History of

Graphic Design

Prehistoric Art

Cave Paintings

Bhimbhetka,Madhya Pradesh,India by Sarbanidas Roy

Dating back to 35,000BC, paintings such as this

are found throughout Europe and Asia.

As time
progressed, so did
the artistic
abilities of
prehistoric
man/woman.

By 11,000BC show shading to indicate form is being

added to cave paintings.

The Chauvet cave contains a vast array and

unique collection of cave paintings dated up
to 32,000 years old which makes them the
oldest cave paintings in the world.

Note the expressive techniques that are used,

such as the use of perspective in the
'panel of horses' which shows several animals
on the same plane.

Egyptian Art

Depiction becomes Design

3100BC -

Tomb artwork
reaches new heights
in artistry.

Sennefer Tomb Interiors are virtually

completely covered with images that tell the
stories of the Gods.

Tuts Tomb Crypt and sarcophagus are highly

decorated with precious stones and metals.

Rosetta Stone Hieroglyphics

Images become the alphabet of the first

written language.

Images become
the alphabet of
the first written
language.

Illuminated Manuscripts

Handwritten
manuscripts with
illustrations on
pages of vellum or
parchment were
for the rich only.

Production by scribes
was extremely costly
and time
consuming.

The use of gold leaf to embellish manuscripts

added to the value.

Colors were created from a variety of mineral,

animal and vegetable matter.

Books were hand bound with hide or

fabric covers.

Book of Hours
Valencia, c. 1460
Vellum, 167 leaves, 150 x 100 mm. Chemise binding.

The Printing Press

1445 - First printed book on a printing press

(The Bible)

Invented by Johannes Gutenburg

It revolutionized the reproduction of books,

making them widely available.

Moveable type was handset

rather than handwritten.

Type was stored in type cases.

Letters were assembled to create the text.

Text was then locked into the press

for printing.

Pages were pulled (printed)

one spread (two pages) at a time.

Proofing is still done today when the first prints

come off the press.

Todays modern sheet-fed presses can lay down

multiple colors in seconds.

Victorian Design

1835-1900

Woodcut illustrations provided the graphics for

newspaper, magazine & book stories.

Nicolas de Larmessin II (ca.

1638-1694)
Habit dImprimeur en
Lettres
(The Printers Costume)
ca. 1680.
Engraving.

With growing consumerism in the United States,

businesses found it more effective to depict images
of their wares in advertisements.

Early typography
was generally a
mish-mash of varying
type fonts with
less emphasis put
on graphics, which
were there only
to draw attention
to the poster.

Nicolas de Larmessin II (ca. 1638-1694)

Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709),

Perspectiva pictorum et architectorum

Chromolithography greatly improved the quality of

printing so more detailed images could be made.
Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709), Rules and Examples of Perspective Proper for Painters and Architectstc.

Artisitic prints and books

became even more
popular as the cost of
producing them
lowered.
This allowed average
wage earners to be able
to afford them just as
easily as the rich.
Vittorio Zonca (1568-1602)

Clement Clarke Moore

(1779-1863)
Visit of St. Nicholas
illustrated by
Thos. Nast
(1840-1902)

Chromo allowed for the addition of color to printed images further

boosting sales of books.
Visit of St. Nicholas - Clement Clarke Moore; Inside spread

Photography

The worlds first camera was invented

around 1840.

Though quality was not great, it allowed

people to see actual images.

Within a few short decades, many

improvements had been made.

Photography became a popular profession.

Matthew Brady was one of the first

photojournalists.

Bringing the images

and the realities of the Civil War

to every day people.

Arts & Crafts Movement

1850-1900

The detailed
ornamentation
of Victorian
design are
pushed further
with more
organic images,

and the addition of color.

William Morris, English Designer

More stylish than its predecessor, Arts & Crafts

art was used in home decorating as well.
Snakeshead 1876, by William Morris

Art Nouveau

1890-1912

Artwork became less detailed but remained

colorful with flowing images.

Advertising posters utilized colorful graphics in

the Art Nouveau style.

Bicycles (another popular item of the times)

were widely advertised with colorful posters.

Modernism
1910- 1934
First introduced
to America
at the 1913
Armory Show
in New York City.

An International Exhibition of Modern Art

organized by the Association of American
Painters and Sculptors.

It included 500 pieces of Modern European Art

and over 1000 pieces of Modern American Art.

Over 200,000 people attended the

month-long exhibition.

The shows goal was to introduce and create enthusiasm

for the "moderns" of Post-impressionism, Fauvism,
Futurism, and Cubism.

Constructivism

1912-1930

A major shift in design away from organic to a

more geometric look.

Another modern,
it was an early Soviet
youth movement
based on an artistic
outlook that aimed to
encompass the whole
spiritual, cognitive
and material activity
of man.

Art was no longer a

spectator sport.

The viewer was now

an active participant,
as political issues
came to the
forefront through
posters.ign.

Alexander Rodchenko led the Russian

Constructivist movement during the unsettled
times in Russia.

After the revolution, the posters were used

to promote social awareness.

Rodchenko poster urging Soviet

citizens to become stockholders.

What is this
poster
advertising?

1923 -

Baby Dummies
poster for the
Rubber Trust
promoting baby
pacifiers.

Bauhaus

1918-1932

Opened in Weimar, Germany in 1922 -

the Bauhaus school employed the top

designers of the day.

Walter
Gropius

Hannes
Meyer

Mies van der

Rohe

Lazlo
Maholy-Nagy

Johannes
Itten

Marcel
Breuer

Gunta Stoelz

Wassily
Kandinsky

The Bauhaus was a

working school
where
masters (teachers)
taught apprentices
(students) in real
world workshops.

Art Deco

1924-1936

The age of automation arrives and with it the

sleek new designs of Art Deco.

Sculpture

Architecture

Furniture

Household Goods

Transportation

Artwork

Art Deco advertising also took on the sleek,

streamlined look of modern day.

Late Modern

1932-1990

Stephane Bucco

Graphic design is seen everywhere today.

What item
do you
think this
design is
found on?

Its a
luggage
tag.

Jody Barton - English

Swiss International

1946-1986

The Swiss have

been longnoted for their
sleek,
contemporary
styling -

Clean lines and

smart use of
space are
hallmarks of
their
craftsmanship in
product design -

- and Graphic Design as well.

Object photography, sans-serif typography,

lack of ornamentation -

and strict composition based on a grid

system are characteristic of this style.

Logo design is another specialty in

International Swiss design.

Digital

1986-Present

Consists of many sub-styles whose commonality

is that they are all created with the use of
computers.

Digitally produced graphic design is found

virtually everywhere -

as is digital corporate identity design.

Digital photo manipulation

Digital Illustration

Carlton Hibbert

mkay, thanks limoli

George Grie

TLB Designs

Design

30,000B.C. - Present