Before researching in depth into these two styles I always considered myself more of a Modernist designer. I was not as strict on my styles as the early Modernists however, I still added small amounts of personality to my work and still considered the superficial values as well as the functional ones. But my style has always been simple, minimalist and above all functional, especially with my work on books. However when I explored the themes of Post-Modernism I discovered that there are also many parts of myself personally and my work that are quite Post-Modernist. My poster designs for example; they are simple and functional of course, but as standard practice when I design posters I add small embellishments over the top of the functional elements. These do not have a direct function however I feel the poster is incomplete without them, it can look empty and dull, and a poster needs to be shocking at times and it needs to grab you. And my personal tastes such as music, can be quite expressive and far out from Modernism; I listen to a wide range of music from House and Electro, to old Rock, current Pop Punk and even Metal at times. What genre I listen to depends greatly on what I am doing at the time and what mood I am in or want to be in, I do not have a set rule on what type of music I listen to, I go with what I feel and what is right for the situation; sounds Post-Modernist doesn’t it.
I respect the order and standard Modernism has created, I follow it very closely as much as I can, without it design and the modern world as a whole would not function, there would be mass confusion and chaos. There needs to be an underlying structure to all things otherwise nothing would function, buildings need foundations. But I also respect Post-Modernism in the way it keeps moving forwards, it does not stop and it knows it is never complete as the world is in a constant state of change. Post-Modernism keeps graphic design and art innovative and current and so safeguards their future, otherwise they would stagnate and be forgotten as the world moves on. I also love their expression, their bravery to break the norm and their ability to question everything.
So am I a Modernist or Post-Modernist? I am neither. I am another one of the many contemporary designers who have discovered the benefits of both styles. To put it into perspective think of foundations as Modernism and buildings as Post-Modernism; to have just foundations would be pointless, and to have a building without foundations would mean it would soon collapse, you must have both in order to create the well designed however varied cities we see today, just one or the other may sound good in theory but do not work in practice.
