Some graphic designers will tell you that their work is no art form and its tenets rely on communication - honest, direct and often with the intents of satisfying a client. There is a new prevalence in experiencing design from scouring pages on-line and new access to an innumerable amount of design that maybe the average person would not have experienced before 1995 (unless you hoarded collections of design magazines, Cosmopolitan, etc. that could amount to the material available on the Internet ). The design experience for the average person has changed from thirty second adverts on television, sign posts across the street, to graphic elements as a part of information design, iconography, and web related presentations.

The Internet is playing a more significant role in design than many of us might have expected. So I’m wondering: how did we transition from that deconstructivist , grunge, style of the mid 1990s (remember those early Beck videos?) to the overt clarity, broad shapes, and gradient colors of “Web 2.0″? I’m not discussing Web 2.0 and it’s validity from a technological standpoint or it’s relevance towards trends and technology, but instead from a design perspective. I believe there is a phenomenon that represents this design evolution and it may be accurately represented in the work of Shepard Fairey.

Fairey’s “Obey” movement bridges that gap between artwork and graphic design with an ingrained branding mentality that follows closely with social elements we get from the Internet today. He provides original designs and posters to anyone interested in taking them, reinterpreting them, and doing with it what they feel. You may have seen his work around urban hubs and communities. His philosophy and aesthetic lends to large spaces of brick walls, inconspicuous billboards, and busy communities where his open-source artwork/design can be plastered by anyone for others to see on their morning commutes. During 1989, Shepard Fairey created an unassuming sticker utilizing the image of the professional wrestler, Andre the Giant. This image has become the icon of his self-proclaimed “phenomenological” experiment and I believe it’s this process of community involvement and interpretation that filters out inconsistencies, confusion, and has resulted in this streamlined branding/artwork ideal.

The design aspects of “Web 2.0″ arrived after a limited number of years of understanding web interactivity, e-commerce, download rates, and otherwise. Many designers earned their chops through borrowing code and design elements from their favorite websites online. It’s these community aspects of the Internet that help refine information design and create these increasingly safe and communicative design elements. Comparing the style of the early nineties to 2006 we can see a sharp contrast. Although the style of the web represents something different from contemporary print work, Web 2.0’s soft color schemes, large shapes, and attempt at hyper-clarity parallel Fairey’s current Obey campaign.

Maybe Fairey’s phenomenological experiment accurately represented a social, design, project where collaboration amongst strangers defined and redefined their work, much the same way a modern web designer does today.

Is it a small step in understanding the design trends of today? It may be. So for those of you, like myself, who are tired of the pastels, rounded corners, and large type, you might consider blaming Shepard Fairey.