art is simply something that a computer, no matter how modern, cannot create. Without getting into the philosophical debate of the definition of art, these people may to some extent be correct, but for how long will this remain the case?

What is Artificial Intelligence?

To quote the experts on the matter, Artificial Intelligence can be defined as, 'any device that perceives its environment and takes actions to maximize its chance of successfully achieving its goals.' - Computational Intelligence - David L. Poole

In recent years we have begun to see AI-driven design make its way into engineered components, using Machine Learning, the process of 'teaching' an AI to complete a task by having it carry out a simulation until it becomes acceptably efficient, Engineers have used AI to create components that achieve are designed have the most efficient strength to the material used ratio possible, with the development of advanced metal 3D printing techniques, these organically alien designs are now a manufacturing possibility, however, it is not just design that is seeing an AI renaissance.

Edmond de Belamy, from La Famille de Belamy, was the worlds first painting creating using Artificial Intelligence to be sold at auction in October of 2018, while the piece was predicted to be sold for $7000 - $10,000 USD, it shocked many by being sold for an astounding $432,500. To many, it may seem indistinguishable from a man-made creation, that is other than its unorthodox signature suggesting that perhaps the traditional artist's days are indeed numbered.

‘We found that portraits provided the best way to illustrate our point, which is that algorithms are able to emulate creativity’ — Hugo Caselles-Dupré of Obvious 

Not only can Artificial Intelligence be used to create, but also to enhance existing artwork. In recent years a number of tools have been released to the public to allow AI-assisted image upscaling, and more interestingly to me, photograph colourising. Algorithmia is one such tool, using a cloud-based Machine Learning process to colourise greyscale images allowing historical photographs to be seen in a new light. 

The AI does have its limitations, struggling with low-resolution images however generally does a good job at breathing new life into photographs. This process got me thinking and led to some experimentation. What would happen if I was to make greyscale artwork specifically designed to be difficult for the colouriser to read?

I found that creating a relatively abstract image and then posterizing it to four single shades of grey significantly reduced to information available to the AI, meaning that it struggled more to find what it thought was the correct colour for each pixel, the effects of this were interestingly vibrant and unusual colour palates that helped to create a unique end product. I found some pieces when made greyscale had to have their brightness increased to reduce the prevalence of black in the posterization process. shown below are some of the results of me playing around with this process.

So whether you see AI as the Future of Humanity or a Sword of Damocles hanging over civilization itself, perhaps AI-driven or AI-assisted art and design is the way of the future, whether that be through the Organic Component Design of AI Engineers, AI crafted pieces of work worth thousands, or perhaps even the vibrant distortions of abusing AI colourisation.