A2 essay

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Graphic Design

Vienca Chan

02/06/2013

HOW HAS TECHNOLOGY CHANGED GRAPHIC DESIGN? As

technology

speed,

we

constantly

shouldn't

be

changing surprised

at that

a

mind-blowing

graphic

design

evolves right along with it. In the past twenty years, our world has changed significantly with the increased dependence on technology such as computers, Internet and machineries, etc., not only in the creative industry but also in other working fields as well. Graphic design has been growing and changing throughout the years, often redefining the definition of form and functionality while it

does

so.

A

variety

of

ways

are

used

to

form

and

generate words, images and symbols in order to construct a

visual

representation

of

messages

communicating

primarily through the form of posters, cover designs, logos, signs and editorials. However, although previous designers have influenced much of today’s contemporary designs, it is the change in technology that has truly transformed the method of designing. I'll explore the influence of technology on graphic design, learning the reasons for the rapid development, and take a look at how designers are continually coming up with new ways to blow our minds which will provide a further understanding of how various methods within Graphic Design has changed

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Graphic Design

Vienca Chan

over

the

Graphic

design

02/06/2013

period

is

a

of

creative

process.

time.

Historically,

graphic designers have relied on different professionals from outside skills to handle technical aspects of design such as typesetters and printer. The designers used to only need to develop concept ideas, seek approval from the clients and gather the finished art to complete the piece. The relationship between designers, typesetters, paper suppliers, and printers back in the days was almost limited. Once computer has developed, it has changed the whole

routine

invention

of

path the

for

the

Internet

industry has

completely.

created

a

new

The

medium

requirement for online web designs and the multimedia industries,

which

has

turned

to

more

advanced

design

elements. Looking at conspicuous graphic designers and artists

will

get

an

insight

to

how

each

graphic

designer’s individual style has been produced by various processes

2

with

the

influences

of

technology.


Graphic Design

Woodblock

Vienca Chan

printing

is

one

of

02/06/2013

the

oldest

methods

of

printing which is a technique for printing texts, images and patterns. It is originated in China and the method of inking the blocks and creating a series of prints was an all embracing process which was difficult, time consuming and

cost

effective

to

produce

the

highest

quality

outcomes. However, it offered a way to mass production with the use of the same block of wood. Additionally, the changing use of color developed, yet the process still remained extensive as the need for multiple blocks were used,

3

each

block

for

one

color.


Graphic Design

Vienca Chan

02/06/2013

During the letterpress era, moveable type was composed by hand for each page, with all letters having exactly the same height to form an even surface of type. This was then mounted in a press, inked, and the outcome was an impression made on paper. The process varied for each page as the information and headings differed, making the process press

intricately is

invention

widely

time

consuming.

regarded

that

has

as

Yet,

the

revolutionized

the

most

printing

influential

the

methods

of

printing. Mira

Schendel

is

one

of

the

most

substantial

and

influential Brazilian artists in the twentieth century. Her

works

contain

elements

of

Lettrism,

Colour

Field

painting, and early conceptual art. After her death, an entire

room

of

her

works

was

featured

on

the

22nd

International São Paulo Biennale and, in 2009; the Museum of Modern Art from New York has dedicated a retrospective exhibition to Mira Schendel and León Ferrari. Her artworks address “language” as a main visual subject matter,

which

is

the

visual

body

of

language,

the

personification of voices in words and gestures, and the language as a metaphor of the knowing aspect of the human presence through the expression of branding and writing, etc.

She

produced

her

works

in

the

countries

near

Argentina and Brazil throughout the 1960s and 1980s, when the

question

of

language

was

particularly

central

to

Western culture due to the central role taken by poststructuralism, semiotics, and the philosophy of language. Her drawings, sculptures, and paintings are contemporary with the birth of Conceptualism. With the ‘Monotypes’, she combines together language and the mark-making act in such a way to create fantastic poems, whose subjects are their own inexpressible tones and deliberate limitations.

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Graphic Design

Vienca Chan

02/06/2013

These are some of the artworks example by Mira.

In addition to the technological availability of fonts, it is also clear that the printing process within graphic design has considerably changed. An example of a piece of work that involves layering of acrylic sheets to create a sense of perspective is the ‘Objetos Graficos’, (1972) (left) by Mira Schendel. The visual nature of this piece allows the viewers to foresee varies layers merged into one that creates an illusion and add wow factor to the space and dimension. The letters act as symbols without mention to specific words or objects. The approach in which

the

outcome

was

produced,

have

used

layers

of

cement letterings to manually create a swirling vortex of alphabets. However, looking at processes of print making, it is clear that this piece of work could have been produced using various techniques such as ‘letterpress printing’.

Moreover,

the

restriction

of

creating

a

composition that isn’t in the format of a column would have restricted the process. Similarly, the outcome could also

be

produced

using

programs

such

as

‘Adobe

Photoshop’, which allows the users to manipulate and move letterings

as

‘transparency’

5

desired. and

It

‘opacity’,

also

has

which

the

will

option

of

automatically


Graphic Design

Vienca Chan

02/06/2013

create the illusion of space between each letters, which is present in Mira Schendel’s work. Today, the printing business has evolved into a multi-million pound industry that uses the latest technologies, such as 3D printing, full col- our printing and large format printing. Technology indeed changed everything -- from the tools of the trade that included India ink, paintbrushes, rubber cement, thinner, drafting tools, T-squares, pica rules and slide rules, to the extensive and expensive logistics of getting a project to the client for approval, etc. which is more complex and efficient. The introduction of the computer to the design world has revolutionized the way graphic designers process ideas into the finished products we see on billboards, movies, fliers, magazines, and especially in websites. Graphic

design

first

began

to

take

off

in

the

1990s

Internet-Era; there wasn't a lot of divergence from the first designs. People tended to use a lot of the same techniques to create quite a bit of similar content in the design ideas. Gradually, people began to deviate from the technique and began to create content in new and exciting ways because there isn’t any limitations now. Moreover,

technology

has

diverged

out

which

offers

designers hundreds of programs to choose from, there are almost as many methods of graphic design as there are graphic designers. Also, nowadays we have more powerful, faster computers and Internet; the graphics are expecting to be higher quality than in the 80s. We as audiences consider the graphics now to be more colorful, have higher resolutions, and more detailed designs within because our computers and software can handle these graphics whereas even as little as five years ago, the graphics presented within the context are not as vibrant, complex and detailed as now.

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Graphic Design

Paul

Vienca Chan

Smith

is

manipulation

a

to

photographer transform

his

02/06/2013

that

uses

images.

the

His

tool

images

of are

significant, as the illustrations tell a story using a basic

method.

By

using

a

single

character

he

distinguishes their persona and embodies their actions within

a

single

photo.

The

process

involves

taking

pictures of the same character in different positions then combining them together. However, due to the fact that

these

software’s’

like

Photoshop

allow

photo

manipulation to be so effortless and takes the unique quality out of the outcomes since anyone can produce the same style prints easily. Whereas if the technique of producing this outcome was considered half a century ago, then the idea would be much more exclusive as well as technical.

The

process

involved

would

be

much

more

extensive and difficult, especially to achieve that level of quality. Moreover, the process wouldn’t be digitally based back then, as the photos would have to be precisely cut and collaged to form the scene of duplicates. In

relation

to

my

own

work,

I

feel

that

there

are

influences present in my works appeared from Paul Smith’s pieces. Referring to him as one of my artists I have created a series of ‘narrative’ scenes that correspond to

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Graphic Design

Vienca Chan

02/06/2013

audiences by applying the fundamental features presented in his style. I’ve also used the process of capturing a scene involving the same character then manipulated the images

to

create

technological

a

graphical

equipment,

it

outcome.

was

In

easily

regards

to

obtainable

to

capture high quality images as well as editing the images via

using

software

like

Photoshop

and

Illustrator.

(My visual response to Paul Smith Image) As

with

the

increased

use

of

graphic

designers

using

software’s to manipulate their work, Echo Chernik relies heavily on these programs to produce an even combination between vector shapes, Photoshop brushes and photographic elements.

Echo

Chernik

is

an

internationally

award-

winning illustrator, specializing in art nouveau posters, advertising illustration, interior book and book cover, editorial, packaging and logo design.

Looking

at

her

illustration

advertisement

above,

it

clearly shows the amount of details and thoughts gone into the composition and structure of each element in that particular piece of hers. Another strong aspect to consider is the transformation of how technology has aloud us to visualize pieces of art

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Graphic Design

Vienca Chan

02/06/2013

and graphics. The introduction of the Internet has aloud many users to create their personal websites and blogs. Ultimately allowing them to expose her artworks for thousands of other designers to see. Furthermore, people can also comment and react to the designs immediately, allowing contacts and feedback to emerge. Additionally, the improvement in technology is equipped with numerous techniques that allow users and designers to take shortcuts within their approach. Hence, having a greater ability to organize, where as without technology the logistics of proceeding with these tasks physically would be extremely time consuming and complicated. Furthermore,

with

the

amount

of

reorganization

that

artists and designers are getting via the Internet, it is a

wider

aspect

to

consider.

Significantly,

art

exhibitions and galleries are a way to promote and allow new customers to view and understand different pieces of work at first hand. However, due to the fact that these galleries are only available to those who live within that area restricts many lead to thousands of visitors from

attended.

creating

Therefore,

websites

to

with

promote

the and

rise

in

exhibit

companies the

works

online, allows thousands of people from around the world to participate through the use of technology. In spite of this, the images provided on the Internet are just second hand images, based on someone else’s interpretation of the work. The impact of viewing works in first hand, dramatically changes the experience and visualization of the initial work displayed in an exhibit. With

the

increased

amount

of

graphic

designers

using

software’s to produce various outcomes, it is clear that technology is one of the biggest and crucial changes that has shaped and developed graphic design. Evaluating the works of my artists and their style of design clearly creates

a

link

between

the

outcome

and

the

processes

used. For example the works of conceptual artists Mira

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Graphic Design

Schendel

Vienca Chan

is

formed

using

02/06/2013

process

that

are

manually

labored, showcasing that the advantages of technology was not available at that period of time. Moreover, with the rise in computer software’s like company ‘Adobe’, many artists and designers have begun to heavily rely on these programs to produce intricately detailed outcomes. Paul M. Smith and Echo Chernik are clear examples of artists that

use

photo

manipulation

and

vector

based

object

within their work. Furthermore with the advancement in technology, many users have begun to use the Internet to promote and create awareness of their work, making it a source for viewers to communicate to the world. Overall, technology has developed and shaped the graphic design industry, visually, mentally and physically. I’ve

concluded

that

the

world

of

design

has

changed

radically over the past years. The process of design has transformed

because

of

computer

software

and

the

extinction of industries, which artists used to rely on for the full production of print design. Communication has become 8simpler that graphics designers can now work with nearly anyone in the world to help run a graphic design

business.

Websites

provide

collaborative

networking, and email puts delivery of the designs only seconds

for

client

approval.

The

ability

to

post

and

share work publicly with the world has also posed a risk of

creative

stagnation,

but

once

a

designer

can

work

through all of the differences between now and ten to twenty

years

aspirations

10

of

ago, a

I

think

graphic

one

designer

will have

see not

that

the

changed.


Graphic Design

Vienca Chan

02/06/2013

BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.dangaleria.com.br/?lang=en&page=artists&func=bio&id=3550 https://www.google.com/search?q=Echo+Chernik&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isc h&sa=X&ei=6kqVUYjfHYSY0QX1uIGgBA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1098&bih=49 6#safe=off&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=echo+chernik+illustration&oq=Echo+Chernik+&gs_ l=img.3.1.0i24l5.1313245.1313245.0.1315868.1.1.0.0.0.0.107.107.0j1.1.0...0.0...1c.1.1 2.img.IY2aysGJ51A&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46471029,d.d2k&fp=43cf8253 15b7b2ba&biw=1098&bih=496&imgrc=ldf5CbeeQ_KZsM%3A%3B00yiyoVvjAN56M %3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fs3.amazonaws.com%252Fksr%252Fassets%252F000 %252F484%252F452%252F87cbc41410d1ed1f68dde0de9d6778d6_large.jpg%253F1 364848693%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.kickstarter.com%252Fprojects%252F echox%252Fecho-­‐recoil-­‐cyberpunk-­‐art-­‐by-­‐echo-­‐chernik%3B700%3B456 http://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/echochernik/view http://www.ted.com/conversations/5912/how_has_technology_changed_the.html http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/publishing/articles/121403.aspx http://www.ted.com/conversations/5912/how_has_technology_changed_the.html http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/publishing/articles/121403.aspx

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