Neshan 39

Today, the advertising industry is being developed and transformed throughout the world at an incredible speed. Although the industry is constantly changing based on the advancements of technology and communication, its impact is progressively increasing, demonstrating the significance of advertising in today’s world. Graphic design is one of the main bases of the advertisement industry. This particularly makes sense in Iran, since graphic designers have played a significant role in this field for a long time. Unfortunately, today the relatio... > more

“They try to set everything in an exact order to prevent errors, unanticipated consequences, and disorganization. They are untiring when it comes to establishing order and discipline, they attempt to maintain a geometrical symmetry in the world around them, and even half a millimeter of misplacement annoys them.” I don’t know whether Ali Afsarpoor suffers from OCPD or not, but he definitely shows the symptoms in his work.... > more

The Welcome Spring Festival of Mashhad is an event that began in 2008 with the support of Mashhad Municipality and the Artists’ Forum. Self-taught and progressive, the Spring Festival moved ahead and reached its peak in 2012 and 2013. Now, urban art centered on spring is acknowledged in all the cities of Iran. The festival is called Baharestan in Tehran.... > more

About a hundred years have passed since the emergence of advertising agencies. Madison Avenue ideas are still alive and have undergone several changes based on the needs of the audience and clients –changes that are currently improving with an incredible speed due to many reasons such as the media behavior of the audience. Along with brands that have developed in terms of production, sales, and marketing, advertising agencies have expanded their knowledge in fields related to communications, particularly in marketing, in order to provide cli... > more

Not too long ago, you announced your new project Studio Feixen—could you please tell us about how you formed initially and what brought you three members together? Can you tell us about how you operate as a team? I began the studio by myself, but after a while I simply realized that over time it is just no fun to work alone. It’s an incredible feeling to realize what happens when you merge talent. There is a long tradition of graphic designers who are known as individuals, but I think we are living in another time. Today it’s about teamwo... > more

Do designers need to know how to program? “Our society expects that everyone should learn to write, even though very few become professional writers. Similarly, I think that everyone should learn how to program, even though very few will become professional programmers.” based on Mitchel Resnick’s belief everyone—including designers—need to know how to program. If Karl Gerstner was with us today he would also agree that designers need to know how to program. However, program(me) has a different yet similar meaning in his vocabulary. ... > more

The first Persian advertisements were published in the Persian press in India. Afterwards, the establishment of the first newspapers in Iran and the increase in their numbers boosted advertising considerably. At the end of the Qajar era, advertisements had the highest proportion of content in newspapers. These advertisements used the calligraphic style common in that period, particularly the Nastaʿlīq script — and their remarkable transformations were restricted to framing. The mid 1940s were the years of import and predominance of foreign goo... > more

The intense fervor of the early years of Iran’s Islamic Revolution resulted in the shutdown of numerous institutions and companies for different reasons. Advertising agencies were no exception. It is clear that in the unusual situation of that period, in which the post-war economic downturn had limited business activities related to production and supply, there was not much demand for advertisements and promotion of products or services. In the lack of market competition, there was no need for advertisement to increase sales. In this situation... > more

It has been at least two decades since art and the conception of art have undergone changes influenced by modern social events, technology, media, and other factors. Whether correct or incorrect, with any opinion and attitude, we must consider this issue as social conformity and not a dissonance. Art might still be divided into seven main divisions; but its medium, tools, and approach have changed dramatically. Painting is no longer restricted to church ceilings and cotton canvases. Much of the music we hear every day is composed behind a comp... > more

“We are a global network of activists, writers, artists, designers, hackers, tricksters, poets, philosophers and punks. Join us.” Adbusters Adbusters is a Canadian magazine, founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver. It has initiated movements such as Buy Nothing Day, TV Turnoff Week and Occupy Wall Street. Lasn and Schmalz describe themselves as “culture jammers”, and with an anti-capitalism and anti-consumerism mission the Adbusters team is “fighting back against the hostile takeover of our psychological, physical and cu... > more