Before Class, Second Paper Thesis & Supporting Paragraph

Over multiple decades, Paula Scher is a graphic designer that is smart, iconic, and has held down her spot at the forefront of graphic design.

Since the 1970's, Paula Scher has been highly influential to the design world. Her achievements and contributions to graphic design are outstanding and is recognized by numerous people all over the world. She isn't just a graphic designer, but a principal and artist as well. Since she began her career, she developed multiple identities, designed different packaging for many clients, won numerous awards for innovation of design, and was even presented the AIGA medal. Being a woman in the graphic design world, she held her ground and proved the world that she has what it takes to be one of the best, most recognizable graphic designers today.

Website Sources:

http://stendhalgallery.com/?page_id=2985

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-paulascher

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/paula_scher_gets_serious.html (this source also includes an informative video of Paula Scher)

Before Class, Second Paper Thesis

Over multiple decades, Paula Scher is a graphic designer that is smart, iconic, and has held down her spot at the forefront of graphic design.

After Class, Chapter 19: Corporate Identity

Today in class we learned how important corporate identity is. CBS started it all by designing a logo that everyone knows CBS by. Many other corporations followed their lead and made their own, such as MTV and IBM. Some of the influences of this new corporate identity trend were art deco, hieroglyphs, NY school, consturctivism, and swiss style. With all these new logos and designs made for big companies, it improved visual communication to citizens tremendously. Business cards were also developed to help corporations as well.

One question that I have is I don't really understand what a unigrid is. I understand it unified hundreds of informational folders but what was it?

Before Class, Chapter 20: Corporate Identity and Visual Systems

Visual identity became very important at the close of the 20th century. Graphic designers were forced to design complex design systems because of the information age the world entered. With new companies and firms on the rise, corporations obviously wanted to have their own logo and design to represent themselves. I must say, one of the most recognizable logos made (at least in my opinion) is the MTV logo. There has been many different versions of the original design of this logo but all of them have something in common: to achieve the goal of giving MTV its own visual identity. The olympics as well got their own design system too.

CBS was another company that really produced the whole idea of a corporate identity design. William Golden was the CBS art director who designed "one of the most successful trademarks of the 20th century." His logo, which aired and was shown to the public in 1951, was made to look like an eye in the sky. With what CBS and William Golden did was show other corporations and prove to them that visual identity is the way to go to advertise. "A contemporary graphic mark could complete successfully with more traditional illustrative or alphabetic trademarks." This is what CBS did.

Not only did corporations come up with their own visual identity but transportation systems did too. Many airports and other transportation systems use "pictographic signage programs to communicate important information and directions quickly and simply." All of these pictographic images were created by graphic designers. Many of the symbols we see today, such as a red cross which means first aid or a fork and a knife which means restaurants or food joints, are used to help guide people and communicate to them without using words but using symbols instead.

Before Class, Chapter 19: The NY School

Modern design in America was booming and more talent was being brought to the table due to European designers coming to our country. New York City played a huge roll during the 20th century that brought forth new ideas and images. At this time in America, the U.S. society was based on capitalistic values and was becoming much more competitive. In the design world, "novelty of technique and originality of concept were prized." This thought process was carried on to the 21st century by American graphic designers.

There were many important people that contributed to the New York School. Paul Rand is one of them. He manipulated shapes, color, space, line and value in his compositions. He was the designer for many magazines, Ken and Coronet to name a few. Rand also knew how to communicate and send his message to his audience through visual communications. Alvin Lustig was another key component in the design world because he in fact help develop a graphic design program at Yale University. As for his design, he liked to "search for symbols to capture the essence of the contents and treating form and content as one." Unfortunately for the talented Lustig, his life ended rather shortly but he did have the ability to teach design right before he died. The New York School eventually moved forward and was brought to Los Angeles by Saul Bass. There, he opened a studio and his design was remarkable. I personally like his work because I like the contrasts he used in his compositions with texture, shape and color.

In the 1940's, few magazines were designed in America. The three famous ones were Vogue, Fortune and Harper's Bazaar. Many people sought the death of magazines but in 1960, there was a rebirth. Specialized audiences were becoming more and more interested. "The new editorial climate with more emphasis on content, longer text, and less opportunity for lavish visual treatment, necessitated a new approach to editorial design."

New advertising emerged during this time alone with figurative typography. Words and images were fused together in advertisements to express products made by companies. Figurative typography involved letterforms becoming objects and vice versa. Another typographic style that came back during this time was the decorative typefaces that hadn't been around for a while due to the modern movement.

After Class, Chapter 18: International Typographic Style

In class today, we learned about the "Swiss Style." This movement began in 1918 when the Zurich School of Applied Art opened. The Swiss Style was influenced by Bauhaus, De Stijl and Constructivism. The designers of this style used objective photography to clearly present the message to their audience. Along with objective photography, sans-serif font was very popular and the most popular typeface during this style was Univers.

One question that I have after learning about the Swiss Style is why didn't this specific style not become popular until 1960's and 1970's? What changes were made in the design to make Swiss Style become more popular later?

Before Class, Chapter 18: The International Typographic Style

The 1950's was a time of innovation. Swiss design (aka The International Typographic Style) consisted of asymmetrical organization. Grids were used to start composing design elements and sans-serif type "set in flush-left and ragged right margin configuration." Expressions and solutions were denied by many artists of this time because they embraced a universal and scientific approach instead.

There were many important pioneers of this movement such as Ernst Keller, Theo Ballmer and Max Bill's just to name a few but the main basis of international typographic style came from the School of Design in Basel. This curriculum had an important design program that many designers enrolled in to learn the basis of geometric exercises. The School of Design in Basel were the true roots of the international typographic style movement.

Now this chapter talks about design in Basel, Zurich, Canada, Switzerland and other parts of the world but the international typographic style in America grabbed my attention the most (call me patriotic). The international typographic style impacted America hard after postwar years. Rudolph DeHarak was a graphic designer who began his career in America. In DeHarak's eyes, "communicative clarity and visual order are qualities vital to effective graphic design." As you look at his compositions, you can see that they are organized and have abstract geometric elements. I personally like his designs because I believe visual order is very necessary and it makes it easier for the audience to understand the message trying to be conveyed. The international typographic style was embracing many artists and their audiences. The style was used in corporate and institutional graphics used by designers all over the country.

After Class, American Kitsch

Today in class we learned about American Kitsch and how it meant bad taste. This movement was referred as an outsider act and many people rejected American Kitsch. Futuristic styles influenced this movement which then produced dramatic curves and lines. We can see American Kitsch today in stores such as Urban Outfitters, commercials such as Target, movies such as Juno, and we can see American Kitsch in flea markets and thrift stores. The McDonald's golden arches show American Kitsch design in architecture with the curvy rooflines.

One question that I is why do so many people reject this form of art? I personally like it just because it looks so cool and is very appealing to my eye.

Before Class, American Kitsch

American Kitsch, I must say, is one of my favorite art movements in history because I've always wanted to grow up during the 50's when a lot of this specific art and design were produced. Since American Kitsch took place in the 1950's, the Industrial Revolution brought mass consumption and objects that could be mass produced for all social classes to enjoy. All Americans could enjoy in this outrageous art movement.

Many critics think that American Kitsch brought about a "trash culture" but in my eyes, I think the design was very appealing. The organic, exaggerated curves that were used by designers can be seen on signs and even on Barbie (which was produced during this time)! Playful and unusual shapes were used to form colorful chairs and tables used in both restaurants and in homes. Posters that were produced during this time were made with over exaggerated facial expressions and very dramatic poses. As for the type used during this time, casual, hand-written typefaces were very popular. They can be seen on posters and in comic books.

Whenever I drive in my downtown, I see some signs that resemble this movement. The hot dog stand I live by still has an old 1950's feel to it. In front, it has a sign with dramatic cruves. In fact, it looks rather gaudy but I still like it =) Inside, the chairs are curved with unusual shapes and the interior design is very colorful. Plus, it has really good hot dogs!

Below are some examples of American Kitsch design:


This is a poster you would typically see. Notice the over exaggerated curves used.


This is furniture used in the 1950's. Notice the unusual shapes and colors used.

After Class, What is Art Deco?

Art Deco was a very important design movement in the early 20th century. In fact, art deco is still around today! What influenced this style was the Arts and Crafts movement along with Art Nouveau. Other movements that had a huge influence of the art deco style is Fauvism, Cubism, de Stijl, Constructivism, Expressionism and Dadaism. When we see art deco design in the early 1900's, we see geometric and linear forms, distortion of reality and sans-serif type. When we see art deco design today, we see the unordinary, simple shapes, solid geometric styles and pastel colors. It's basically the same art deco today than it was back then. It's amazing how far this movement has come and how we still see it today!

One question that I have is what does art deco fashion look like? We didn't really see many examples so I would like to know what a typical art deco fashion runway would look like!

Before Class, What is Art Deco?

The name "Art Deco", in my opinion, means decorative art. Art Deco was an international movement that involved so many things, such as architecture, fashion, painting, and film just to name a few. This movement occurred during the 1920's, 1930's, and some in the 1940's. One word that can simply wrap this movement up is decorative. Geometric styles along with bold colors truly define what the artists composed of during this movement.

After Class, Chapter 15: A New Language Form

There were many influential designers and artists that emerged during the postwar years. Academies such as the Weimar Art Academy were produced that drew inspiration from Expressionism, the De Stijl movement, and constructivism. Along with different art academies, typography also boomed during these years. Eric Gill was the creator of Gill Sans, Perpetua, and Golden Cockerel type families while Paul Renner created the type Futura. Along with typography innovators, Paul Schuitema incorporated these new types along with photography to compose his compositions. Isotype and photography during this time were being incorporated in graphic design compositions.

My question for this chapter is how did isotype come about and who invented it?

Before Class, Chapter 15 (Selective Reading): A New Language Form

Innovation boomed in art and design during the postwar years. A new, formal typographic approach emerged in Holland and Russia. Visual art was turning into pure form rather than pictorial imagery and different ideas about form and space were applied to new paintings and sculptures. By the end of WWI, artists and designers everywhere took on the challenge to question traditional form and function.

A lot of political trauma broke out in Russia after WWI. Czar Nicholas II was overthrown and executed along with Civil Wars breaking out throughout the country. Even though all of this was very hectic for the people of Russia, innovations of creative art emerged that influenced twentieth-century design. Russian artists took elements used in cubism and futurism to form cubo-futurism to move on to new innovations. "Kasimir Malevich founded a painting style of basic forms and pure color that he called suprematism." Through this, he created a geometric abstraction that rejected utilitarian function along with pictorial representation. According to Malevich and another famous artist at the time, Kandinsky argued that "art must remain an essentially spiritual activity apart from the utilitarian needs of society." During the postwar years, a new communist society emerged. Constructivists were tired of paintings and turned to the poster in preparation for this new society. They also believed that tectonics, texture and construction were the three main principles for construction. El Lissitzky played a major role in the constructivist ideal. After he studied architecture at the Darmstadt in Germany, architecture became the basis for Lissitzky's art. He then invented a painting style called PROUNS, which introduced 3D illusions. Lissitzky experimented with all sorts of things, like photomontage, painting, graphic design and printmaking. He influenced many people during this time and had a huge audience.

The De Stijl movement began in Netherlands in the summer of 1917. During this movement, artists and designers worked with an abstract geometric style which sought "universal laws of equilibrium and harmony for art." Theo van Doesburg was the founder of this movement. Piet Mondrian was a very important painter during this time that set the rhythm for this De Stijl movement. He developed forms and incorporated cubism elements in his pieces. He also used lots of vertical and horizontal lines. In general during the De Stijl movement, artists reduced their visual vocabulary by using only primary colors. They also sought "an expression of the mathematical structure of the universe and the universal harmony of nature." The artists during this movement were worried with "spiritual and intellectual climate of their time." Universal harmony was the basis of a lot of De Stijl artists and designers. We also see, in type, that words along with letterforms were designed horizontally and vertically.

One thing that I found interesting during this selective reading of chapter 15 was that Lazar Lissitsky, who played a very famous role in the constructivist ideal, was turned down by the Petrograd Academy of Arts because of his prejudice views against Jews! It's a shame he thought like that or he could have got more experience in graphic design!

After Class, Chapter 14: Pictorial Modernism

Ki gave us a very useful presentation today about pictorial modernism. This was a time where WWI and WWII occurred. Technology was advancing and so was human communication. The theme to this era was to keep it simple. Many designers started to simplify their designs in their posters. Plakatstil was the german technique that took images with complex or deeper meanings and made the message very simple and obvious. So not only were the shapes and design more simple, but the message coming from these designs became more simple as well.

One person that I found very interesting and shocking was Ludwig Hohlwein. When I found out that was Hitler's graphic designer I was shocked because I never knew he had a graphic designer! I just figured it was something Hitler or one of his followers came up with. I am stunned at how talented he was too. He used a wide range of texture and decorative pattern that helped compose his compositions. He also used strong contrasts to get his message across. After WWI, it doesn't surprise me that he received many ad commissions.

Another key concept that was discussed in this chapter was the expansion of art nouveau, art deco. During this time, different graphics, architecture, and product design were booming and becoming more and more popular. A.M. Cassandre made his finest works by combining telegraphic copy, powerful geometric forms and symbolic imagery for railways and steamship lines. Again, all these new graphics being innovated were becoming more and more simple.

One image I found really interesting today was the Dark Knight poster. The design on that poster is so creative and visually appealing. Cubism played a role and you can see that through the composition because all the images were fragmented. It was very nicely done by the graphic designer!

One question that I have, especially after learning that Ludwig Hohlwein was Hitler's graphic designer, is did Hohlwein get in trouble for producing the graphics used for Nazis? I know that in the past, people that were ex-Nazis got sentenced for the crimes they committed, but what about Hohlwein? Did he even commit a crime?

Before Class, Chapter 14: Pictorial Modernism

Following the last chapter of the influence of modern art, we now have pictorial modernism. The second decade of the twentieth century was strongly influenced by the modern art movements and somewhat altered communication needs of world war. Cubism influenced many poster designs. Communication imagery and design form promoted the excitement and energy of pictorial graphics.

The Beggarstaffs (James Pryde and William Nicholson) made their mark in history during this time. They were painters that opened a designed studio. The two invented the new technique at the time, called the collage, that they used a lot throughout their compositions. The Beggarstaffs ignored floral art nouveau and produced colorful shapes and silhouettes instead. Unfortunately for these two, they were very creative designers and were a success but the finances hit them hard.

Plakatstil was a flat color design school that the talented Lucian Bernhard decided to enter. Plakatstil was a poster style and Bernhard "established the approach to the poster by using flat color shapes, the product name, and product image." German poster art was developing thanks to Bernhard and other artists. Bernhard also developed a sans-serif lettering style that was painted in brushstrokes during his poster design career. Simplicity was key for Bernhard and it anticipated the constructivist movement. Bernhard branched out to interior design rather than just poster design and he even tackled furniture design and construction which then led to architecture. All in all, he was one important figure in pictorial modernism and many artists were influenced by this young artist.

During World War I, printing technology increased and other forms of public communications advanced, such as the radio. Posters were important means in communicating too. Governments involved and not involved in the global war turned to posters for propaganda and a way to communicate to the public of what was going on. Simplified images that turned into shapes and patterns were popular on these posters along with integrated words and images. Many posters acted as advertisements to recruit people for the army and some acted as a form of patriotism. After the war, peoples faith in technology increased. "Cubist ideas about spatial organization and synthetic imagery inspired an important new direction in pictorial images." Many artists were influenced by cubist ideas and it is shown through compositions produced during pictorial modernism.

One thing that I found interesting after having read this chapter is Lucian Bernhard was only 15 years old when he started his design career!

After Class, Chapter 13: The Influence of Modern Art

This specific chapter had a lot of useful information in it. The modern era proved to be a time of ferment and change. New inventions were being innovated such as the motorcar, radio, the motion picture, and the airplane. Technology was advancing and these inventions helped better human communication. Five important movements occured that helped artists design more freely and throw out traditional art. These five movements were cubism, futurism, dada, surrealism, and expressionism.

-Cubism: This movement became a new tradition independent of nature. It provided a new way that challenged pictorial art and the typical norm of the human figure was broken. Analytical cubism was a time during this whole movement that was based upon work by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque during 1910-1912. Their paintings had geometric planes with different fragments that were put together to make a whole. Paper collage also came into play during analytical cubism. As this evolved, we then come to Synthetic cubism that began in 1913. Juan Gris became the major painter during this time and was influential of geometric art.

-Futurism: This movement came about when Italian poet Filippo Marinetti published his newspaper Le Figaro in 1909. This became a revolutionary movement that questioned ideas and forms to the new reality, such as war, modern life, and the machine age. Marinetti wanted a typographic revolution that rejected traditional type. The public was outraged by this. Marinetti and his followers wanted to revolt and rebel against traditional art and type. All in all, this movement became very influential and the violent revolution of art made graphic designers rethink the nature of typographic wording.

-Dada: This movement claimed to be anti-art. Artists during this movement rebelled and rejected all tradition because they wanted complete freedom. Hugo Ball began this movement and Marcel Duchamp beamce the prominent figure. The public began blaming people of this movement that they weren't creating art but the artists were mocking it. All in all, this movement pushed negative activities to the limit and the movement died off in 1922. The rejection of art and tradition enriched the visual vocabulary and wiped out traditional art.

-Surrealism: This movement came about in 1924. Artists sought a world of intuition and dreaming. Andre Breton founded this movement and it became a way of thinking and knowing, a way of feeling, and a way of life. Surrealism promoted a poetic faith and showed freedom in intuition and feeling to find an inhibited truth. Giorgio de Chirico was an influential painter during this time. All in all, this movement pioneered a visual vocabulary and most of the work made looks very trippy!

-Expressionism: This movement emerged before WWI. Color, drawing, and proportion was distorted by artists during this movement. Thick paint, bold contour drawing, woodcuts, and lithographs were important media. Many artists rejected the authority of the military, education, and government. Many artists liked to show the negative aspects of the human condition and environment in their work.

One thing I found interesting about this chapter was how solarization was invented for photography thanks to Man Ray. Solarization, I think, looks really cool in photographic images.

I really don't have any questions because I presented on this chapter and read it very carefully.

After Class, Chapter 12: Peter Behrens & The London Underground

The class discussion today was based upon Peter Behrens and the London Underground. During this time, we were entering a new century which brought a new direction in design. The new design was moving away from the poetic flourish style.

Kevin talked a lot about Peter Behrens who created the first visual identification program for a German company known as AEG. He designed a honeycomb that had the letters AEG in it. At AEG, Behrens represented two concepts: neoclassicism and sachlichkeit. His designs for AEG ranged from large buildings to electric fans.

Behrens wanted to step away from the old typographic style. He wanted a new one and he promoted sans-serif type. He had a former eye of a painter but he took the approach of an architect in his industrial product design. Incorporated within his work, Behrens eliminated connotations of social class. Behrens proved to be a very talented, gifted man.

Kevin also talked a little about the London Underground. The London Underground was the world's first electric railway system that was opened in London in 1890. Frank Pick's passion for art and design made him the designer for the London Underground. He designed everything, such as posters promoting this electric railway system. His designs were positive and became a model for corporate design identification.

One question I have after seeing and hearing this presentation is what does it mean that Frank Pick's designs were positive?

One interesting thing I learned that I didn't know before is the three concepts for corporate identification is color, logo, and type. For example, apple for macintosh fits this perfectly.

After Class, Chapter 12: The Genesis of Twentieth Century Design

In class today we saw a presentation given on the genesis of twentieth century design. During this time, writers and artists started to question the status quo. All of this took place mostly in Europe but and very little in the U.S. thanks to Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright was a huge architect that was way ahead of his time. He designed Prairie style housing and "The Beautiful House". Although he was a fantastic architecture, he also was a good graphic designer.

Frank Lloyd Wright wasn't the only genesis of the twentieth century. The Glasgow School consisted of four scottish student artists that created geometric designs with accents of floral elements along with curuilinear elements with strong rectilinear structure. Two people, Jesse Marion King and Tawlin Morris, were very influenced by the Glasgow School. King made designs that consisted of medieval style fantasy and Morris became the director of publishing for the Glasgow School.

The Vienna Secession was a very important movement in design history. This movement came about when art students at the reowned Kunstlerhaus resigned due to the disgust of new ideas. Ver Sacrum was a magazine that was produced during this time. It was created in 1898 and ran to 1903. It was a magazine for designers to explore different designs and types to inspire new ideas. Too bad this magazine isn't still around today!

One thing that I found interesting was how Wright designed his homes around nature, thus preserving nature the best he could. I like that and I wish architects today could follow his lead.

One question I have is why weren't more designers subscribed to Ver Sacrum? Was it too expensive? I would think more designers would be subscribed,,,instead only 300 copies were printed!

Before Class, Chapter 12: The Genesis of Twentieth Century Design

The twentieth century was a time where genesis' were being produced. Design was changing and times were becoming more modern. Different, inventive forms and spatial relationships were the key design for the new century. Geometric styles and compositions were being produced along with a major boom in sans-serif typography. Different architecture was emerging and street lamps and teapots were some forms of the new industrial design. Below are some of the twentieth century genesis' that made their mark in history and major events that took place:

-Frank Lloyd Wright was was a major influence on twentieth century design. Japanese architecture influenced Wright and he took a deep interest in designs for graphics, furniture, fabrics, and stained-glass windows. He used lots of space and was emerging into the modern movement.

-"The Four" consisted of four students (Charles Mackintosh, J. Herbert McNair, Margaret Macdonald and Frances Macdonald). They developed a style of "lyrical originality and symbolic complexity." Geometric style was also shown throughout their compositions. Also throughout their designs were symbolic imagery that consisted of bold but simple lines that defined color. "The Four" also innovated interior designs that consisted of white walls with light and innovated different designs for objects and chairs. The work produced by "The Four" became a major influence heading into the twentieth century.

-The Vienna Secession became an art movement that boomed in parts of Europe. Exhibition posters were being produced but the major difference that set this movement apart from others was the "love of clean, simple, sans serif lettering, ranging from flat, blocky slabs to fluidly calligraphic form." Ver Sacrum was a magazine that worked as a "design laboratory". Designers that were subscribed to this magazine could discover different text and illustrations. Ver Sacrum covers were very decorative. Most of them consisted of bold line drawings with borders and headpieces. Linear and geometric elements came into play as well in most of the magazine's pages. These elements helped the Vienna Secession evolve.

-Peter Behrens was a German architect, artist, and designer. He basically did it all. He played a huge part and was a major influence for design in the twentieth century. Behrens "sought typographic form, was an early advocate of sans-serif typography, and used a grid system to structure space in design layouts". He was known as the "first industrial designer" of his time. He produced work for AEG and constructed architecture. Again, geometric patterns, spatial divisions, and different dimensions were shown throughout his architecture. After Behrens was appointed as AEG's artistic advisor, he produced the copyright application for AEG which then became their trademark. The trademark was a hexagonal honeycomb containing AEG's "initials that signified mathematical order while functioning as a visual metaphor relating to the complexity and organization of a twentieth century corporation to a beehive". After producing that, Behrens innovated a large series of AEG lamps along with posters. His work during his time at AEG advanced thinking and he "planted seeds for future developments".

-The London underground was a big deal because it was the world's first electric underground railway system. It opened in 1890 and was a huge help in transportation in urban London. Frank Pick helped design posters to promote the London underground. "Underground posters ranged in style from lyrical romanticism to the beginnings of mass-media modernism. Many posters designed for this evolved over time. Edward Johnston was picked to help create a patented typeface with bold letters for the typography used in the poster design. The London underground logo that Johnston also created is still used today.

One thing I learned from this chapter is sans-serif typography was the popular type for that time. It was so popular that ten sans-serifs were designed by the Berthold family.

After Class, Chapter 11: Art Nouveau

Our class discussion today was based upon the Art Nouveau movement. Art nouveau was one of the biggest international art movements in history. All parts of the world contributed to this movement. Art nouveau basically means "new art". The basic style of Art Nouveau was organic and linear. The style was very imaginative. Celtic and Rococo were used during the Art
Nouveau movement along with ideas from the arts and crafts movement and Japanese decorative design. Vines, birds, flowers and females were often portrayed by Art Nouveau artists.

Ukiyo-e was an art movement used in Japan. It was a huge influence in Europe. Ukiyo-e depicted pictures of a floating world and book illustrations along with woodblock prints. French Art Nouveau progressed in poster design rapidly. Henri de Toulouse was a huge French Art Nouveau artist. In England, graphic design and illustrations were very popular. In Belgium and the Netherlands, book design was booming and paintings were abandoned. In Germany, the Germans had a movement called Jugendstil which consisted of art that was rich in variety and medieval characteristics showed in many compositions. Now as for America, the Art Nouveau movement made its way over through the Harper Magazine. Compositions consisted of vibrant colors and the Victorian style highly influenced artists.

The Art Nouveau movement was a very important time for society. It was an imaginative, non-traditional time that allowed artists to experiment more freely with new materials. Art Nouveau embraced all areas of art, whether it was architecture, posters or books. This international movement made its mark in art history forever.

One thing that I learned from class today was Art Nouveau was one of the biggest, more important movements in art history. I didn't realize how important it was until after the presentation that was given in class today.

One question I have is were woodblock prints being used by other countries other than Japan or was it starting to die off during the Art Nouveau movement.

Before Class, Chapter 11: Art Nouveau

There was a very important transition that occurred between Victorian graphics to the new art nouveau style. Jules Cheret and Eugene Grasset were two very important contributes into making this transition happen. The poster industry at this time was booming and streets were looking more and more like art galleries. Art Nouveau became an international decorative style that emerged and boomed between 1890-1910. Art Nouveau consists of all the design arts such as furniture, architecture, posters, packages, advertisements, fashion, and graphics. Its visual quality that will distinct art nouveau from others is its organic plantlike line which was used to "undulate whiplash energy or flow with elegant grace as it defines, modulates, and decorates a given space." This line adapted with compositions that consisted of flowers, vine tendrils, birds, and female forms. Art Nouveau became a phase of the modern movement going into the twentieth century.

Asian art really expanded during this time as well. New approaches to space, color, and drawing conventions emerged and gave artists a different perspective. Ukiyo-e defines the art movement of Japan. It was a blend of picture scrolls and decorative arts. Woodblock prints were widely used by Ukiyo-e artists. Japan wasn't the only country that expanded its art approach during this time. Innovations in Belgium and Netherlands were emerging as well with the German Jugendstil movement and the Italian pictorial traditions. As you can see, art nouveau was an international art movement. Lots of countries were involved in this movement. Posters and periodicals were a huge part of art nouveau, moving into the twentieth century.

One thing that I learned from this reading is in England, art nouveau was more based upon graphic design and illustration rather than architectural and product design.

After Class, Chapter 10: Arts and Crafts Movement

Today during class we had a classmate give a presentation on the Arts and Crafts Movement. After she was done giving the class her presentation, I better understood the context within this chapter. As she discussed in her presentation, during the time of the arts and crafts movement, Britain was leading the world in industrial power. This movement took place in the industrial revolution. Highlighted typography, graphic design and printing were all a great expression for the arts and crafts movement. During this time, handicraft was demanded for respect.

During the presentation she also discussed how important and how much of an impact William Morris did to the design world. First off, he designed a red house for him and his wife. Since Morris didn't like the Victorian style houses, he designed his own. The interior ended up being like a "poem" because everything was customized to his liking. Shortly after he made his red house, he got into designing stained glass for churches. After his success in producing stained glass, he began creating wallpaper and textile. Medieval and botanical styles influenced Morris in all of his designs. He had many accomplishments and many designers were influenced by him.

One thing that I learned from today's discussion is that Owens thought there was a connection between morality and environment. I didn't catch that in the reading. I also find the etsy.com website very interesting. Laura your right, it's very addicting and I want to buy it all!

My only question that I have is why was Morris' success of stained glass shortened so quickly?

Before Class, Chapter 10: The Arts and Crafts Movement and Its Heritage

The arts and crafts movement was a time where typography was revitalized. Victorian typefaces were fading away in the later 1800's as typefaces such as Caslon, Baskerville, and Bodoni were being offered for keyboard composition in the beginning of the twentieth century. Revivals of earlier typefaces, outstanding book design, and typography was moving forward during this time period. The arts and crafts movement is much more than just visual appearances. Materials, function, and social value inspired twentieth century designers. One very important person that every designer looked up to and idolized during the arts and crafts movement was William Morris.

William Morris, as I would say, was the man of the arts and crafts movement. He emerged design attitudes that gave a positive outlook in the future of design. William Morris contributed a lot to The Kelmscott Press. The Kelmscott Press became an art form because it contained things such as handcut woodblocks, hand-printing, hand-made paper, and initials and borders. Morris in fact designed 644 of the handcut woodblocks for The Kemscott Press himself! After four years in the making of The Kelmscott Press, Morris produced fourteen large borders and eighteen smaller frames that were surrounded by the illustrations Morris cut. He also designed more than two hundred initial letters and words that were used in the Kelmscott Chaucer. William Morris influenced designers all over the world, even after his death. His typeface designs, design unity, and his small details relating to concepts influenced many future book designers as well. Handicraft inspired fine book design that carried throughout the twentieth century and later transformed into commercial printing. All in all, the arts and crafts movement produced new typefaces, a renaissance of arts-and-crafts activities, and a huge improvement in book design.

One thing I learned from the reading and found interesting is The Hobby Horse. The Hobby Horse doesn't only look interesting but its layout, illustrations, and type shows an excellent example of the growing arts and crafts movement. The margins were larger, the line spacing was wider, and ornamented capitals make this piece a visually attractive one.

Another thing that I found interesting while reading was how the Netherlands haven't produced a single typeface in over a century until De Roos (from Netherlands) made the Hollandsche Mediaeval typeface which later became one of the most popular typefaces available.

After Class, Chapter 9

In class today, we talked more about the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian Era. We discussed how Matthew Brady's pictures of the Civil War showed the public what war was really about. The invention on photography let the public see what the battlefields are really like during war. Horrific pictures were taken by him and then were produced and published in magazines and newspapers everywhere. We also discussed Eadweard Muybridge and how he produced the first sequence of photographs that were of motion. These photographs were of a horse and the development of motion-picture photography changed the photography world forever.

Along with photography, we also discussed the Victorian Era. As we saw pictures shown in class, most of the graphics and designers depicted children, maidens, puppies, and flowers in their design style. Filigree and embellished typefaces were used and part of the Victorian Era style as well. Shadows, outlines, embellishments were also part of Victorian typography and was added in behind the type. Along with this style of design, islamic style also emerged during the Victorian Era. We discussed how Owen Jones produced islamic graphic design during this time.

One thing I learned in class today was lithography. I was a little confused about lithography after reading about it but now I understand the process of lithography better and according to Mark, it's a "pain in the ass." It sounds like a very long process and I would like to see how it is done sometime.

One question I have after class discussion today is how did islamic style emerge during a time like the Victorian Era? I feel that islamic style wouldn't have emerged until later years. When we discussed that today I was a bit shocked!

Before Class, Chapter 9

The Industrial Revolution played a huge role on the expansion of productivity. During this time, many people saw the innovations of electricity and gasoline-fueled engines boom. Mass production was on the rise along with the supply/demand cycle. Due to the use of the supply/demand cycle, graphics were also booming, thus playing a very important role in marketing and business. We start to see the use of lithography and chromolithography come into play as posters were being developed. Lithography allowed designers to take a more illustrative approach into making their designs and communicating to the public. Innovations in typography were also on the rise. Larger scale and greater visual impact typefaces were in high demand during the Industrial Revolution because of the expansion of advertising and posters. William Caslon, Joseph Jackson, and Thomas Cotterell were three very successful type designers at the time. Most of the type that was designed during the Industrial Revolution produced fatter letters and the type became bolder as well. The invention of fat faces emerged and became a major category of type design. Along with all these innovations and inventions that occurred during the Industrial Revolution, the most important one, to me at least, was photography (that's also because I love it so much)!

Pictorial images and printing them was a very long process that was done all by hand until the new communications tool, photography, emerged. Thanks to Joseph Niepce, who was the first person to produce a photographic image, we have photography. Niepce was a lithographic printer with the motivation to find ways to make photography work. The earliest photograph he took was a picture of nature in which he exposed the pewter sheet all day long to the sun. After washing the image with lavender oil, sunlit buildings popped up on his pewter sheet. He kept on discovering new ways to capture pictures and images on light sensitive materials. Niepce then died and Louis Daguerre perfected Niepce's invention even further. As the camera kept evolving, a man named William Talbot then invented the process that formed the core for photography and photographic printing. As the camera kept evolving even further from there, George Eastman introduced his Koday camera to the public so people can discover this new innovation for themselves. Photography also became a great way to provide historical records and became a great tool for documentary and communications after the Civil War. Photography's popularity really took off in the nineteenth century and became a great way for artists to gain freedom and expression.

One thing that I learned and found very interesting was the photography portion of the book. It is very interesting to me that the back in 1665 people used the camera obscura and that whole concept then turned into the photography we see today. To think that someone discovered that back in 1665 blows my mind!

After Class, Chapter 8

The class discussion today was very proactive, in which I really enjoyed. I especially enjoyed hearing that we don't have a test on Wednesday! I think the graphic notes that we are making instead of taking tests are an awesome idea and we will all benefit from them way more than we would tests.

Today, we talked about the Renaissance period. We briefly went over Radolt, Tory, and Manutius once more and from there we went into more detail about typographic geniuses. This era was called the Rococo Era.

There are four people that are very important in the typographic world. William Caslon is the first on the timeline. He produced Oldstyle. George Bickham is the second on the timeline in which he produced Script style. Baskerville is the third on the timeline where he produced Transitional style. Giambattista Bodoni is the fourth on the timeline where he produced Modern style. Personally, my favorite of these guys is Baskerville just because I have actually used his fonts in the past for papers and such.

We also talked about the different variations in typeface. In Oldstyle, you can see that the letters had wedge, angled and cupped serifs, splayed stems, less thick-thin contrast, and a small transition from thick to thin. Then we get to Modern style and we see horizontal serifs that look like they want to jab your eye out. Modern style also has a bigger transition from thick to thin, straight stem sides, vertical-horizontal stress, and unbracketed serifs. I understood all of this much more by visually seeing the differences in which we saw in class.

One thing I learned from the class discussion today was not only the difference between the types, but Caslon type was used in our Declaration of Independence. Also, one thing I found very interesting was that the new type face Roman du Roi's Transitional roman was designed for the King and only the King. If anyone else used it, then you suffer the serious consequence of death! The days were rough and tough back in the Renaissance period!

One question I have is concerning the Rococo Era. I still really don't know the specifics of this era that makes it note worthy. For example, what designs were made during this time that makes up the Rococo Era? Was it just the different type being produced or the illustrations? Or both? I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't really understand what specific style fits into this Rococo Era.

Week 2 Image

This picture is of a Coca Cola advertisement that was made in 1950. As you can see, italics were used in this advertisement for the "The Pause that refreshes." Aldus Manutius, as we learned on Friday during our heated debate, was the inventor of the italics type. I wanted to show how often italics is used. This advertisement shows how women (unfortunately) were portrayed back in 1950's. As you can see, on the bottom the writing starts off with "Housework..." Women did all the housework back in the 1950's. This advertisement was appropriate for that time period because most men worked and the women stayed at home as housewives.

Italics are very important, even today. When words are italicized, it means they are important. We have Manutius to thank for italics!

After Class, Heated Debate on Renaissance Man

Today in class we had a heated debate on who was the best renaissance man. Was it Erhard Ratdolt? Aldus Manutius? Geoffroy Tory? As the debate finished, Geoffroy Tory was the winner (maybe that was because it was led by an awesome group!)

All three of these men achieved many accomplishments during their lifetime to put them in the running as the best renaissance man. Erhard Ratdolt was an early German printer who succeeded in his innovations with typography, layout, woodcuts, and mixing type. Aldus Manutius was a printer and publisher and the inventor of the italics type. His innovation of the italics type is very important, considering we still use italics today. Geoffroy Tory had lots of accomplishments (in which that's why he is the best renaissance man hands down) and was very well known for writing letters in French. He was one of the most influential graphic designers of his time and many people looked up to him as an idol.

Considering I only read about Geoffroy Tory's small biography, today I learned about Ratdolt and Manutius. I was unaware of their accomplishments and how their accomplishments had many impacts on things we use today, such as italics that Manutius invented.

One question I have after class discussion is where did Manutius come up with the idea of innovating italics type? It seems for that time that italics would have came later. I wouldn't have thought a man would have innovated italics in this specific century.

Before Class, Tory is the BEST renaissance man & Chapter 8

Geoffroy Tory is the BEST renaissance man!

As the book says "The term renaissance man is often used to identify a unique individual of genius whose wide-ranging activities in various philosophic, literary, artistic, or scientific disciplines result in important contributions to more than one field. Such a person was Geoffroy Tory." After reading these few opening lines, I think my group is going to win the debate on who is the best renaissance man.

Tory has had a number of accomplishments throughout his lifetime. Some of them include a designer, engraver, professor, and calligrapher, just to name a few because the list is never ending. Tory is very well known and one of the best and influential graphic designers of the century. Below are a few of Tory's accomplishments that make up Tory's success:

- Developed the French Renaissance school of book design and illustration
-Established a new open and lighter style using the collaboration of both the master printer and graphic artist
-Opened a book-selling business where he produced printed books. He even illustrated, published and bound these books himself
-Designed Roman capital initials that caught French printers eyes
-Produced a series of Horae (which means Book of Hours) that set the style of design for the era
-Made very complex illustrations and borders by using fine contour lines with curves that consisted of typographic lightness
-Cut woodblocks and produced the illustrations all by himself
-Tory was named imprimeur du roi by King Francis I (which means printer to the king)
-Champ Fleury is one of Tory's best and more important work that consists of three books. The first book discusses fixed rules of pronunciation and speech by the French tongue, the second book discusses the history of roman letters and the third book discusses geometric construction of the Latin alphabet

I didn't even list all of Tory's accomplishments because there are so many but these few helped Tory gain popularity by other artists and designers of his time and the title to be the best renaissance man ever!

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Chapter 8:

The eighteenth century was a time where visual communications were transforming rapidly. Following the 1600's, which was a time when graphic design creativity was running low, new types were being produced by a number of men. New typefaces were emerging such as Romain du Roi which then consisted a category of types called transitional roman. French art and architecture was on the rise between 1720 and 1770. During this time, a man named Pierre Simon Fournier le Jeune produced an independent type-design and then made a book presenting more than 4,600 characters! Engravings were also on the rise because of its delicate detail and fine lines used for business cards, announcements and letterheads. John Pine was one of the most skilled engravers of this time.

Other fonts were being produced as well. Caslon Old Style, which was used by all English printing at the time, was made by William Caslon. John Baskerville produced Baskerville's type designs which are types that fall into the gap of Old Style and modern type design. Louis Rene Luce designed lots of types that were narrow with very sharp serifs. Giambattista Bodoni made letter forms that were very simple and had thick and thin elements in the type. As you can see, all different letter forms and types were being produced during this century. Visual communication, from this point on, was very much changed.

One thing I learned and found very interesting was about John Baskerville. I never knew his types were still used today. I opened up word document after reading about him and I discovered that Baskerville, Baskerville Old Face, and Baskerville Semibold are all fonts you can choose from. I found that very interesting that the same type he produced during the eighteenth century is still being used today. Congrats Baskerville, your name lives on!

After Class, Chapter 5 & Part of 6

The class discussion today consisted of the invention of the printing press and how it was very important and essential. We talked about the difference between xylography (which is a relief printing from a raised surface) and typography (which is printing with a movable, independent and reusable bits of wood or metal in which both are raised letterforms). Textura, as we have discussed in earlier classes, was very popular in Germany at the time. Books during this time were worth more than land which is shocking considering there are millions of books published today. Production of these books helped lots of people become more literate.

We also discussed how important illustrated books became during this time. German graphic design artists continued using textura and typography along with new woodcut illustrations. Albrecht Durer was a very important figure in making these illustrations. Durer's illustrations consisted of depth, volume, shadows and textures. These illustrations helped people get a better understanding of the text they read in books.

Within our discussion, I learned the two terms broadside and broadsheet. Broadside is a single leaf paper that is printed on one side only. A broadsheet is a single leaf of paper that is printed on both sides.

One question that I have from our discussion is approximately how much was a book worth? The reading says they were worth more than land, but how much was that?

Before Class, Chapter 5 & Part of 6

The invention of printing finally came to Europe and with that so did a lot of drama. As typography and xylography were produced and innovated, it allowed many advances in civilization. Papermaking finally made its way to Europe as well, making it much easier to print things. Book blocks were an early innovation of printing and were printed with brown or gray ink with a hand rubber but as time went on, they were later printed in black ink on a printing press. By record, Gutenberg was very much involved in the invention of the printing press. There were many steps that were involved in typographic printing that Gutenberg discovered but the key innovation was the type mold which was used for individual letters. He also produced the idea of printing a Bible. He wanted to produce a forty-two-line bible, printed and everything. Now this is where it gets juicy and where all the drama begins!

Since all the printing equipment was very expensive, especially for that time, Gutenberg pulled out a number of loans to pay for everything. As time went on and he still didn't pay off his loans, a man named Fust sued Gutenberg for his unpaid loans and interest he didn't pay. He did this right before Gutenberg was about to finish the forty-two-line bible he had been working on for so long. Fust seized all of Gutenberg's printing equipment and all of his work he was currently working on. Poor Gutenberg! Then, if that wasn't enough, Fust then joined a partnership with a man named Schoeffer who was in charge of all the printing. The two completed the forty-two-line bible and traveled many places to distribute them.

Fust and Schoeffer had a few innovations during their partnership in the printing business. One of them was decorated two-color initials which were used in a psalter in Latin and the other innovation was a small-sized type seen in the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum.

Although Fust and Schoeffer took over Gutenberg's printing press, Gutenberg still gets a lot of credit. Gutenberg's press was improved and used for four hundred years. Records also show that Gutenberg was involved in copperplate engravings.

As books became more and more popular, and so did the printing press, illustrations were produced. The German illustrated book was produced and illustrations showed a lot of emotions and helped the reader better understand and comprehend the text. Albrecht Durer was a famous illustrator that published The Apocalypse. His illustrations were very vivid and also showed lots of volume and depth. This new innovation was a great pair to go along with the printing press. Illustrations made books much more understandable for visual learners (like me)!

One thing that I learned from this reading and found interesting was that playing cards were the first printed pieces in Europe. This surprised me considering now there is such an over-abundance of playing cards everywhere! Playing cards entertained many people during that time, as they do now today.

Week 1 Image

Above is a photo used for the Initiative for Cuneiform Encoding(ICE)program. It was an advertisement used in 2003 to help engage people's interest in the cuneiform program. As you can see, this advertisement has a lot of cuneiform as the background. On top of that cuneiform, the word "ice" is placed on top in a large font. This group did a spin off of the "got milk?" advertisement by saying "got wedges?" The purple background really makes the type pop. Since we have been learning about cuneiform in class and it looks so cool, I thought it would only be appropriate to upload an advertisement made in the 21st century that has cuneiform in it. Since cuneiform is very old, it is hard to find it in recent advertisements, magazines, and books.

After Class, Illuminated Presentation

With different time periods came different styles of illuminated manuscripts. It is very interesting to see the different designs of these illuminated manuscripts. Religion, like always, plays a huge role in what these manuscripts consisted of. Below are the different styles of manuscripts that we talked about in class today:

The Classical style manuscripts has a crisp text with an illustration that goes along with it. There is a great deal of space within the letters. Usually, the illustration is as wide as the text.

The Celtic book design manuscripts has spacing between their words (something we haven't seen much of yet)! The design is very geometric, using bright colors and textures within the design. Some new vocabulary also came with the celtic book design. They used diminuendo which is when the text gets smaller and smaller as the page reads on, and initium which the first letter or letters starting the text is very large.

The Caroline graphic renewal manuscripts is very cool to look at. On page 48, figure 4-7 (The Book of Kells), you can really see all the detail that was put into these manuscripts (I still haven't found all the heads)! There is so much detail within these manuscripts. The characters weren't joined in the type. In fact they were spread out.

The Spanish pictorial expressionism manuscripts are very appealing to the eye because intense color is used. A lot of flat shapes and colors make up the design. Some of them even look like optical illusions! Most illustrations were enclosed in a beautiful frame which consists of geometric shapes and colored designs.

The Romanesque and Gothic manuscripts has a lot of illustration involved in their design. The type is done using textura, which became the dominant theme throughout the lettering. These manuscripts have very little space. Either text or illustrations are always covering every inch of the parchment.

The Judaic manuscripts contain a lot of Jewish literature. Gold initials were used in these manuscripts, usually in the middle. Illustrations of pictures take up most of the manuscript and a lot of them include drawings of people and animals.

The Islamic manuscripts are very colorful and again have lots of geometric shapes containing calligraphy. They are very visual and hold a great deal of detail.

The Late Medieval illuminated manuscripts had little type and lots of illustration. In fact, the illustrations took over the whole page! These manuscripts have lots of detail as well with a lot of color.

One thing I learned today was all the above! I never knew about these different illuminated manuscripts and why they were made the way they were. I also never knew there were so many styles. My favorite, I must say, is the panish pictorial expressionism manuscripts because of the intense, visually appealing colors they used. I also like the different geometric designs incorporated in these manuscripts.

One question I have is why is it so hard to trace the scribe and illuminator to their illuminated manuscript? With a lot of these manuscripts, the artists went unknown. Why couldn't they have wrote their name on the back or bottom of their work? If this was my work, I would make sure to claim it and put my name on it!

Before Class, Illuminated Presentation

1) History of the Romanesque and Gothic period:
• Romanesque period happened A.D. 1000-1150
• Saw renewed religious feelings
• Monasticism reached its peak
• During the middle of the 12th Century, the Romanesque period evolved into the Gothic period which lasted until A.D. 1150
• The Gothic period became very advanced because towns turned into cities and the upbringing of agriculture aided in international trade
• Money became the main source of wealth and stable governments emerged

2) Describe the history, influence of the style:
• Liturgical books such as bibles, Gospels, and psalters emerged during the Romanesque period
• The Middle Ages produced a new emphasis on linear drawing and distorting figures for the overall design of the page. This was because during the Carolingian era, illusionism really took off
• The rise of universities also increased making the book market boom during the Gothic era and the illuminators emerged to help meet the high demand for the books

3) Summarizing the look of the style:
• Gothic art became a Medieval art movement led by the development of Gothic architecture.
• One of the famous Gothic illumination is called the Douce Apocalypse (Page 54)
• As you can see in this specific scene, a beautiful illustration is above two columns of text
• Another example of Gothic illumination is a page from the Ormesby Psalter (Page 55), a famous liturgical book of the late medieval era
• You can see more illustrations surrounding the text and a lot of red and blue were used in many late Gothic manuscripts, especially this one

4) Describe key designers within the style:
• Unfortunately, the scribe and illuminator are unknown in the previous figures on pages 54 and 55 but there were artists that have been known during this time era


• Jean Pucelle grew up in the Gothic era and became an illuminator active between 1320 and 1350
• He liked color and a delicate touch

5) Describe the typography of the style:


• Black lettering became the calligraphic form used
• Littera moderna (latin for modern lettering) became the dominant theme for Gothic lettering
• Tall, narrow lettering and sharp, angular lines make up the calligraphy unlike the typical round lettering we have talked about
• Condensed space was key in Romanesque/Gothic typography

After Class, Chapter 2 & 3

In this class, we discussed the different alphabets and how they evolved along with Chinese calligraphy. The Phoenicians had 22 characters in their alphabet and the reason why they could spread the word about their alphabet was because they had the technology at the time to do so. They had boats and were very advanced. Then came the Greek alphabet. This alphabet was very advanced, along with their civilization. The Greeks added vowels to the alphabet and developed a more rounded writing style called uncials. Then we have the Latin alphabet. Along with all the alphabets at the time, all the letters were upper-case. The latin alphabet used what's called a ligature, which we can see in the letter W. A ligature is the joining of 2 letters. So, for the letter W, to Vs were formed to make W. They also produced a few more letters that weren't in the alphabet before, such as Y, Z, J, U, W, and Z.

Chinese calligraphy, as we learned and visually saw, is a very difficult language to understand. It is however very visually attractive to the eye and I see calligraphy tattoos on a number of people. The Chinese contributed a lot along with important inventions such as paper and printing. We discussed how the first form of printing was relief printing and how movable type was very inconvenient to those who used it.

One interesting fact I learned today was that Chinese calligraphy has a total of more than 44,000 characters. All of these characters however are not used today because that would be impossible to know all 44,000 characters!

One question that I have is about how the Chinese came up with the order of the logograms. Since the Chinese writing system isn't alphabetical, how did they come up with the order and why did they choose to do it that way?

Before Class, Chapter 2 & 3

As we learned in the previous chapter, early writing/visual language systems consisted mainly of hieroglyphs, cuneiform, and pictographs. As time went on, the invention of the alphabet was born and was an important step in communication. Although there is no proof of who actually invented the alphabet, there are a few sources. Experts say cuneiform, hieroglyphs, early Cretan pictographs, and prehistoric geometric shapes all contributed to the origin of the alphabet. Experts also say the Northwest Semitic people (Phoenicians) are believed to be a huge source of the origin of the alphabet. North Semitic writing was what these early people referred to as the alphabetic writing that was found throughout this community. Early scripts that were recovered from the ancient Phoenicia culture reveal an alphabet called the Phoenician alphabet made by these people. North Semitic writing is believed to be the beginning of the alphabet but as time went on, more alphabets were being produced and branching off in different directions. The Phoenician alphabet was later evolved in Greece and Rome and the Aramaic alphabet (an alphabet that was dominant in the Middle East) was later used for Arabic and Hebrew writing.

The Phoenician alphabet was adopted by the ancient Greeks. The Greeks changed around some things. They transformed five consonants to vowels. The Greeks also converted the Phoenician characters into art forms. Another thing the Greeks changed was the Phoenician writing style. The Phoenicians used to write right to left, but the Greeks eventually started to write left to right, which is the writing style we use everyday. The Greek's and its alphabet influenced the whole world and played an important role in the alphabet system even today.

The Latin alphabet evolved from the Greek alphabet and came to the Romans from Greece during the sixth century. The Latin alphabet only consisted of 21 letters, but after following the Roman conquest of Greece, the Greek letters Y and Z were then added to the alphabet. Then, three additional letters were added to the alphabet during the Middle Ages and those three letters were J, U, and W. This alphabet was widely spread in the Western world and became the design for visible languages.

The Korean alphabet was introduced by the Korean monarch Sejong. Hangul is what the Korean alphabet is called. It is very scientific, in fact one of the most scientific writing methods to ever be invented. Sejong produced an alphabet of 14 consonants and 10 vowel signs to help aid the communication between the Korean citizens. The Hangul alphabet is much different than the Greek and Roman alphabets. One example is how the sequence of the alphabet is written. Hangul is not written in a linear sequence. Instead, the letters are combined in an imaginary rectangle to form syllabic blocks. Syllables are then made by combining a consonant and a vowel. Seeing this alphabet in the book really gave me a good visual aid to see how this is done.

Asian's contribution must never be underestimated. The Chinese writing system is a visual language an it aided the evolution of visual communication. Chinese calligraphy is definitely more artsy than the other alphabets we have seen. There were phases that occurred during the evolution of Chinese calligraphy. The earliest was chiaku-wen (bone-and-shell script). The next phase was chin-wen (bronze script) and the final step was chen-shu (regular style). China also invented paper, which was much easier to write on than bamboo slates or wooden stripes that were once used. Printing was another important invention, again produced by the Chinese. With the help of these two important inventions, communicating was much easier for the Chinese. Luckily, these inventions spread westward, eventually ending up in Europe.

After reading these chapters, one fact that I learned was how the alphabet came about. It is very interesting to see how the alphabet we all know today was evolved throughout the centuries. A lot of regions contributed to make this alphabet. Alphabets bound communities together, thus making it much easier for everyone to communicate. Without it, it would be very difficult to understand one another.

After Class, Chapter 1

The class discussion today was very intriguing and it helped me better understand the differences between all the different rock art found by historic people. Petroglyphs are carvings in rock as opposed to pictographs which are paintings on rock. Ideographs are symbols that represent concepts and are much larger than simple things. Cuneiform is breaking down a simple drawing and eventually by doing so, this made the alphabet we all know today. After looking at actual pictures and seeing examples of petroglyphs, pictographs, ideographs, and cuneiform, I now have a much better understanding of the terms and can tell the difference between them.

Another thing we talked about was the Rosetta Stone. It is very interesting to look at and I now know the correct order of the scripts that are found on the Rosetta Stone. The top portion is hieroglyphics, the middle is demotic, and the bottom portion is Greek.

The most meaningful and interesting thing I learned from discussion today was cuneiform. I was shocked to see the break down process used to produce cuneiform. First you have an object which is then turned into a pictogram which is then turned sideways and then you get the final production which is cuneiform. When I actually saw how this was done, I was surprised how the alphabet was made by cuneiform.

One question I have from this discussion is about ideographs. I am still a little shaky about the definition for some reason. I also don't understand how people communicated with them because some of the ideographs we saw today could mean a number of different things thus making it difficult to get the point across.

Before Class, Chapter 1

Ever since Homo sapiens emerged and evolved on this planet, we have seen many ways and forms of communication evolve as well. Early prehistoric people found ways to communicate with one another, whether it was through speech, paintings, letters, etc. Evidence shows that early Africans and Europeans left behind paintings in caves of animals and geometric symbols. Pictographs and petroglyphs evolved, thus making visual communication possible. The land of Mesopotamia is where the cradle of civilization began and where numerous inventions were produced. We must not forget one of the most important inventions though, and that was the invention of writing produced by the Sumerian people of Mesopotamia. Evidence of written records on clay tablets and pictographs displayed on pottery used by this community proves that this was the earliest writing, ever.

As time went on, the land of Mesopotamia was taken over by the Persians, and the invention of writing was forwarded to Egypt and Phoenicia. The Egyptians then evolved a much more complex writing system that was based on pictographs. On top of that, the Egyptians also retained a picture writing system which is formally known as hieroglyphics. As time went on, Egyptians used hieroglyphs for decorative and inscriptional purposes. You could see these hieroglyphs on coffins, furniture, and jewelry. These hieroglyphs were also found in interior and exterior temples. A huge step in Egyptian visual communication was the development of papyrus. Papyrus was a material made by Egyptians that was used for writing and painting on. They also used papyrus for manuscripts and other purposes.

We must never underestimate the Egyptian culture. Illustrated manuscripts, hieroglyphics, and papyri is where visual communications all started. These inventions and innovations made by these prehistoric people is where graphic design all evolved. You will see as time and technology progresses, the graphic design we see today doesn't quite look like the design made by the prehistoric people.

One fact that I learned from this chapter was that Egyptians were the first people to make illustrated manuscripts. These manuscripts contained words and pictures that were combined to communicate important information. It is very interesting to see the designs in the figures in this text book. It's mind blowing to see how these people once communicated compared to how people communicate today in the modern world.

After Class, Introduction

Today was the first day of class for history of graphic design. After discussing the syllabus, I am deeply interested in this class. Our professor raised an important question today that made me realize I don't have an elaborate background in graphic design. She asked, "Who is your favorite designer," and I honestly couldn't even answer her.

The book I just recently purchased for this class (after I had to sell my left arm, just kidding) looks very intriguing. I am excited to dive into it and learn more about the history of graphic design. My goal for the end of this class is to be influenced by all sorts of graphic design and their designers. I hope to brighten my graphic design vocabulary after reading this book and taking this class. It will be interesting to see the different forms of communication evolving with the new technology that has been produced throughout the years.