History of Graphic Design

Chinese Prints• Invention of paper in 105 AD• To enable Chinese scholars to study

their scriptures, the classic texts and accompanying holy images were carved onto huge, flat stone slabs. After the lines were incised, damp paper was pressed and molded on the surface, so that the paper was held in the incised lines. Ink was applied, and the paper was then carefully removed. The resulting image appeared as white lines on a black background. In this technique lies the very conception of printing. The development of printing continued with the spread of Buddhism from India to China; images and text were printed on paper from a single block. This method of combining text and image is called block-book printing.

Ukiyo-e Prints

Sacred Texts, Renaissance, Reformation

Gutenberg Press,1440

Prints as Fine Art

Albrecht Durer, 1510Rembrandt, 1547

World’s Fair Influence in Printmaking

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1892

Industrial Revolution

What kind of influence would the industrial revolution in the early 1800’s have on design?

VICTORIAN 1820-1910

• Frills• Cluttered• Warm

colors/textures• Modest

femininity• Font: Capital

letters,– serif, thick,

readable

FINE ART: Impressionism

Arts and Crafts

• Back to Middle Ages• Straight lines

– with soft curves

• Harder contour • Clean• Negative Space• Woodcut feel• Font: gothic, serif

FINE ART: Post-Impressionism

Art Nouveau 1910-20• Use of figure/ground relationship• Stone Lithography based on woodcut • Thick to thin sweeping lines• Organic/nature themes and symbols• Feminine, fairies• Contour lines• Layers• Font: sweeping, thick and thin, serif

FINE ART: Post-Impressionism

Art Deco 1920-30• Progressive women’s movement• Speed

– Automobile, train– space

• Egyptian motif• Crisp, tailored• Louder, solid colors• Font: san serif, thick

FINE ART: Cubism

Abstract Modernism 1930’s

• Futurism• Dadaism• Pressing forward• Expressionism• Randomness• Chance• Collage/photos• Artists as designers• Intentional disorder• Font: CAPITAL letters

– random, various

– languages, many fonts

anamanapia, san serif

FINE ART: Surrealism

Abstract Modernism 1940’s

• De Stijl– Straight black lines– Basic shapes– Artists fled to Holland to avoid World War IFont: Straight san serif

• Bauhaus-balance of art and design-clean, functional formsFont: “logical” san serif

FINE ART: Mark Rothko

1950’s Mid Century Modern• Advertisements switch to youth• National t.v.• Magazines• Design curriculum in college• Leisure and family• Cheerful optimism after WWII• Working mom’s

– Influences advertisement

• Font: variety, tag lines, story plots

FINE ART: Pop Art

1960’s-70’s

•Hallucinogenic Drugs•Peace Campaigns•Bright Colors•Mixed Media•Japanese Prints•Eastern Influence

FINE ART: Op Art

1980-90’s

• In your face advertising• Photography• Style over substance• Sex sells• Use of supermodels and stars• Bold colors

FINE ART: Performance Art

Early 21st Century

• Mixed media• Technology• Photography• Style over substance• Anti-advertising• Layers, textures, random• Humor and Horror

FINE ART: Installation art

present

• Clean lines• Simple compositions -space• Return to early modernism• Use of nostalgia for humor• Limited resources for models

– Use of illustration and silk screen

• Green Design– Less about the consumer, more about the world/environment- About empathy

FINE ART: