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.
Tut’s 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.
Today’s 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 d’Imprimeur en
Lettres
(The Printer’s 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.
 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 world’s 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 it’s 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 show’s 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 Hannes Mies van der Lazlo
Gropius Meyer Rohe Maholy-Nagy
Johannes Marcel Gunta Stoelz Wassily
Itten Breuer 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?
It’s a
luggage
tag.
Jody Barton - English
Swiss International

1946-1986
The Swiss have
been long-
noted 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