Prologue to Graphic Design

1. The Prologue to Graphic Design Graphic Design History

3. Ancient Period 3500 BCE – 500 CE

4. Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia) and Ancient Egypt

5. The Earliest Writing

6. Archaic tablet fragment Ancient Near East, Sumerian Clay, 3000 BCE

7. Archaic tablet fragment Ancient Near East, Sumerian Clay, 3000 BCE • Earliest written records are tablets that apparently list commodities with pictographic drawings of objects accompanied with numerals and personal names. • An abundance of clay in Sumer made it the logical material for record keeping. • The clay mud tablet was held in the left hand and inscribed with a wooden stylus. • Information is structured in a grid with vertical and horizontal orientation. • The inscribed tablet was then dried in the hot sun or baked in a kiln.

8. Illustration of the evolution of writing by the Sumerians

9. Illustration of the evolution of writing by the Sumerians • This clay tablet demonstrates how the Sumerian symbols evolved from pictographs to into Cuneiform writing • The Sumerian symbols for star (which also meant heaven or god), head, and water (3100 BCE). The symbols for head and water were turned on their side around 2800 BCE and then evolved into Cuneiform writing by 2500 BCE. • Cuneiform writing is composed of a series of wedge-‐shaped strokes rather than a continuous line drawing. This innovation radically altered the nature of the writing: pictographs evolved into abstract symbols called cuneiform (from the Latin for “wedge-‐shaped”)

10. The Blau monument Early Sumerian Carved Shale 3000 BCE

11. The Blau monument Early Sumerian Carved Shale 3000 BCE • The Blau monument may be the oldest remaining artifact combining words and pictures on the same surface • Mesopotamians created libraries that contained thousands of tablets about religion, mathematics, history, law, medicine, and astronomy, as well as literature • Writing also fostered a sense of history; tablets chronicled events that occurred during the reign of each monarch • The iconography on the monument is a matter of dispute, but most historians agree that it represents a transaction of sorts

12. Stamp – Cylinder Seal (The Tyszykiewicz Seal) Hittite, 1650 – 1200 BCE

13. Stamp – Cylinder Seal (The Tyszykiewicz Seal) Hittite, 1650 – 1200 BCE • Mesopotamian cylinder seals provided a forgery-‐proof method for sealing documents and proving their authenticity • The cylinder seal can be seen as a precursor to printing. • In use for over 300 years, these small cylinders had images and writing etched into their surfaces. This one contains both a stamp on the bottom and images on the sides for rolling • Rolled across a damp clay tablet, a raised impression became a “trademark” for the owner • Combining decorative ornamentation with figurative images, this most likely portrays a ritual

14. Detail from the Papyrus of Hunefer Ancient Egypt, 1370 BCE

15. Detail from the Papyrus of Hunefer, Ancient Egypt, 1370 BCE • The ancient Egyptians created the first paper-‐like surface made out of papyrus, a fibrous plant that grows out of water 4.5 meters tall • The Egyptians created illuminated manuscripts in which words and pictures were combined to communicate information • A strong belief in the afterlife compelled the Egyptians to evolve a complex mythology about the journey into the afterlife • The Papyrus of Hunefer is a “Book of the Dead” containing magical spells that could enable the deceased to turn into a powerful creature, as well as passwords to enter various states of the underworld

16. Egyptian Hieroglyphs illustrating the rebus principle

17. Egyptian Hieroglyphs illustrating the rebus principle • In this illustration, words and syllables are represented by pictures of objects and by symbols whose names are similar to the word or syllable to be communicated. • These hieroglyphics mean bee, leaf, sea, and sun. As rebuses (using the English language), they could mean belief and season.

18. Scarab of Ikhnaton and Nefertiti Etched steatite stone, 1370 BCE

19. Scarab of Ikhnaton and Nefertiti Etched steatite stone 1370 BCE • The Egyptians used proprietary marks on such items as pottery very early in their history. They inherited forms of identification (including cylinder seals) from the Sumerians • The scarab beetle considered sacred or magical since prehistoric times. • In the Twelfth Dynasty, carved scarab emblems were commonly used as identification seals. The bottom was inscribed with hieroglyphics. • The scarabs were talismans, ornaments, and a symbol of resurrection. An amulet called a heart-‐scarab was placed over the heart of a mummy in its tomb.

20. Trajan’s Column Ancient Roman Monument Roman Forum 107 – 113 CE Inscription on Trajan’s Column

21. This example of capitalis monumenetalis (monumental capitals) goes testimony to the ancient Roman dictim “the written word remains” The simple geometric lines were drawn in thick and thin strokes , with organically unified straight and curved lines Each letterform was designed to become one form rather than merely the sum of its parts Careful attention was given to the shapes of spaces inside and between the letters A Roman inscription became a sequence of linear geometric forms adapted from the square, triangle, and circle. Inscription on Trajan’s Column

22. The Asian Contribution

23. Oracle bone Chinese 1300 BCE

24. Oracle bone Chinese 1300 BCE • The earliest known Chinese writing is called chiaku-‐wen, or “bone-‐and-‐shell” script used from 1800 to 1200 BCE. • The writing was closely bound to divination, an effort to foretell future events through communication with the gods or long-‐dead ancestors. • This ancient writing was pictographic. • Oracles bones convey communication between the living and the dead. The bones are either tortoise shells or large animals’ flat shoulder bones. • 128 characters inscribed on this bone include predictions of catastrophes during the next ten-‐day period

25. Li-‐Shu tablet of the Hua Shan Pagoda Han Dynasty, China 165 CE

26. Li-‐Shu tablet of the Hua Shan Pagoda Han Dynasty, China 165 CE • Li-‐shu (or clerical style) had a major impact on Chinese calligraphy and was more abstract than the earlier pictographs • This writing style reached its peak during the Han Dynasty. Throughout the four centuries of Han rule, the vast majority of tablets were written in Li-‐shu • Li-‐shu is carefully and neatly executed, and delicate with many variations

27. Rubbing from stone tablet Chen-‐shu writing Tang dynasty (618–907 CE)

28. Rubbing from stone tablet Dayan Pagoda, X’ian, China Chen-‐shu writing Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) • The final step in the evolution of Chinese calligraphy is chen-‐shu (or regular style) which has been in continuous use for nearly two thousand years • In regular style, every line, dot, and nuance of the brush can be controlled by the sensitivity and skill of the calligrapher • An infinite range of design possibilities exists within every word • Regular-‐style calligraphy has an abstract beauty that rivals humanity’s highest attainments in art and design. It is considered to highest art form in China, more important even than painting.

29. Li Fangying, from Album of Eight Leaves, ink on paper, Qing dynasty, 1744

30. Li Fangying, from Album of Eight Leaves ink on paper, Qing dynasty, 1744 • Dynastic records attribute the invention of paper to the high government official Ts’ai Lun, who reported his invention to Emperor Ho in 105 CE • Calligraphy and painting, poem and illustration, are joined into a unified communication • Nature is the inspiration for both the poem and the illustration, every stroke is given the energy of a living thing • Spiritual states and deep feelings can be expressed in calligraphy

31. Chinese chop • During the Han Dynasty (3rd Century CE) seals called chops were made by carving calligraphic characters into a flat surface of jade, silver, gold, or ivory • The user inked the flat surface by pushing it into a paste-‐like red ink made from cinnabar, and then pressed in onto a surface to form an impression • Around 500 CE people began using a different kind of chop. The artisans cut away the negative area surrounding the characters so that the characters could be printed in red surrounded by white paper

32. The Diamond Sutra, Hand scroll, 868 CE

33. The Diamond Sutra Printed scroll, 868 CE • The oldest surviving printed manuscript is The Diamond Sutra. • It consists of 7 sheets of paper pasted together to form a scroll 5 meters long and 30 cm high • The text conveys the Buddha’s revelations to his elderly follower, along with a complex woodcut illustration of the Buddha and his disciples • The final lines of text declare that Diamond Sutra will be distributed for free • The excellence of the printing indicates that the craft had advanced to a high level by the time it was produced

34. Chinese playing cards

35. Chinese playing cards • These “sheet dice” were first printed on heavy paper cards about the time paged books were replacing manuscript scrolls • Many of the design conventions used here – numerical sequences of images signifying the suits and the depiction of royalty – survive in playing cards to this day

36. Chinese movable types, 1300 CE

37. Chinese movable types, 1300 CE • Around 1045 CE the Chinese alchemist Pi Sheng developed the concept of movable type, an innovative process never used widely in Asia • Each character was an individual raised form and any number of characters could be placed in sequence on a surface, inked, and printed • Pi Sheng made his types from a mixture of clay and glue, but they were later cast in tin and cut from wood • One invention that tried to simplify sorting and setting types was a revolving table with a spinning tabletop (see illustration)

38. Image of a revolving typecase, 1313 CE

39. Illuminated Manuscripts

40. Ormesby Psalter, Late Gothic Manuscript, early 1300s (Medieval)

41. Ormesby Psalter, Late Gothic Manuscript, early 1300s (Medieval) • Liturgical books of the late Medieval era contained extraordinary designs. • The Ormesby Psalter was created in England and is in the late Gothic style • The large text is written in the textura / black letter writing style (a calligraphic script with letters composed of separate strokes) • intricate frames and gold leaf backgrounds with decorative capital initials and illustrations depicting Biblical scenes • Figures and animals with elongated proportions

42. Detail from the Ormesby Psalter

43. Page from the Mainz Haggadah Judaic Manuscript 1726 CE

44. Page from the Mainz Haggadah Judaic Manuscript 1726 CE • Surviving Judaic illuminated manuscripts produced across Europe during the medieval era are treasure masterworks of graphic design • A Haggadah contains Jewish religious literature, including historical stories and proverbs • This manuscript is a copy by Moses ben Nathan Oppenheim in 1726 (copied from an earlier Medieval Judaic manuscript) • The image depicts Mount Sinai, and Pharoah and his army drowning in the Red Sea. • The layout implies the melodic rhythm of a joyful Passover song through spacing and symbols

45. Islamic Manuscript 18th Century

46. Islamic Manuscript 18th Century / 1700s CE • Intricate geometric and arabesque designs fill the space to express the sacred nature of the Qur’an, the holy book of Muslims • Figurative illustrations were not utilized because Islamic society embraced the principle of aniconism, which is religious opposition to representations of living creatures based on the belief that only God could create life • Islamic illuminated manuscripts were produced in great numbers from the 13th through the 19th centuries. Muhammad had called upon his followers to read and write, and as a result, a love of books permeates Islamic cultures.

47. The Limbourg brothers January page 1413 – 1416 CE (Early Renaissance)

48. The Limbourg brothers (Dutch) January page 1413 – 1416 CE (Early Renaissance) • The Limbourg brothers (Paul, Herman, and Jean) created an illustrated calendar entitled Les tres riches heures du duc de Berry • Each month includes an illustration relating to seasonal activities crowned with an astronomical charts depicting constellations and phases of the moon • Les tres riches heures is a pictorial book. Some pages have a mere four lines of text lettered in two columns under the illustrations. • The Limbourg brothers were sons of a Dutch wood sculptor. They did not live to complete this masterpiece, for all three died before February 1416 from a terrible epidemic or plague

Prologue to Graphic Design

Prologue to Graphic Design

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Prologue to Graphic Design