HISTORY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN
early writing systems The development of cuneiform helps lead to a way for humans to communicate in their time period. A visual representation of words is a basis of continuing and developing a language. The clay and writing tool developed into more casual use of the cuneiform and made it more popular. Clay and writing tools lead to the development of personal seals and using them to as a form of branding a person’s belongings. Those tools also lead to major religious happenings like the stele bearing the Code of Hammurabi. This major religious slab had rules and guidelines of such for the religion so the audience could read and thereby follow the rules of Hammurabi. Hieroglyphs developed in Egypt to use symbols for words rather than a written alphabetic language. Papyrus was helpful bringing along the use of manuscripts and scrolls. The production of papyrus had lead to a great way for historians of the time to record their history. The scribes of society were always considered to be in a higher social standing since they could read and write. They were praised upon in their time. All of these developments help bring along communication, religion, and the society to which we have arrived at in present day.
clay Early Sumerian pictographic tablet, c. 3100 BCE. This archaic pictographic script contained the seeds for the development of writing. Information is structured into grid zones by horizontal and vertical division.
3100bc
papyrus Detail from the Papyrus of Hunefur. Hunefur and his wife are worshipping the Gods of Amenta. The sun God Ra bears an ankh symbol on his knee, and Thoth holds the udjat, the magical protective “sound eye� of the god Horus.
1370bc
alphabets
The alphabet comes along and everyone wants to be a part of it. The first alphabet was not an alphabet technically. The Cretan pictographs started the movement of the alphabet. Using simple symbols to represent their visual communication is a precursor to the Greek alphabet, historians say. Next to develop was the North Semetic alphabet also known as the Phoenician alphabet. The development of this alphabet was said to be geography based and the international trade came through their territory. The Phoenician were able to take all they knew from cuneiform and Semetic alphabets to create their own. The Aramaic alphabet was next to be brought into the world. Read from right to left, the Aramaic alphabet was made up of 22 consonantal sounds. Then comes the classic Greek alphabet with their clean serifs to enter the alphabet race. The Latin alphabet and Korean alphabet both developed in this time period also.
GREEK Timotheus, The Persians, papyrus manuscript, fourth century BCE. This excellent example of the Greek alphabet shows the symmetrical form and even visual rhythm that evolved. These qualities made the Greek al- phabet the prototype for subsequent developments.
14th century
ETRUSCAN Etruscan Bucchero vase, seventh or sixth century BCE. A prototype of an educational toy, this rooster- shaped toy jug is inscribed with the Etruscan alphabet.
6th century
ROMAN Carved inscription from the base of Trajan’s Column, c. 114 CE Located in Trajan’s Forum in Rome, this masterful example of capitalis monumentalis (monumental capitals) gives silent testimony to the ancient Roman dictum “the written word remains.”
114 ce
serif
114 ce
asian
contribution
The Asian contribution to the world was the beginning of paper, printing, and movable type. In the time of the invention of paper, people considered it a cheap substitute for silk and bamboo. As the time went on, it was light weight, economical manufacture, and versatility overcame all reservations. The Chinese developed the first form of printing and this was called relief printing. These were used commonly as personalized seals or stamps. The Chinese government also at this time was running short of iron money so they began to print paper money. The final notable invention during this Asian movement was developing the concept of movable type. Each word has its own tile and moving those tiles around in order to make different ideas was a major improvement on the printing system. This was hard to accomplish with other cultures because they would have thousands of tiles to cut out for letters rather than symbols and words of the Chinese.
WOODBLOCK PRINTING
Chinese chop. The traditional Chinese identification stamp is inscribed into the bottom of a small decorative sculpture carved from soft stone.
770 ce
ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT
The illuminated manuscript brought a huge development into the production of books. While the books were really costly to make, many were made to get their ideas across and grab the public’s attention and draw them towards their beliefs. It would take teams of people to make these books. The collapse of Rome brought in the Celtic designs with their abstract, geometric manuscripts. The Caroline graphic renewal along with Charlemagne ruling the Holy Roman Empire brought in the feudal system and the revival of learning and the arts. This brought scribes to make a mass production of religious texts to send out to all in the Empire. The Spanish come in on the manuscript boom and bring along the style of the Islamic with them. The Romans come into it with the Gothic period and they also develop manuscripts of their own style. Judaic, Islamic, and the late medieval period all join in on the manuscript production all with each of their own unique styles and modifications to differ from the other manuscripts being developed.
CLASSIC The Vatican Vergil, the death of Laocoรถn, early fifth century CE. Two scenes from the life of Laocoรถn are shown in one illustration.
5th century
CELTIC The Book of Durrow, the man, symbol of Matthew, 680 CE. As flat
as a cubist painting and constructed from simple geometric forms, this figure, facing the opening of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, wears a checkered pattern of red, yellow, and green squares and tilelike patterned textures.
680bc
SPANISH Commemorative labyrinth
from Pope Gregory’s Moralia in Job (Commentary on Job), 945 CE. Starting in the center of the top line, the inscription reads down, left, and right, establishing a labyrinth of letterforms.
945 ce
GOTHIC The multitude worshipping God, from the Douce Apocalypse, 1265 CE. Saint John, the roving reporter of the final doom, is shown at the left of the scene, peering curiously into the rectangular image.
1265 ce
MEDIEVAL Page from the Ormesby Psalter, c. early 1300s CE. Decoration, illustration, and initials are joined into a single complex text frame. Red and blue prevail in many late Gothic manuscripts.
1300 bc
RISING OF PRINTING
So the 1400s started off with 60% of the Europe population being whipped out by the plague. It couldn’t get worse than that. The demand for books, paper production, and block printing all had a big boost in Europe during this time. Guttenberg made his impression on the world by dying bankrupt, and doing the whole independent, movable, reusable type. Fust & Schoeffer took off from there even though printing was not well accepted everywhere. The next to arrive was the Renaissance era. This revived the world. It also brought a boom in art and the Roman typeface. The Medici family that owned everything in Florence carried this time period. They paid artists for their independent work for the family. The lower-case letter also came about during this timeframe. The Bembo typeface came about and then some big developments came from Geoffroy Troy and Claude Garamond.
GUTENBERG
1400
Moveable reusable type.
1450
GUTENBERG bible Johann Gutenberg, pages 146 and 147 from the Gutenberg Bible, 1450–55. The superb typographic legibility and texture, generous margins, and excellent presswork make this first printed book a canon of quality that has seldom been surpassed. An illuminator added the red headers and text, initials, and floral marginal decoration by hand.
1450-55
Broadsides Jan Fust and Peter Schoeffer, page from Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, 1459. The innovative small type is combined with wonderfully intricate printed red and blue initials that evidence the early printer’s efforts to mimic the design of the manuscript book.
1459
copperplate The Master of the Playing Cards, The Three of Birds, c. 1450. Masterly design and placement of the images in the space enhanced the sureness of the drawing and use of line for tonal effects.
1450s
german illustrated
Albrecht Dürer, woodcut from De Symmetria Partium Humanorum Corporum (Treatise on Human Proportions), 1532. To assist his fellow artists, Dürer offers a “through-the-lookinggrid” device as an aid to drawing.
1532
Aldine press
Aldus Manutius, printer’s trademark.
1494
French printing
Geoffroy Tory, capital from series of criblĂŠ initials.
1520s
french printing
Garamond typeface.
1530
typography 18th century
Louis XIV used Romain du Roi typeface for king’s official printing. During this time, the rich were extremely wealthy and the lower class was neglected. Around this time the font families started to develop in order to make reading easier legibility. Two major people in the development of typography and typefaces was William Caslon and John Baskerville. Caslon was a metal printer that made his own typeface that lasted 60 years. Baskerville was involved in the process of making books also changing the they where laid out but using wide margins and helping the letter be more space by using kerning and leading. John Baskerville made his typeface resemble the old style of text but made it modern. Also improved the ink, paper, and press. With help from John Baskerville for did his part for print, led us in to the Modern style of type which changed the roman type. What Giambattista Bodoni and the Didot family was take what baskerville and Caslon did and change up the point of measurement of type and the strokes of the letters and the way we laid out pages by using more mathematical and geometric ways.
Romain du roi
Louis Simonneau, master alphabets for the Romain du Roi, 
c. 1700. These copperplate engravings were intended to establish graphic standards for the new alphabet.
1700
rococo
Pierre Simon Fournier le Jeune, title pages from Manuel typographique, volume 1, 1764. In addition to showing the design accomplishments of a lifetime, Fournier’s type manual is a master- work of rococo design.
1764
caslon
Typeface.
1722
BAskerville
John Baskerville, title page for Vergil’s Bucolica, Georgica, et Aeneis.
1757
infographics
William Playfair, diagram from Commercial and Political Atlas.
1822
bodoni
Giambattista Bodoni, page from Manuale Tipografico. 1818.
1818
didot
Pierre Didot, pages from Vergil’s Bucolica, Georgica, et Aeneis, 1798.
1798
Industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution had busted on to the scene and led in full force with its smoke and productive ways. The cities were becoming more populated and factories were on the rise. While this was happening everyone and their brother (haha Caslon’s) was making a font/typeface to stand out from the others. Photography was also busting at the lense to get out into the world with its first images arising even though it did take a good half-day to expose. The press had improved from Gutenberg’s design, becoming more productive and easy to use. The paper for the press improved and the Linotype machines helped with the mechanization of typography. Lithography was starated late in this period bringing some color into the printing mix. All this was going on while people were questioniung if their 6 year old son should be working 30-40 hour weeks in the factory.
steam enigine
Chuckman, John. “CHUCKMAN’S PHOTOS ON WORDPRESS: CHICAGO NOSTALGIA AND MEMORABILIA.” CHUCKMANS PHOTOS ON WORDPRESS CHICAGO NOSTALGIA AND MEMORABILIA.
1780
factories Industrial Revolution factories working.
1780s
Fat face
Fat Face typeface. Robert Thorne. 1821.
1821
Egyptian
Eygptian typeface. Vincent Figgins. 1815.
1815
Antique
Antique typeface. Vincent Figgins. 1815.
1815
slab serif
Slab Serif typeface. Vincent Figgins. 1815.
1815
tuscan
Tuscan typeface. Vincent Figgins. 1815.
1815
tuscan
Tuscan typeface. Vincent Figgins. 1815.
1815
3d typeface
3D typeface. Vincent Figgins. 1815.
1815
reversed Reversed typeface. Vincent Figgins. 1815.
1815
sans serif
First sans-serif.
1830
linotype This was the start of the Linotype, instead of the line type by hand people left it the machine.
1825
photography
The invention.
1822
Lithography Frizzall (artist) and J. H. Bufford’s Sons (printers), poster for the Cleveland and Hendricks presidential campaign, 1884.
1884
victorian era
The Victorian era was a time had strong vales and strong beliefs which help guided the design during this time. The great exhibition of 1851 showed the progress of all what was going on in the world of art. with over 13,000 exhibits were shown at this event with over 100 national organization came to show off their work 6 million people came to see what the progress had been made. Designers had so much freedom that they were trying some many thing and just doing it. The Harper brother had one of the largest printing firm by the 1800s, and began a pictorial magazine that ran every week. This magazine went threw the golden age of illustration since there cover had 3 different illustration on it at one time to guide the reader threw the magazine. During this time there was another explosion of type and type face, what these typefaces did was push type the extreme.
The Great exhibiton
The Great Exhibition of 1851.
1851
pictorial magazine
Harper Magazine cover.
1860
arts & crafts movement
The arts and crafts movement all started when Martha Stewart got out of jail... Kidding. The arts and crafts movement was all about function > form. If something funtioned well, then it is time to design it to look better and maybe even improve its function. Morris was all about having his money going towards his ideas for that day and maybe coming back to it later. He wanted design and art for everyone, but yet only the rich could afford what he was selling. Morris was full of some contradictions. But hey if you have money and the free time? Design was all about pattern being the background or texture of the piece. Goudy font/typeface was invented and is still around today. Mackmurdo makes his contribute to graphic design with some nice pieces and had made a logo for the Century guild.
mackmurdo Arthur H. Mackmurdo, title page for Wren’s City Churches, 1883.
1883
willam morris
Picture of William Morris.
1860-90s
Century guild
Arthur H. Mackmurdo, trademark for the Century Guild, 1884. Flame, flower, and initials are compressed and tapered into proto–art nouveau forms.
1884
goudy
Page 45 from American Type Founders’ Specimen Book and Catalogue, 1923, presented the Goudy series of Old Style fonts, including fonts designed by others.
1923
morris
William Morris, Rose fabric design, 1883.
1883
art nouveau
Other things that Art Nouveau style help bring light to was the modern printing style that help step up the game of mass communications visual. The style of Art Nouveau included organic line, the use of a female figure, some times birds, and flowers. The subject madder would either project the sign of birth, life, death, and the growth and the decay of something. The inspiration that Art Nouveau came from every thing from Japanese Ukiyo-e , Rococo style, Art and Craft movement to Vincent Van Gogh among other people and styles. Art Nouveau is a style that will alway be something that stands out and be able to catch the eye of the viewer.
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Ukiyo-e Kitagawa Utamaro, portrait of a courtesan, late 1700s.
late 1700s
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Mucha Alphonse Mucha, poster for Job cigarette papers, 1898.
1898
beardsley Aubrey Beardsley, illustration for Oscar Wilde’s Salome, 1894.
1894
toulouse-lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, poster “La Goulue au Moulin Rouge”, 1891.
1891
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van de velde
Henri van de Velde, poster for Tropon food concentrate, 1899.
1899
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behrens
Peter Behrens, The Kiss, 1898.
1898
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Jugend (L) Otto Eckman, Jugend cover, 1896; (R) Hans Christiansen, Jugend cover, 1899
1899
modernism
This was at time when design changed the way we think about what we call art. Modernism was filled with many different kind of mind sets which sets the tone of the piece. This was a time that changed what we think of art and what actually is challenged the whole idea of art. The movement influence all kind of designers, from architect to graphic designers, to studio artist and many others. The inner movements that were brought up during this time changed the way people thought about themselves and what other were trying to say or feel. Each of these movement had their own significant changed in the world of art. The way the each artist approached his or her style was with long-lasting values, and challenge the role of art and deign in society. When the graphic designer started experimenting with placing there design their designs on a grind, to help them see the relation of the space between the words and the art. This way of thinking was also applied to architect and furniture design along with other artist. So the modernism movement had its great and every lasting affects on the world of design and art.
wright Robie House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
1896
The Glasgow school Margaret and Frances Macdonald with J. Herbert McNair, poster for Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1895.
1895
macdonald Margaret Macdonald, bookplate design, 1896.
1896
vienna secession Ver Sacrum cover designs, Alfred Roller (1898), Koloman Moser (1899), Josef Hoffman (1898).
1898-99
behrens Peter Behrens, AEG trademark and collateral using Behrens-Antiqua, 1907-8.
1907-8
cubism Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937.
1937
futurism Carlo Carra, “Parole in Liberta”, 1914.
1914
dada Marcel Duchamp, The Fountain, 1917.
1917
surrealism
Max Ernst, collage from Une Semaine de Bonte, 1934.
1934
expressionism Kathe Schmidt Kollwitz, “The Survivors Make War on War!” poster, 1923.
1923
pictorial modernism
The Beggarstaffs, poster for Kassama Corn Flour, 1894.
1894
destijl Vilmos Huszar, cover design for De Stijl, 1917.
1917
bauhaus
The Bauhaus was a strong school that lasted longer that what most people thought. The work that came out of this school, changed the way we think and make art. Bauhaus tried to close the gap between fine arts and applied visual arts. While this was going on is that it was the start of Hitler show of power over Germany. Before the shut down of the school in Germany, the school produced many of the great designer mind that help shape todays mines. What the Bauhaus house had to show that is was worth something and say that you may not like it but other do. Since Hitler was in the picture, he was trying to get everyone to follow his standards of life and if you didn’t like it he didn’t care. The school moved around to get away from the evil that was Hitler, but this only brought them time. Eventually Hitler power had became to strong and the professors and then soon after the students left to follows there teachers. Hitler may have hurt many of people but he did not but out the light of the Bauhaus, the school is now located here in the United Stated just under a new name.
moholy-nagy Title page for Broom, 1923. This inventive design for the avant-garde magazine shows how thoroughly Moholy-Nagy understood cubism and Lissitzky.
1923
bayer The magazine, and the series of fourteen Bauhausb端cher (Bauhaus books).
1919-23
albers Bauhaus Letter Set. Josef Albers.1926-1931.
1926-31
schmidt Schmidt, Bauhaus magazine cover, 1929.
1929
kandisky Herbert Bayer, exhibition poster, 1926.
1926
klee
Paul Klee – Einst dem Grau der Nacht enttaucht 1918.
1918
gropius Gropius, Dessau Bauhaus building, 1925–26.
1925-26
mondrian Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red. 1937-42.
1937-42
van doesburg Van Doesburg. La Section d’Or. Design Exhibition Poster. 1920
1920
the new typography
The New typography was a time started the shifted of the new age typefaces. What these people created help lend others to this new way of design. This was the shifted that changed the way Americans did there designs. Before this time Americans were sticking to a very traditional way of making ads or books covers. What this new style brought was typefaces that we see and use today. It seem that each of the designer made their mark on the world that was ever lasting. This was the time at brought us the ISOTYPE international System of Typographic Picture Education that is a universal system of pictures.
tschichold Jan Tschichold, cover for “Elementare Typographie� made in 1925.
1925
gill Eric Gill, the Gill Sans type family. 1928-1930.
1928-30
renner Paul Renner, Futura typefaces, 19271930.
1927-30
koch Rudolf Koch, Kabel Light, c. 1928.
1928
morrison 16-41 Stanley Morison, The London Times, 3 October 1932.
1932
isotype
Gerd Arntz and Otto Neurath, “Gesellschaftsgliederung in Wien” 1930.
1930
american modernism
In the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. The empire state building opened for the public. Van Doesburg dies. De Stijl journal ends. In 1932 the low point of depression had hit. Times New Roman was invented. Nazi’s close Bauhaus in 1933 and arrest Tschichold. London underground map came about in 1933 as well. Hitler becomes German chancellor around this time too. Bauhaus immigrates to America. School of Design opens in 1939. Germany invades Poland around that time. Churchill gives his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech in 1940. 1943, Liberman becomes art director of Vogue. Also the mass production of penicillin. 1945, World War II ends. United Nations formed soon after this.
beall Poster for the Rural Electrification Admin. By Lester Beall. 1937
1937
brodovich Pages from Harper’s Bazaar by Alexey Brodovitch. 1934.
1934
cassandre Cover for Harper’s Bazaar by A.M. Cassandre. 1939.
1939
matter Advertisement for CCA by Herbert Matter. 1943.
1943
international typographic style
In the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. The empire state building opened for the public. Van Doesburg dies. De Stijl journal ends. In 1932 the low point of depression had hit. Times New Roman was invented. Nazi’s close Bauhaus in 1933 and arrest Tschichold. London underground map came about in 1933 as well. Hitler becomes German chancellor around this time too. Bauhaus immigrates to America. School of Design opens in 1939. Germany invades Poland around that time. Churchill gives his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech in 1940. 1943, Liberman becomes art director of Vogue. Also the mass production of penicillin. 1945, World War II ends. United Nations formed soon after this.
frutiger Schematic diagram of the twenty-one Univers fonts by Adrian Frutiger. 1954.
1954
neue haas grotesk Neue Haas Grotesk, 1957, Miedinger and Hoffmann.
1957
zapf Palatino, Melior, and Optima typeface designed by Hermann Zapf. 1950-1958
1950-58
hoffman Poster for the Basel theater production of Gisells by Armin Hofmann. 1959.
1959
muller-brockman Der Film exhibition poster by Josef Muller-Brockmann. 1960.
1960
new york school
corporate identity
visual systems advertising
The world is simplifying it logo and advertising side. Helvetica was invented and everyone jumps in. Logos go small and minimal, while the simple text of Helvetica to tag along with it. Also, in the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. The empire state building opened for the public. Van Doesburg dies. De Stijl journal ends. In 1932 the low point of depression had hit. Times New Roman was invented. Nazi’s close Bauhaus in 1933 and arrest Tschichold. London underground map came about in 1933 as well. Hitler becomes German chancellor around this time too. Bauhaus immigrates to America. School of Design opens in 1939. Germany invades Poland around that time. Churchill gives his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech in 1940. 1943, Liberman becomes art director of Vogue. Also the mass production of penicillin. 1945, World War II ends. United Nations formed soon after this.
rand Poster for AIGA designed by Paul Rand. 1968.
1968
bass Poster for Exodus designed by Saul Bass. 1960.
1960
lubalin Proposed Magazine logo designed by Herb Lubalin. 1967.
1967
bernbach Advertising campaign designed by Doyle Dane Bernbach. 1959.
1959
post modern
Hippies happened. The ‘70s brought in punk and metal music. The death of Jimi Hendrix. Woodstock basically sums up the ‘70s. Don’t forget about the 80’s. The experimental techno pop and Duran Duran waved across the world. The power ballad for rock bands was big. I want my MTV! Crazy hair and unique outfits all came in the ‘80s. Next to arrive was the grunge era of the ‘90s. Flannel sweaters and torn jeans. The fanny pack. Bright mismatching colors. Boy bands rose and fell. The rise of computer technology and the household computer while getting through the irate period of dial-up.
reid Jamie Reid. “God Save the Queen.” UK. 1977.
1977
Scher Paula Scher. Swatch. USA. 1980s.
1980s
greiman April Greiman. “Does it Make Sense?” Greiman’s Design Quarterly #133. 1986.
1986
carson David Carson. Legibility. 1990s.
1990s
sagmeister Stefan Sagmeister. AIGA poster. 1999. Knife, Bandages, photography, computer.
1999
chantry Art Chantry. The Night Gallery (Performance Art Poster) USA. 1991.
1991
post-post modern
........seriously?