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Graphic Design History

This document provides a history of graphic design from early woodblock printing techniques through the modern digital era. It outlines several key milestones in the evolution of the field, including the invention of the printing press, lithography, photography, and digital technologies. The role of the graphic designer changed over time from book illustrators to advertising creators as new industries emerged and technologies like printing, cameras, computers, and the internet became available.

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547 views12 pages

Graphic Design History

This document provides a history of graphic design from early woodblock printing techniques through the modern digital era. It outlines several key milestones in the evolution of the field, including the invention of the printing press, lithography, photography, and digital technologies. The role of the graphic designer changed over time from book illustrators to advertising creators as new industries emerged and technologies like printing, cameras, computers, and the internet became available.

Uploaded by

nissasusan
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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History of Graphic Design Graphic Design History

Survey of Design and Media Art From the 1st printing press to modern technology Delimited by social, political, technological milestones The tasks of graphic designer evolved
Bringing in and out of scope specific aspects of the art
Prof. Lindsay Grace

Before Printing

History of Graphic Design


1400 Books were valuable and rare 3 factors made mass production of text important

Ice Age Horse Engraving on Pelvic Bone

1190, Chinese Calligraphy: Block Printed

c. 1250 Medieval Medical Text

History of Graphic Design


Wood block printing The printing press
Inventor: Johan Gensfliesch Gutenberg

History of Graphic Design

First Uses
42 Line Bible Letters of Indulgence

Letter of Indulgence

History of Graphic Design

History of Graphic Design


16th Century
1460 1520: The Incunabula
Presses spread through Europe

17th Century:
Loads of creativity Shakespeare in print
Gutenberg and his press Gutenberg Type

The Industrial Revolution

History of Graphic Design


The Industrial Revolution (1760 1840) 1796: Lithography / Stone printing invented
High detail / low cost Explodes into the printing world

Lithographs

Photography
c.1822 Photography Invented
Joseph Niepce Louis Daguerre
Daguerreotypes invented circa 1839

James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903 ) Part of the Art Institute of Chicagos Collection

Daguerreotype

Victorian Era
1819 1901

Decorative extravagance Strong moral and religious beliefs Often contradicting aesthetic styles
Abolitionist, John Brown, circa 1847

Gothic Influence Grand Style

The Royal Palace in Paris (circa 1845)

Victorian Era Packaging

Victorian Era Print

Package designs using lithography on tin

Lithograph Detail

Victorian Era Print

Victorian Era Print

Victorian era advertisement Victorian era advertisement

Post Industrial Revolution


Arts and Crafts Movement
Philosophical revolt against the industrial revolution
Celebration of individual craftsmanship and design William Morris, book designer who spearheaded the movement

Post Industrial Revolution

Photography:
Eastman Kodak
Introduced a mass marketed, low cost camera (circa 1888) Photography becomes accessible to all

William Morris (1834 1896)

Photography
George Eastman

1898

Cameras for the masses

1907

Art Nouveau
1890 1910 Organic forms Comes to America via magazine covers of
Harpers Scribners

Art Nouveau

A spirit with often imitated aesthetic qualities By 1910, highly imitated and mass produced
Jugend Cover
Peter Behrens, The Kiss, 1898

Harpers Cover

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

1904

1904

1904

Peter Behrens, 1910 (lithograph)

Art Nouveau

1890-1910

c.1900, New York (packaging)

1895, L.F.Hurd, New York


1898, The Dance by Mucha,

Modernist Era
Early 20th Century Reactions to Art Nouveau Peter Behrens Influence of Modern Art
Cubism Futurism

1920s Advertising

1923

1920

The Art and Craft of the Machine


Frank Lloyd Wright
The invention of printing was the greatest event in history. It was the first great machine, after the great city.-Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright

The natural with the machinated American Style

Bauhaus
Union of art and Industry
Member: Mies Van Der Rohe Disbanded by Nazi Party 1928 1928
Pablo Picasso, 1955

Cubism

Pablo Picasso, 1907

Futurists
Immense optimism for the future Favored the machine and technology Foundation for Multimedia Simultaneity

Futurist Poetry

World War 1 and World War 2


Recruitment Posters Challenge of encouraging people to enlist Images of empowerment and adventure New female roles
1918, USA

World War 1

1918, Louis Fancher

Recruitment

World War II Norman Rockwell

1942 Rally Poster

1914

1918

1942

1943 Rally Poster

1943 Rally Poster

1940s

American Consumer Culture


Began around the turn of the 20th century
1929
Birth of US consumer society, commercial artists,
advertising and illustrators

Mass production required businesses to create demand through advertising


Sears Wards

Catalog Production The Saturday Evening Post


Americas greatest show window for an illustrator

Sears Catalog, Circa 1915

1940 Montgomery Ward Catalog Page

1936

1960, Self Portrait

1969

Rockwell

Pulp Fiction

Problem we all live with, N. Rockwell

1935 Impulse Items

1941

Pulp Fiction
While Rockwell painted pictures of America, Pulp fiction artists painted things out of this world Pulp Fiction (dime store novels): Cheap reading with cheap writing Subjects include:
Science fiction Detective Stories Adult Content 1953

Pulp Fiction

1961

United States Advertising


A new concept is created:

United States Advertising

Marketing
Born from: The new science of Psychology War time propaganda A corporate need to create demand 1942 Packard Automobile

United States Advertising

United States Advertising

1948

1940 Whirlpool Display

1950 to Present
US leads in advertising (New York) Entrenchment of Corporate Identity
The establishment of brands and national or multinational identity Big companies, with big names

1950 to Present

1960

Corporate Identity

United States Advertising: 1970

1975
Paul Rand logos (1965-1975)

1971

1970s Catalogs

The Digital Realm (1980s)


Personal computers offered in 1982 Desktop publishing first coined (circa 1985)
1984: First Apple Macintosh 1984: First Laser Jet Printer (Hewlett Packard) 1985: Adobe introduces PostScript 1985: Aldus introduces PageMaker for the Mac

1979 Sears Catalog Page

Digital Influence

The Digital Realm (1980s)

1983, Michael Graves Poster


Michael Vanderbyl ,1985

10

The World Wide Web


Project Xanadu:
Concepts first introduced in 1960

Contemporary

Modern World Wide Web


Change in audience New medium

Nekkei Design magazine 1998

1994

Contemporary

Contemporary

1995 1995

Web Publishing, Design, and more Powerful Computers


1993, Mozilla project completed,
First Web browser introduced (Netscape)

Digital Image

New issues in design


Computer Graphics Technical aspects
Lower resolution Fewer colors (initially) Existence only in the digital world 2003

2003

11

Digital Image

12

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