I watched the Marian Bantjes TED Conference video this morning. I discovered her work is, with its curvaceous lettering, delicate ornamentation, and complex patterns.
In the video, Marian features a constant stream of her designs while she discusses the approach to her innovative work. She describes how 6 years ago, after 20 years in the business, she fundamentally changed her design process. She decided to approach her work from the most personal level, trying to “make a living doing what she loved.” She was astonished to discover that people overwhelmingly received and responded to her work, in ways that viewers hadn’t before. The more personal work was, the more it resonated.
Now she calls herself a “Graphic Artist” instead of a “Graphic Designer.”
With each piece, she asks herself the following questions: “Does it bring joy? Is there a sense of wonder? Does it invoke curiosity?” She is interested in “visual structure, surprise, and anything that requires figuring things out. So for this reason, I’m particularly drawn to systems and patterns.”
I think the key to Bantjes work is this element of surprise. As a designer, to dedicate the time to incorporate the element of surprise is exactly what produces these resonating results. Instead of churning out materials that fit pre-determined boundaries for function, language, and audience, Bantjes seeks to surprise the audience – to give them the unexpected, to make them look closer in order to understand. This approach makes each piece look unique, rendering it impossible to adequately describe the “Bantjes style.”
With each piece, she asks herself the following questions: “Does it bring joy? Is there a sense of wonder? Does it invoke curiosity?” She is interested in “visual structure, surprise, and anything that requires figuring things out. So for this reason, I’m particularly drawn to systems and patterns.”
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