visual communication history

8/2/2019 Visual Communication History

1/38

What is the History of Visual Communication?

Prehistory through the Medieval Era

Origins of European Typography

and Design for Printing

Impact of Industrial Technology

upon Visual Communications

Graphic Design in the

First Half of the Twentieth Century

http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/TableOfContents.html (1 of 2) [3.3.2010 7:52:02]

What is the

History of Visual Communication ?


2/38


Graphic Design in the Age of Information

PREHISTORY | ORIGINS | IMPACT | 20TH CENTURY | INFORMATION AGE | SEMinal Design

REFERENCES:

A History of Graphic Design, Third Edition, by Phillip B. MeggsDiscreet Logic, www.discreet.comSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art, www.sfmoma.orgSan Jose Tech Museum of Innovation, www.thetech.org

http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/TableOfContents.html (2 of 2) [3.3.2010 7:52:02]


3/38


The Invention of Writing

The Asian Contribution

Alphabets

Illuminated Manuscripts

HOME | PREHISTORY | ORIGINS | IMPACT | 20TH CENTURY | INFORMATION AGE

http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/Prehistory.html [3.3.2010 7:52:05]

What is the

History of Visual Communication

Prehistory Through the Medieval Era

?


4/38


5/38


Typography for an Industrial Age

Photography, The New Communications Tool

The Victorian Era

The Arts and Crafts Movement

Ukiyo-e and Art Nouveau


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/Impact.html [3.3.2010 7:52:11]

What is the


Impact of Industrial Technology upon Visual Communications

?


6/38


The Genesis of Twentieth-Century Design

The Influence of Modern Art

Pictorial Modernism

A New Language of Form

The Bauhaus and the New Typography

The Modern Movement in America

http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/20Century.html (1 of 2) [3.3.2010 7:52:14]

What is the


Graphic Design in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

?


7/38



http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/20Century.html (2 of 2) [3.3.2010 7:52:14]


8/38


The International Typographic Style

The New York School

Corporate Identity and Visual Systems

The Conceptual Image

National Visions within a Global Dialogue

Postmodern Design

http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAge.html (1 of 2) [3.3.2010 7:52:18]

What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of Information

?


9/38


The Digital Revolution

The Future of Graphic Design


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAge.html (2 of 2) [3.3.2010 7:52:18]


10/38

eminal Design

Kibu.com

Architectural Heritage

Photography

La donna e mobile (Flash)

Bogus Vineyards (Flash)


Black Tiger Academy

Fotomas

Contact

ttp://www.seminaldesign.com/index.html [3.3.2010 7:52:21]
http://www.seminaldesign.com/KibuPortfolio/KibuPortfolio.htmlhttp://www.seminaldesign.com/ArchHeritage/ArchHeritageHome.htmlhttp://www.seminaldesign.com/Photography/Photography.htmlhttp://www.seminaldesign.com/FlashPortfolio/LaDonna.htmlhttp://www.seminaldesign.com/FlashPortfolio/Bogus.htmlhttp://www.blacktigeracademy.com/http://www.fotomas.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.fotomas.com/http://www.blacktigeracademy.com/http://www.seminaldesign.com/FlashPortfolio/Bogus.htmlhttp://www.seminaldesign.com/FlashPortfolio/LaDonna.htmlhttp://www.seminaldesign.com/Photography/Photography.htmlhttp://www.seminaldesign.com/ArchHeritage/ArchHeritageHome.htmlhttp://www.seminaldesign.com/KibuPortfolio/KibuPortfolio.html


11/38


Prehistoric visual communicationsThe cradle of civilizationThe earliest writingMesopotamian visual identificationEgyptian hieroglyphsPapyrus and writingThe first illustrated manuscriptsEgyptian visual identification

Early humans first used simple pictures to communicate.These drawings could have been aids in hunting, a plea tothe Gods for help, as well as a record of the animals killed in

the hunt. Mesopotamian peoples began keeping records ontablets based on the ten fingers or decimal system using

pictographs. Several hundred years later this evolved intocuneiform writing which represented the sounds of the objectshown. This was passed on to the Egyptians and

Phoenicians who each developed their own form of writing.

The Egyptians based their writing on pictures which theycalled hieroglyphics. It wasn't until Champollion decipheredthe Rosetta Stone in 1822 that the complexity ofhieroglyphics were understood. With the development of

papyrus, visual communication became portable, illustratedmanuscripts were prepared as funerary texts to accompany

the deceased to the afterlife. Design standards were thesame regardless of whether the execution was done onstone, a wall of a temple or a papyrus scroll.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/PrehistoryInvention.html [3.3.2010 7:52:24]

What is the


Prehistory Through the Medieval EraThe Invention of Writing

?


12/38


Chinese calligraphyThe invention of paperThe discovery of printingThe invention of movable type

Chinese calligraphy is still used today. Developed about

2,000 years ago, it is a visual language, not verbal,composed of lines within an imaginary square, logogramsthat represent a word. The Chinese also developed paper,

and were very concerned with the aesthetics of their writing.Moods and spirituality were expressed depending on thestyle of the logogram. Relief printing was developed by the

Chinese, the space around the image was carved away, andthe raised surface was inked creating the print. The Chinese

also created movable type, but the large number ofcharacters made this process impractical. Chinese paper andprinting spread to Japan and Europe, and helped to inspire

the Renaissance.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/PrehistoryAsian.html [3.3.2010 7:52:26]

What is the


Prehistory Through the Medieval EraThe Asian Contribution

?


13/38


Cretan pictographsThe North Semitic alphabetThe Aramaic alphabet and its descendantsThe Greek alphabetThe Latin alphabetThe Korean alphabet

It is believed that the Phoenician system may be one of thesources of the alphabet. They were great sailors and traders,

and were influenced by the Creten pictographs as well as theCanaanite, Hebrew, and Egyptian civilizations. ThePhoenician alphabet was adopted by the Greeks and

Romans, while Hebrew and Arabic writing evolved from theAramaic alphabet, first used by the tribes from Aram. The

Greeks refined and developed the Phoenician system, and itis the basis of the various alphabets today.

http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/PrehistoryAlphabets.html (1 of 2) [3.3.2010 7:52:29]

What is the


Prehistory Through the Medieval EraAlphabets

?


14/38



http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/PrehistoryAlphabets.html (2 of 2) [3.3.2010 7:52:29]


15/38


The classical styleCeltic book designThe Caroline graphic renewalSpanish pictorial expressionismRomanesque and Gothic manuscriptsJudaic manuscriptsIslamic manuscriptsLate medieval illuminated manuscripts

The term Illuminated Manuscript originated with the use ofgold leaf to decorate the pages of handwritten books. Sacredwritings were the basis for most handwritten books, so

design and embellishment were very important. Theinvention of parchment and the codex format allowed for

design innovation since it was more durable and didn't haveto be rolled. The earliest manuscript from the Christian era isthe Vatican Vergil. The text is rustic capitals, the illustrations

are either at the top, bottom or center of the page, the same

width as the text column, and bordered with a solid colorusually red. This became the classic Roman book style.During the Dark Ages the Celts were the center of innovation,since they were isolated and relatively free from turmoil. The

Book of Durrowis the earliest designed and ornamentedCeltic book, it is characterized by abstract and complex

intricate decorative patterns. Vibrant color borders or framesenclosed full-page illustrations. Large initials were used onthe opening pages, and a style called diminuendowas

created to integrate this letter with the rest of the text. Theletters were decreased in size from the original to finally fit

with the body text. The Celts were the first to separate lettersinto words for easier reading. Charlemagne was instrumental

in standardizing book design during the Dark Ages, as wellas the first use of an upper and lower case alphabet.Spanish, Gothic, Judaic and Islam all developed individual

styles of illuminated manuscripts.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/PrehistoryIlluminated.html [3.3.2010 7:52:32]

What is the


Prehistory Through the Medieval EraIlluminated Manuscripts

?


16/38


Early European block printingMovable typography in EuropeCopperplate engraving

Gutenberg's invention of the type mold and printing pressrevolutionized graphic design. Books became more readilyavailable instead of just for the wealthy and clergy.

Copperplate engraving and woodblock printing were alsodeveloped for illustrations and text.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/OriginsPrinting.html [3.3.2010 7:52:39]

What is the


Origins of European Typography and Design for Printing

Printing Comes to Europe

?


17/38


Origins of the illustrated typographic bookNuremberg becomes a printing centerThe further development of the German illustrated bookTypography spreads from Germany

Books printed from from Gutenberg's invention until the endof the fifteenth century were called incunabulameaning birth.

With the proliferation of books, literacy became moreimportant, with the Bible as the most published book.Germany became the center of printing, the NurembergChronicle was one of the best examples of an incunabulabook using woodblock illustrations and typesetting.Typography then spread first to Italy, and then to Englandand Spain.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/OriginsIllustrated.html [3.3.2010 7:52:49]

What is the



The German Illustrated Book

?


18/38


Graphic design of the Italian RenaissanceItalian writing mastersInnovation passes to FranceBasel and Lyons become design centersThe seventeenth century

The Renaissance began in Italy in the fourteenth century,

and Venice in particular was the birthplace of innovation totype design, page layout and illustration. Floral decorationwas used as well as decorative initials. Book design spreadto France, Geoffroy Tory's Champ Fleuryset the standard fortype and design. Claude Garamond was the first typedesigner to sell fonts independently.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/OriginsRenaissance.html [3.3.2010 7:52:58]

What is the



Renaissance Graphic Design

?


19/38


Graphic design of the Rococo EraCaslon and BaskervilleThe origins of information graphicsThe imperial designs of Louis Rene LuceThe modern styleThe illuminated printing of William BlakeThe epoch closes

Louis XIV of France ordered a new type based onmathemmatical harmony for the Imprimerie Royalethat wascalled Romain du Roi. Fournier le Jeune created fontsinspired by the Romain du Roi, that were highly embellishedin the Rococo style. Giambattista Bodoni of Italy was inspiredby le Jeune, however his fonts evolved to be clean, pure andsimple with large areas of white space. William Blake'sdesign was just the opposite, letters were intertwined withillustrations in a romantic flowing style.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/OriginsGenius.html [3.3.2010 7:53:07]

What is the



An Epoch of Typographic Genius

?


20/38


Innovations in typographyThe wood-type posterA revolution in printingThe mechanization of typography

Fat faced type as well as Egyptian and sans-serif type wereall developed in the early 1800s. Wood-type posters made in

conjunction with the client without a designer for posters andhandbills proliferated. Friedrich Koenig developed a presspowered by a steam engine which dramatically increased thespeed of printing. Another German, Ottmar Mergenthalerinvented a mechanical typesetting machine called a Linotype(line-o-type) which was another important breakthrough inprinting.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/ImpactIndAge.html [3.3.2010 7:53:15]

What is the



Typography for an Industrial Age

?


21/38


The inventors of photographyThe application of photography to printingDefining the medium

Joseph Niepce was the first to take a photograph of natureusing a camera obscurawith a pewter plate in the back.Louis Jacques Daguerre took it one step further using a silver

plated copper sheet and iodine crystals called adaguerreotypeprint. Sir John Herschel and Henry Fox Talbotworked together to invent the negative, and term the processphotographyfrom the Greek photos graphos(light drawing).A negative was soon used in creating a plate for printing.Photographs were also used as a basis for illustrations, aswell as documenting historical events.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/ImpactPhotography.html [3.3.2010 7:53:22]

What is the



Photography, The New Communications Tool

?


22/38


The development of lithographyThe Boston school of chromolithographyThe design language of chromolithographyThe battle on the signboardsImages for childrenThe rise of American editorial and advertising designVictorian typography

Queen Victoria of England inspired the Victorian era,characterized by strong moral and religious beliefs, optimismand propriety. "God's in his heaven, all's right with the world."Graphic design reflected their beliefs. Designs were complexand ornate with elaborate borders and lettering. Themeswere romantic often regarding children and pets. Louis Prangpopularized chromolithography by printing millions of colorfulalbum cards called scrap.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/ImpactVictorian.html [3.3.2010 7:53:31]

What is the



The Victorian Era

?


23/38


The Century GuildThe Kelmscott PressThe private press movementA book-design renaissance

The Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction against themanufactured schlock of the Victorian era. William Morris

was instumental in bringing together craftsmen to producebeautiful hand-made art and craftproducts. Morris startedKelmscott Press to recreate incunabula books, withdecorative borders and initials, and beautiful illustrations.Morris inspired a renaissance of typography and book design.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/ImpactArtsCrafts.html [3.3.2010 7:53:43]

What is the



The Arts and Crafts Movement

?


24/38


Ukiyo-eArt NouveauCheret and GrassetEnglish Art NouveauThe further development of French Art NouveauArt Nouveau comes to AmericaInnovation in Belgium

The German Jugendstil movement

Japan was isolated from 1603 to 1867, as travel and tradewas banned. Ukiyo-e(pictures of the floating world), wasbased on the geisha area of Tokyo, showing life in thatdistrict. When Japan was opened to the west in the late-nineteenth-century Ukiyo-e was embraced by Europeans. ArtNouveau is characterized by its organic, plant-like line, seenearlier in William Blake's work. Themes include vines, roses,lilies, birds and romantic depictions of women. Cheret andGrasset designed many posters in the Art Nouveau style,and inspired Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as well as other

artists. Alphonse Mucha designed a poster for SarahBernhardt that launched his career. His theme is usually amythical style female surrounded by stylized plants andflowers, his work became synonymous with Art Nouveau.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/ImpactArtNouveau.html [3.3.2010 7:53:52]

What is the



Ukiyo-e and Art Nouveau

?


25/38


Frank Lloyd Wright and the Glasgow SchoolThe Vienna SecessionPeter Behrens and the New ObjectivityDesign for the London Underground

Frank Lloyd Wright was an influence in design at the turn of

the century, he believed that the space must integrate withthe whole. As a graphic designer, he used this principle tounify the page, white space also became important. His work

inspired Scottish artists who developed the Glasgow School,their work was characterized by a geometric style usingsymbolic imagery and a stylized form. The Vienna

Secession, artists from Austria were in turn influenced by theGlasgow School, they also believed in abundant white space

and clean design. Peter Behrens was instrumental indeveloping the grid system and using sans-serif fonts. Hecreated a new style of type that was later developed by the

Bauhaus.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/20CenturyGenesis.html [3.3.2010 7:54:01]

What is the


Graphic Design in the First Half of the Twentieth CenturyThe Genesis of Twentieth-Century Design

?


26/38


CubismFuturismDadaSurrealismExpressionismPhotography and the Modern Movement

Modern Art was more about the form, "the application of painton canvas" than the content of a painting. Pablo Picasso

used elements of African Art to distill the essence of anobject into an abstract form called Cubist painting. Futuriststhrew away the grid and the constraints of the typesetting

machine, words and letters were freeform usingphotoengraved printing plates, often the form followed the

context of the text. Tristan Tzara began a movement calledDADA which rejected modern society as decadent and warmongering. DADA represented shock, nonsense and protest;

a combination of random chance and free will (choice).

Surrealism evolved from DADA, it was about the illusion oflife "more real than real world behind the real". Influenced byFreud, it represented the unconscious. Arising during WorldWar I, German Expressionism was highly idealistic and

concerned with social outcasts, and rejection of the militaryand government.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/20CenturyModernArt.html [3.3.2010 7:54:09]

What is the


Graphic Design in the First Half of the Twentieth CenturyThe Influence of Modern Art

?


27/38


PlakatstilThe poster goes to warThe Maverick from MunichPost-Cubist Pictorial Modernism

Lucian Bernhard is credited with developing the Plakatstil

(poster style) in Germany. Done almost by mistake, hesimplified the advertising poster using only the product nameand image. During World War I, posters were used to spread

government propaganda in its many forms. After the war,Cubism and the simplicity of Plakatstil developed into art

decowhich became the style of the day.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/20CenturyModernism.html [3.3.2010 7:54:17]

What is the


Graphic Design in the First Half of the Twentieth CenturyPictorial Modernism

?


28/38


Russian Suprematism and ConstructivismDe StijilThe Spread of Constructivism

Constructivists believed in the applied arts, that art needed toserve a purpose. El Lissitzky was very influential in creating a

link between art and technology. He used sans-serif type,composition with lots of white space and asymmetricaldesign. De Stijil (The Style) was started in the Netherlands,

the painter Piet Mondrian was influential in creating anabstract geometric style where the horizontal and verticalwere important, and colors were limited to red, yellow, blue

and shades of black, white and gray.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/20CenturyForm.html [3.3.2010 7:54:25]

What is the


Graphic Design in the First Half of the Twentieth CenturyA New Language of Form

?


29/38


The Bauhaus at WeimarThe impact of Laszlo Moholy-NagyThe Bauhaus at DessauThe final years of the BauhausJan Tschichold and Die neue TypographieTypeface design in the first half of the twentieth centuryThe Isotype movementThe prototype for the modern mapIndependent voices in the NetherlandsNew approaches to photography

Started by Walter Gropius primarily as an architectural

movement to rebuild Germany after the war, the Bauhauswas highly idealistic. Gropius was interested in an integrated

universal design style, De Stijil also had this philosophy andwas influential to many of the Bauhaus students. LaszloMoholy-Nagy, a young instructor at the Bauhaus, was

adamant that typography was "a tool of communication" and

that it must be legible. In 1925 the Bauhaus split with thegovernment and set up an independent school andcorporation in Dessau. This was the height of the Bauhaus'influence, it was closed in 1933 by the Nazis.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/20CenturyBauhaus.html [3.3.2010 7:54:34]

What is the


Graphic Design in the First Half of the Twentieth CenturyThe Bauhaus and the New Typography

?


30/38


Immigrants to AmericaThe Works Progress Administration Poster ProjectThe flight from FascismA patron of designThe war yearsAfter the warInformational and scientific graphics

During the 1930s Nazism forced many to leave Europe for

America, leading to the spread of the modern design. Also inthe 1930s Walter Paepcke, founder of the ContainerCorporation of America, was a leader in design. He believed

that design had a practical value, and that a trademark usedon everything from advertising, packaging, and trucks, to the

company's factories could promote business. As with WorldWar I, graphic design was used for propaganda during WorldWar II, primarily with posters. After the war Paepcke

sponsored an advertising campaign for a designer from each

of the 48 states to do an ad, promoting the ideal of "union ofart with life".


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/20CenturyAmerica.html [3.3.2010 7:54:43]

What is the


Graphic Design in the First Half of the Twentieth CenturyThe Modern Movement in America

?


31/38


Pioneers of the movementFunctional graphics for scienceNew Swiss sans-serif typefacesA Master of Classical TypographyDesign in Basel and ZurichThe international typographic style in America

The International Typographic Style, or Swiss style ischaracterized by San-serif fonts, flush left margins and a

strict grid system. Influence by the Bauhaus and De Stijil ledto design based on mathematical order and proportion. TheSwiss style inspired several new sans-serif fonts including

Univers, designed by Adrian Frutiger from Switzerland.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAgeInternational.html [3.3.2010 7:54:51]

What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of InformationThe International Typographic Style

?


32/38


Pioneers of the New York SchoolAn editorial design revolutionEditorial design after the declineThe new advertisingAmerican typographic expressionismGeorge Lois

New York was the cultural center of the world in the 1940'sand 1950's, American designers influenced by the European

refugees from World War II, took design to a new level. PaulRand was a leader in the American movement. Rand workedwith copywriter Bill Bernbach, and together they created

innovative advertising campaigns using the new designaesthetic. Rand believed that the major function of design

was to communicate. Herb Lubalin was the first to reallyutilize phototypography, he liberated type from the confinesof the typesetter. He cut up type and repositioned it with

graphics to create typograms, brief visual poems.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAgeNewYork.html [3.3.2010 7:55:00]

What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of InformationThe New York School

?


33/38


Pintori at OlivettiDesign at CBSThe CIBA corporate design programThe New Haven Railroad design programCorporate identification comes of ageProgrammed visual identification systemsThe Federal Design Improvement ProgramTransportation signage symbolsDesign systems for the Olympic GamesThe Music Television Logo

In the boom years after the war "Good design is good

business" was a major theme in graphic design. GiovanniPintori was a designer at Olivetti, his designs were simple yet

able to convey complex technology. Frank Stanton andWilliam Golden at CBS created a successful corporateidentity that remains today. Golden also believed that the

main function of design was accurate communication. Saul

Bass was another important corporate designer, he "believesa trademark must be readily understood yet possesselements of metaphor and ambiguity that will attract theviewer again and again." By the end of the 1960s design

systems had been adopted by most large corporations, thesesystems were also important for World's Fairs and the

Olympics.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAgeCorpID.html [3.3.2010 7:55:08]

What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of InformationCorporate Identity and Visual Systems

?


34/38


The Polish posterAmerican conceptual imagesThe poster maniaEuropean visual poetsThe Third-World poster

Conceptual design was concerned with the content andcontext of the message. In New York, Milton Glaser startedthe Push Pin Studio, his philosophy was to integrate the

design of the image, layout and text, with the content beingthe most important element. Posters had a resurgence in the1960s, and were created by nonprofessional designers

mainly to promote a social viewpoint or rock concert. Cubawas also involved in creating posters promoting social

commentary using symbolic images that could be understoodeven by the illiterate.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAgeConceptual.html [3.3.2010 7:55:17]

What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of InformationThe Conceptual Image

?


35/38


Postwar graphic design in the United KingdomThe rise of Japanese designDesign in the Netherlands

Marshall McLuhan coined the term "global village",expressing the fact that technology had united the world.

After the war Japanese design began to integrate westerninfluences with its traditional design. The family symbol,called a mona simple design contained in a circle, provided

inspiration. Takenobu Igarashi was educated in Japan andLos Angeles, and successful integrated the two cultures inhis design using color, texture, and the grid system. Design

in the Netherlands was influenced by De Stijil as well asexpressionism. Total Design, a large firm, was founded to

provide design systems to corporations in the Netherlands,with a philosophy of simplicity and clarity, it is still in businesstoday. On the other hand, the Provo youth movement

rejected social conformity and emphasized individual

freedom.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAgeNational.html [3.3.2010 7:55:26]

What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of InformationNational Visions within a Global Dialogue

?


36/38


Precursors to postmodern designEarly Swiss postmodern designNew-wave typographyThe Memphis and San Francisco schoolsRetro and vernacular design

Postmodernists reacted to the steril, clean style of theModern movement. Once again, historical references anddecoration became acceptable, and the grid became less

important. New trends were developed by Swiss designerswho expanded the international style, New-Wave typographybegun in Switzerland, the Memphis group out of Italy, and

San Francisco design. The new Swiss style is characterizedby unexpected letterforms and placement of text. New-Wave

broke further from the international style by overlapping andlayering images and type, and included the moire patterns ofthe halftone screen. The Memphis group used bright garish

colors, exaggerated geometric forms, and a sense of humor

in their designs. They influenced San Francisco designers,who used humor, optimism, creative use of form and space,and pastel color in their design. Another trend was Retro,using the design elements of earlier eras.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAgePostmodern.html [3.3.2010 7:55:36]

What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of InformationPostmodern Design

?


37/38


The origins of computer-aided graphic designPioneers of digital graphic designRevitalizing magazine designThe digital type foundryDigital ImagingInteractive media and the Internet

The advent of computer graphics changed graphic design asmuch, if not more than Gutenberg's printing press, and the

Internet has only begun to create change. Apple Computerand Adobe Systems were responsible for the popularity ofcomputer graphics. Adobe developed the PostScript

language for printing, and Aldus developed Pagemaker, pagelayout software, enabling users to create their own

documents without having to use a graphic designer orprofessional printer. Soon designers were busy creating fontsfor the new system, including April Greiman, John Hersey,

and Zuzana Licko. With the release of Fontographer, font-

design software, individual designers set up businesses toset type (fonts). Hypercard developed by Bill Adkinson led toHypertext, a way to jump from one page to the next. This wasthe beginning of the graphical interface for the Internet,

enabling users to move around the World Wide Web.


http://www.seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/InfoAgeDigital.html [3.3.2010 7:55:43]

What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of InformationThe Digital Revolution

?


38/38


The convergence of the Internet, wireless technology, and

broadcast media will radically alter graphic design in thefuture, and it is just getting started. It's hard to imagine the

innovations that will be widely available in just the next fewyears.

Technologies that will bring change:1. Wireless web access over multiple devices includingPDAs, Phones, TVs and Computers. This will enable photos,video and information from even remote regions to be

instantly available to the rest of the world.2. The increase use of 3D or Virtual Reality. Order your

theater seats from the web, and see how the stage willappear. Walk through your home before it's built. Please seethe Discreet Logic web site for more information www.

discreet.com.3. The expansion of multimedia. Watch TV and use the web

to interact with other viewers as well as the broadcaster.

Easily create movies, web sites, and print your own books toshare with family and friends.

Graphic Design will be used daily by many to create contentfor their own personal or business use, and it will be done

instantly using computers and digital cameras. However, theprofessional graphic designer will always be in demand,

particularly as the Internet gains maturity.Please visit the SFMOMA web site www.sfmoma.org, as wellas the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation www.thetech.

org to see the future in action.


What is the


Graphic Design in the Age of InformationThe Future of Graphic Design

?

visual communication history

Documents