art & design: rationalizing the surreal

Words by Fiona Jenvy, CEO of Mudpie/Mpdclick

Writer Stephen King gets a graphic makeover and sets a trend in graphic design. As a fan of Stephen King in my teenage years, this article from online magazine Coolhunting.com caught my eye. I was expecting a disturbing visual narrative created along Alice in Wonderland-esque lines, instead the graphic designer Nick Tassone has rationalized the surreal by providing a fresh take on Stephen King’s classically twisted words and worlds.

“Tassone cuts out the gore and reduces each image down to an essential stylized symbol, using a two-color palette of black paired with a pastel. For “Carrie,” an upended bucket hangs from a rope.” – Coolhunting

The simplicity of the work gives the viewer a greater, sober sense of unease than the original book covers could ever have done- perhaps because disturbing subject matter has become normalized by such a rational presentation. For spring/summer 2011, Mpdclick have forecasted the trends Fable and Sobriety; Tassone perfectly combines both these trends, perhaps even creating a new one. Other trend companies have called ‘Sobriety’ ‘the New Normal’- perhaps this is it- all that is disturbing and wrong in our world has become normal, justified and rational- a very unsettling prospect indeed .

To see the original article and the  image examples click here

Source & Image: Coolhunting.com