Graphic Design and Religion: A Call for Renewal [Paperback]

Daniel Kantor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

Ideal for graphic designers, illustrators, artists, and clergy alike, this thorough exploration of sacred art transcends the discussion of symbols and aesthetics in order to seek a truly spiritual way of seeing. By drawing a comparison between many different eras of religious iconography—from the illuminators of the Middle Ages to modern-day artwork and advertising pieces—this vital resource encourages creative thinkers from all religious backgrounds to rediscover their work as sacred. Beautiful and abundant illustrations, coupled with passionately written text, challenge the ways in which we view religious artwork and imagery.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel Kantor is the founder, principal, and creative director of KantorGroup, an award-winning strategic brand communications consultancy serving a broad range of national corporate clients. KantorGroup was the principal design consultant for Evangelical Lutheran Worship—Pew Edition, the core resource used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Gia Publications (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579996620
• ISBN-13: 978-1579996628
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graphic Design and Religion: A Call for Renewal, May 9, 2008

By 

Aneesah Mcnamee "aneesah" (Adrian, Michigan) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Graphic Design and Religion: A Call for Renewal (Paperback)

This is an excellant book! Beautifully presented and published -
I got this book on recommendation from a Professor as i am writing my dissertation on Religion and Graphic Design; it was refreshing to finally have something that is remotely professional and elegant and presented religion and religious image or subject in an adult way and in line with my own aesthetic value! Am hoping to find other books out there like this that isn't all about associating religion with kitsch!
If you need to get some good, and beautiful, professional adult ideas - this book is a must have.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars expert graphic design advise for religious organizations, July 30, 2008

By 

Henry Berry "Henry Berry" (Southport, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graphic Design and Religion: A Call for Renewal (Paperback)

The heavily-illustrated work is not only a catalog of au courant religious graphic art; nearly all Christian, but some Jewish and Islamic pieces as well. To some degree, author Kantor iterates the feelings and the faith bound into religious graphic art; and he states the spiritual as well as practical purposes of such art. He is a liturgical music composer; and his design group has done work for the evangelical Lutheran sect among other Christian religious groups. He does not aim to preach, however; he makes the point that the best religious art is done by artists who are believing Christians, like medieval illuminated manuscripts were done by devout monks. "The creators of the illuminated texts didn't see their works as ends in themselves but as objects subordinated to a divine framework in which a host of otherwise unrelated objects became 'part of the architectural and liturgical presentation of an ordered cosmos of being, reality, and value'." While Kantor recognizes that the "complexity and variety of today's religious communications" go far beyond that of medieval times, today's religious artists are nonetheless in a direct line with the medieval monks.

The central challenge facing today's religious graphic artists is representing the religious quality of mystery in graphic works that in most cases are intended to have some practical use. This is different from the regular goal of the ubiquitous secular, commercial graphic art which is to convey some marketing hook or highlight a feature of a product. "The ways in which symbols are interpreted and deployed by the designer can make the difference between a mystery being opened up and enlarged or its being diminished and stripped of its numinous qualities."

Graphic works as simple as a brochure, a card, or a notice connected with a religious group or event should be identifiable as such. Even such simple, practical graphic art belongs to the wholeness of a religion which makes it such a potent, everlasting force. It is in more complex, artful work such as book jackets and designs, liturgical texts, church art, and theological, homiletic, and ministerial works where the representation of the religion's mysteries is most relevant.

Kantor gives experienced guidance on the use of images, text, composition, color, size, format, and illustration in the varied printed materials of a religion. The abundant, fetching visual matter was chosen by a jury selecting from submissions. It is exceptionally high-quality and instructive; and it demonstrates ideally what Kantor means about the inestimable advantage of attractive, pertinent, and useful graphics for a religion.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Timely, June 1, 2008

By 

J. Brent Bill "A Friendly Friend (Quaker-type)" (In the Country, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graphic Design and Religion: A Call for Renewal (Paperback)

With so much bad (though "bad" is often in the eye of the beholder)religious advertising and marketing out there, I appreciated this beautiful book on beauty. Gorgeous reproductions of good design in the service of faith and fine writing make this a book all designers and those responsible for congregational communications should have. As an art major/seminary graduate, I really appeciate the blending of art and theology.