The use of postmodernism, as a concept, vouches for worldwide change and has become widespread in modern societies. The postmodern dichotomy has been present throughout history and has been observed but never labeled, until the last century. Postmodernism is a diverse, flamboyantly colorful style of architecture and decorative arts that first appeared in the late 1970s and continues to be a phenomenon even today.
Postmodernism first emerged as a reaction to Modernism as by the 1970s Modernism had begun to feel biased, elitist, and exclusive, despite its initial democratic intentions. Postmodernism started as a radical but marginal movement in the 1970s, but became the dominant and defining look of the 1980s, the ‘designer decade’. This approach is one of the most controversial movements in art and design history. From the very beginning, Postmodernism shattered long-established ideas about art and design. This approach attempts to bring a new self-awareness about design itself. Postmodernism is an unhinged combination of exaggeration and abstraction, ranging from absurdity to the luxurious. Postmodernism is supposed to be a visually thrilling, multifaceted style. Postmodernism’s fundamental principles have always been intricacy and at the same time, ambiguity.
The postmodernist designing approach embodies historical insinuation and traces of whimsical essence. In practice, especially in architecture and the field of visual communication, it is intended to be the finding of new meanings within the mostly classical architecture of the past and its application to contemporary structures.
What about the postmodern designing approach in corporate communication?
It seems like a pretty bizarre idea when you think about the presence of postmodern design in corporate communication. It might even sound like a nearly impossible idea to combine a phenomenon such as the postmodern design with the practical scene of corporate communication. But the truth is, it has been done for decades now and is deemed a relevant concept in the modern corporate world.But first, let us discuss what corporate communication is.
Corporate communication is the process of developing a brand identity for a business and keeping lines of communication open with the public. Corporate communication teams work to improve the company’s reputation in the market, communicate with internal and external audiences, and close the communication gap between staff and management. Communication design is the use of strategically placed graphics to convey information. Design has become even more pervasive in our modern environment and quality design is, therefore, more crucial than ever, which increases its competitiveness.
Corporate communication is a company’s most significant strategy that can go a plethora of ways often consisting of written content such as website, press releases, and memos; verbal content such as interviews, videos, and press conferences; and visual content such as photographs, infographics, and illustrations. When it comes to incorporating postmodernism in communication design, vivid colors, and going over the board (for the sake of aesthetics); have always been a style statement. With the aim of building a strong brand identity, corporations tend to be concerned with their internal and external communication.
There are a few concepts that define the postmodernist design approach. One of those concepts is- Pluralism, as Postmodernism rejects one object’s truth or way of approaching reality. Anti-formalism is another concept, which reflects Postmodernism’s rejection of formal art instruction and theory. Nontraditional and mixed media have a crucial place in postmodern design in communication. The power of Deconstruction enables Postmodernism to break down the traditional concepts of how art creates meaning.
Postmodernism is all about self-reference as it often calls attention to its own artifice and mocks artistic conventions through the power of “irony”.
Multimedia culture in communication creates an abundance of images and indications that give rise to a world of simulations, erasing the line between the real and the imagined, through the strength of postmodernist design. Visual media and its capacity to present the observer with a world of stimulating media content are associated with postmodern advertising. Everything blends into everything else in the hyper-realistic world of postmodern advertising, where all components are an appearance, a simulation, and an image.
A communication designer of a corporation aims to develop the relationship between the audience, or in other words the customers and visuals A communication designer would think about the message they want to convey and how to strategically engage the viewer before they decide on the graphics’ appearance. They will take into account the ideas that are bound to grab a viewer’s attention first, the associations that viewers often have. The psychology of how design elements influence people’s moods is crucial here. They produce visuals that convey and maintain a strong and captivating message. All of this ends up being much more achievable when they go for the postmodernist approach in their design.
Postmodernism in corporate communication challenges old ideas about art and attempts to be funny or absurd; which once was usually self-aware. Postmodernism in communication is contradictory and complex, with the ambition of breaking away from the perfection that earlier stages of art used to aim for.
In communication design, it is about realizing the power of what a corporation’s content can communicate. This visualization through the lens of postmodernism adheres to an abstract form, which at the same time will intricately convey the message of the corporation.
Some characteristics of postmodernism in communication design include bright colors, ranging from bright pastels to neon, used internally and externally. The playfulness of the way the message is shared creates eye-catching and whimsical contents. From color to font to layout to language, every design choice with the whimsical feel of postmodernism will make an impact on the image of the corporation. Even while picking precise material to include in a campaign, choosing keywords or phrases, and deciding when, and how to present a message to reach the target audience postmodernism’s uniqueness and quirkiness offers a variety of creative choices.
Postmodernism has been charged with many accounts of blame mainly involving fraudulence, over the years. This approach to design has been criticized for being unattractive, shallow, derivative, and complicit with a material goal. But that is what corporate communication hopes to achieve right? So it can be said, corporate communication and the postmodernist design approach go hand in hand. An immersive experience surely leaves a lasting impression.
Author- Tahia Afra Jannati
