Evolution - Graphic Design

 The essential question that would struck one's mind is how far back do we have to go to explore the history of Graphics Design. Is it the sixties when rock and roll could save your soul? Or the nineties when the internet was born? We need to go further back, not just decades but centuries.

Hop on! The ride is about to start!

Our ancestors knew well the art of communication without the use of words and scripts. They left no method to show their supremacy not only in their culture but architecture as well.

The First Kind

Archaeologists believe that the first form of graphical expression was done through cave paintings that can date back to 38,000 BC. These mostly includes animals of that time, hand prints, dancing, hunting, religious rites and burial. The paintings of Bhimbetka Caves located in the Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh serves as a souvenir of Paleolithic age.

Source: yehaindia.com

The Ajanta Caves of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism depict a rich architecture and design of Vihara's and paintings of life cycle of Buddha. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Buddhist religious art dating back to 2nd century BC.

Source: Wikipedia.org

The steatite seal of Harappa's still are a subject of wonder for the Historians. The script hasn't yet been deciphered but the animals on the seal show their knowledge of wildlife. Domestication and agriculture was known. They also had developed sea routes and knew the art of boat making. Sumerians of Mesopotamia have been known to develop cuneiform writing that was used for over 3000 years.

Source:pages.vassar.edu

The Medieval Era

Now if we come to the Medieval ages mural paintings had become quite the fascination of various dynasties. The Mughal paintings are the Persian form of miniature illustrations of day to day life of royal court which drew inspiration from Hinduism,Buddhism and Jainism. While the Mughal paintings were thriving in the north the lesser known Deccan paintings offered better brilliance in colour and sophistication in their artistry.

Source:Indiapicks.com

The Rajput paintings developed various schools of styles in the 16th century. They often revolved around a theme based on Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The paintings also carefully articulated the life of Lord Krishna. They also used Mural paintings on the walls of their palaces and forts. The Mysore paintings offer a unique style where the Hindu God and Goddesses were painted using a "gesso paste" made of zinc oxide and arabic gum.

Source: visual-arts-cork.com

The Printing Era

The credit of starting the methods of printing undoubtedly goes to the Chinese who developed wood block printing during the 6th century along with the invention of paper around 105CE. The first revolution was brought by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany in 1439 with his invention of printing press. Due to this invention the face of literature changed as people switched from manuscripts to printed books as they were cheaper. 

Even though the invention took place in 1400's it was not until 1600 that the first advertisement was printed in a newspaper. The use of Lithography was discovered in 1798 and saw it's extensive use in second half of 90's along with chromolithography. 

The first graphic design agency was started by Koloman Moser, Joseph Hoffman and Fritz Waerndorfer in 1903 named Wiener Werkstätte. They brought together professionals of ceramics,architecture, fashion,furniture and graphic arts and created a standard for future generation.

Before 1922 even the word Graphic Design didn't exist which was then coined by William Dwiggins. Before that Graphic Designers were called commercial artists who made logos and advertisements. Posters soon became a form of expression during World War 1 and 2. These posters included slogans that motivated the masses to fight for their country.

Source:smithsonianmag.com

The Movements

From the historic "We can do it" poster to the movie poster of Mother India time has witnessed brilliance in pop of colours used to draw the attention of people.

Source:Rottentomatoes.com

• Art Nouveau started during the 1880's in Western Europe and United States with the goal to leave behind the historical styles.
• Bauhaus attempted to challenge the old ways of thinking through art in post world war Germany started by Walter Gropius.
• Art Deco started in Paris in 1925 as sophistication of style than included geometric ornamentation and simple shapes.
• Swiss Design explored minimal nature of typography that originated in Russia but later developed in Switzerland in 1950's.
• Pop Art of the 50's and 60's basically originated in US and Britain as a dominant approach towards old style of advertisement ,comic books, print packaging and music cover.
• Postmodernism came as a method to break the stereotypes of rules and regulations. It played with complexity and contradictions of design thereby giving more creative freedom and challenge to artists.

The Digital Era

We currently stand in this era which saw it's rise in the 90's with the advent of tools like Photoshop and MS Paint that made Graphics Art available to the masses. The horizon has moved beyond just illustration and has entered web design, UI/UX design and other disciplines. From political party advertisements to the menu of cafe everywhere the digital art of Graphics is used. It has become such an essential field that no brand can be made without it and this is only just the tip of the iceberg. We are here to witness so much more.

This is a product of graphic design

canva.com

  

and even this....

He is not wrong though

 “There are three responses to a piece of design: yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.” – Milton Glaser