The History of Graphics
Milestones in the History of Production Technology for Graphic Designers
Cave Paintings and Symbols
The use of graphics dates back to prehistoric times, in some cases going back 40,000 years in the form of cave paintings.
The most basic from of graphics, these pictograms depicted a concept, object, activity, place, or event by an illustration and were often in the form of wild animals, such as: bison, horses, and deer; and eventually became the basis for the development of the first alphabet, hieroglyphs, and cuneiform. Used throughout history since around 9000 B.C., it began to be developed into a logographic writing system about 4000 years later. This led to perhaps one of the more influential aspects of graphic design, which came in the form of ideograms, that represent an idea rather than a group of letters according to the phonemes of spoken language established by the alphabet. The effectiveness of ideograms in graphic design lies within their ability to appeal universally across cultural differences and language barriers. Largely associated with Wayfinding signage, they can be found in airports, and are the reason mathematical notation is understood regardless of how it is pronounced in different languages.
Typography and the history of the book
Under the darkness of Medieval Europe, some of the greatest book designers and typographers created some of the most beautiful books ever written. We now refer to these books as Illuminated Manuscripts, because they are supplemented by the addition of impressive typography, decoration, and illustrations such as: decorated initials, borders, and miniatures. The impact of these manuscripts was not fully appreciated until much later, because of the link they were able to maintain to literacy, in a time largely dominated by barbarian hordes. Had it not been for the dedication and sacrifice of scribes working tirelessly, much of the content of Western literature from Greece and Rome could have been lost. Many of the surviving manuscripts are religious in nature and originated primarily from Ireland, Italy, and other locations in Europe.
Illuminated Manuscripts are the most common item to survive the Middle Ages, and have a significant impact on the direction of graphic design after the 15th century.
The Industrial Revolution and Printing Press
The Industrial Revolution brought about wide spread change, first in Europe and then across the world, in the late 18th and early 19th century. The impact on society was enormous, and represented a huge move away from a nomadic existence for many people, as many began to embrace new developments in technology. Among these technologies was new techniques for the creation of graphics and type. Previously, printing techniques using moveable type had restricted graphic design to an inflexible grid. Despite the success of the early printing press in 1440, its ability to create mass printed materials in great volume was confined to a system whereby type was set in consecutive rows of parallel lines. Illustrations and graphics needed to be hand drawn and engraved, making time consuming, costly editions due to the limitations of the engraving plates. Therefore, during the Industrial Revolution major steps were taken to improve how graphics were reproduced, which manifested in a unique invention called Lithography.
Originally intended for the reproduction of music notation, this method caught on quickly and spread throughout the world. Lithography is a chemical process that uses flat print plates, which allow for much longer runs than the previous approach. A major point in the evolution in the development of graphic design, it gave designers a way to create multi-coloured printed images that held all manner of cropped, embedded and bordered images, as well as free running type.
Impact of Computers on Graphic Design
“As Gerald Lang has wisely observed, the computer is not a tool but it is a simulator of tools. One of the things it simulates is a typesetting machine. With the spread of the personal computer, millions of people have found themselves transformed into simulations of typesetters, whether or not they wished to be so”.
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A Short History of the Printed Word, Robert Bringhurst and Warren Chappel, Hartley and Marks, 1999.
In the 1980’s, desktop publishing was becoming mainstreamed and represented a quantum leap for the role of graphic design. Designers were now able to apply the use of software applications to image manipulation and 3D image creation that was previously unachievable. The effects of computers on graphic design was instant, as designers were forced to take on the roles of typesetting and pre-press production, much in the way an Information Design professional might today. Computers not only allowed these early information designers to speed up the development process, it also enabled them to quickly see the effects of layout or typography changes without using any ink.
By the time the early 1990’s hit, a new application of computer graphics was beginning to take shape in the form of the World Wide Web. Attributed to Tim Berners-Lee, the Web was the culmination of the work of many designers of information over the last few centuries. Web design is a particular challenge for the graphic designer because it crosses multiple disciplines of information systems, information technology, and communication design. To combat these challenges, graphic designers must rely on the use of interfaced, intuitive, proprietary software, and be prepared to merge any aspect of programming and design environments. This inevitably creates new hybrid professions and areas of expertise, skills and transdisciplinary collaborations; it is the essence of Information Design.
Tim Berners-Lee
As Information Designers, we use graphics and computers; however, the success by which we can use both is the measure of how effective we are as designers. The ay we often transcend both is through Information Visualization, which is concerned with the presentation of interactive or animated digital images that help users understand data. Visualization, in the presentation sense, is not a new concept, it has been used in maps, scientific drawings, and data plots for thousands of years. However, with the introduction of computers, the importance and role of graphics has become essential to what what we do, and as design professionals we must integrate graphics and information to reach a wider audience across the widest spectrum of interactive visualization.
