Jackson Green’s design work explores the chasm that exists between statement and intent

Date
21 September 2018

New-York based graphic designer and type designer, Jackson Green mainly works with musical artists and clothing brands to create an effective “tone of voice” through his designs. His designs are bold and colourful, influenced by the futuristic ideas of Wim Crouwel which strive towards a sense of chronological ambiguity in the design’s make-up. Speaking to It’s Nice That, Jackson explains, “a huge part of my reason for design is to explore the Explanatory Gap”, a philosophical idea coined by Joseph Levine investigating how physical properties give rise to the way things feel when they are experienced.

“I try and make sure every aspect of the design speaks to the end message, especially where personal work is concerned”, explains Jackson. “My work strives for a blurring between analogue and digital, as well as between seemingly disparate references that result in design work that feels like it could exist comfortably between 20 years ago or 20 years from now”. 

Jackson’s designs feature a strong, complementary relationship between text and images. Jackson often works with custom designed typefaces which emphasises the specific tone of voice in a design. Recently, Jackson has designed and acted as creative director for metal core band Jesus Piece and art directed for the St. Louis rapper J’Demul. The designs reflect the idiosyncrasies of the music and are eye-catching campaigns for the musical artists, as well as being founded on conceptually-strong themes. 

Jackson is a philosophical designer, particularly inspired by Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion, citing the aesthetic choices and range of historical references in the show as a major influence in his work. Additionally, Jackson is interested in Anno’s exploration of the Hedgehog’s Dilemma in the show, this paradoxical idea explores the challenge of human intimacy. The dilemma suggests that despite human goodwill and an innate need for closeness with other humans, human intimacy cannot occur without substantial, mutual harm. Consequently, Jackson’s practice is thoughtful and self-analytical in its visual communication. 

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Jackson Green

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Jackson Green

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Jackson Green

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Jackson Green

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Jackson Green

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Jackson Green

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Jackson Green

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Jackson Green

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About the Author

Jyni Ong

Jyni joined It’s Nice That as an editorial assistant in August 2018 after graduating from The Glasgow School of Art’s Communication Design degree. In March 2019 she became a staff writer and in June 2021, she was made associate editor.

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