The history of graphic design technology

History Of Graphic Design Technology

In today's world, everything seems to be easily done with the use of computers. From writing stuffs, to presentation and even communication, computers really paved the way. One of the latest movements in computer technology use is the introduction of graphic designs.

Graphic designing is the 'art and profession' of choosing and organizing visual elements to transmit a message. The various types of visual elements involved in this are typography, images, symbols, and colors. Graphic design is also commonly called as "visual communications" which can be attributed to that collaboration of disciplines involved in this method such as the writers' production of words, the photographers' and illustrators' creation of images and the designers' incorporation of all these things into a 'complete visual message' (Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2006, para 1). With the advent of graphic design technology, the world of art, advertising, education and even marketing became more colorful.

This paper is aimed at highlighting the history of graphic design technology. Specifically, this paper is intended for:

Identifying the proponents of the use of graphic design technology

Classifying the milestones related to the use of such technology (from the date it was introduced to the dates of its modifications)

Discovering the future that lies ahead for graphic design technology

Graphic Design

Graphic designing is a method of incorporating images and texts to express a single meaning to the viewers or audience. The very purpose of graphic designing is to convey a message to the target audience. This message should either attack the audience psychological, emotional and physiological well being. Graphic design should than have all the factors needed to make it understandable for the audience.

To come up with a suitable graphic design, there are a number of things that must be done first. First is knowing all the information related to the design that should be made. This includes the subject of the design, the target audience and the type of design suited for the subject and the audience (Rieber and Kini 1991, p 85). These are all important information because to these lie the very idea of the design to be made. More so, this information will be the sole basis for the design and will be the deciding factors if the graphic design made is effective and efficient or not.

Second thing to ensure is the people that will be involved in designing. It must be noted that the graphic design does not only contain text nor pictures alone. Sometimes a combination of these two is needed. Hence a right and effective concept must be incorporated in the design so reach the target audience (Rieber and Kini 1991, p 85). The most common people involved in graphic designing are the writers (who think of the texts to use), the artists or the designers (who analyze the apt images for the texts) and sometimes the models that are used as part of the designs.

The information above has just reiterated how important graphic designing is. Graphic design is a very good method that aide in the information dissemination to a wider set of audience.

The Initiator of Graphic Designing

The use of text and art to produce to convey a message was a common thing in the world of communication but it was William Addison Dwiggins who started the use of graphic designing. In 1922, he made use of his professional experience and his deep passion and interest with designs. This paved the way for graphic designing and a number of graphic designers designer (Dwiggins, 1922, p 121).

Dwiggins initially worked as an illustrator, advertising artist, typographer, and book designer. He was a participant in the Boston printing renaissance and a founding member of the American Institute of Graphic arts (ALGA) in 1914 (Dwiggins, 1922, p 121). Two of the most disturbing questions he had in mind back then were (Dwiggins, 1922, p 123)::

Was 'art' something applied for added value?

Was it something used to make a product easier to sell?

In trying to find answers to such questions, he was able to distinguish the three classes of printing: practical printing (which according to him was without art); bookmaking (which he considered as the work of great art); and printing for the purpose of advertising (which is now known as the 'graphic design'). In that same year (1922), Dwiggins coined the term 'graphic designer' and he urged the 'graphic designers' to uphold standards of their 'profession.' (Dwiggins, 1922, p 123). By upholding, he meant looking for every possible means of continuously upgrading that method of art and trying out every ways of conveying better messages to the audience.

The Start of Graphic Design Technology

The use and method of graphic designing were already used even before 1950s. The approach was a bit easier and less complicated then. People were using the designs to express information which could not be expressed by words or by pictures alone. Graphic designing was very creatively done by real artistic people. However, these artistic people came to a point where they could no longer get any satisfaction with the kind of designs there were having. This was the time that designers themselves think of better ways and newer methods to create variation in their designs, thus the changes in graphic designs methods, approaches, techniques, tools and equipments and even on graphic design education.

Such changes marked the birth of graphic design technology.

Changes in the Methods

The idea of improving the methods of designing came up on early years of the 1950s. Several young designers of that time were trying to position themselves as commercial artists who were trained in studio art programs as either painters or printmakers. These drastic changes in goal was inspired by several European designers who ensured that their practice is used in more ways than just by appending artistic devices in selling soaps or other consumer products. The said designers were also the ones who revealed that they serve as between the client and the public. They filter information with the pursuit of placing the contents into visual contexts thereby enabling broader understanding. The same designers from Europe paved the way for other designers and aspiring ones to earn deep respect from their predecessors and colleagues particularly during the 1950s up to the 1960s (Thornton, 1996 para 4).

On the years that followed (1970s-1980s) the new generation of designers raised some issue regarding the International Style that promoted structured, anonymous designs. The said inquiries were insinuated by some architects who were then trying to redefine modernism by calling it Post-Modern designs. Thus, various inspirations, patterns and models were then studied and used as the new basis for use in graphic designing. Some used the concept of Russian Constructivism (from the 1920s) and others used the same development of technology as inspirations (Thornton, 1996 para 5).

However it was during the era of the 1980s when the bigger change to graphic designing came into being. During this time, computer prototypes and imaging software was introduced and became the primary tool for the professional designers. Eventually, designers learned how to use photographic imaging and digitizing it through the Scitex Response System. Such procedure is used and found to be capable of manipulating colors, dimensions, and even content of the designs (Thornton, 1996 para 6).

Designers were already enjoying the new approach of graphic designing. They were already maximizing the capabilities of such approach to make their designs more expressive and of course more saleable. However, curiosity never ceased. They eventually search for other ways to improve an already usable and advanced approach. On mid-1980s, another milestone of graphic imaging was designed and this time, it was in the form of storing and further changing or reforming the images. More so, text and electronic images were being used and combined as layers of information. This further improvement is now coined as the 'New Wave Design' (Thornton, 1996 para 6).

Changes in Text Tools

Changes in methods were already being established. But enhancements in graphic designing will not be successful if the other aspects of designing will not be improved also. This is the very reason why the elements of graphic designs were also further enhanced and developed.

In graphic designing, images are not the only important aspects of the designs. Texts also play a pivotal role and to emphasize text, fonts are then used. The advent of the computer also enables dramatic changes in the type of fonts.

During the early years of designing, there are very few choices of typefaces. Consumers or viewers were limited to what the common print shops and/or stores could offer them. Much worst, if the designers do not have any connections with larger type house, the alternatives were even more restricted. Today, this is not a problem anymore. There are thousands of sites who offers download of lots of typefaces and there are some who are only requiring not-so-big amounts to get access with the numbers of typefaces and/or styles (Thornton, 1996 para 8).

However, it is good to note that despite the numbers of typefaces, designers were seemed to be not contented with it. The new batch of designers did not maximize using the traditional typefaces offered to them by the computer, and they opted to use specialized software programs and created new type forms. Not only were they able to create unique typeface of their own, but they were also able to minimize the time commonly used in rendering mechanical drawings of each letter. This was because all of the drawing is accomplished on the computer (Thornton, 1996 para 8).

Graphic designers used a variety of methods in creating their own typeface designs. They would sometimes combine two existing type forms to create a hybrid font. At times, they would disregard some portions and weight of letters' harmony and manipulate it thereby creating shapes to produce barely recognizable letters (Thornton, 1996 para 8).

These younger designers utilize every possible ways of creating their own designs of typefaces because they believe that typography is not effective in communicating the information anymore.

They stressed that typeface alone could already express various emotions and feelings, that is why these designers believe that it is not important that the texts can be read clearly. What is more significant is the fact that the letters could express newer styles and attitudes (Thornton, 1996 para 9).

At first, a lot of criticizers see the designers' unique typefaces as 'garbage' but when the public and the consumers acted like they liked the idea; it became popular in a way that major publications have started using it too. Major corporations did not have any choice but to follow the trend and use the same style of creating unique fonts or typeface (Thornton, 1996 para 9).

Changes in Equipments

Along with the changes that were happening with the texts or font types, the very sources of such fonts were also having extreme improvements. Before, typewriters were the only available material for typesetting and/or producing texts that will be used in the designs. Then came the computers. With the computer, texts are seen in various forms, sizes colors and styles. After the computers, various software and programs were initiated.

With series of software, designers were able to make their own niche in the world of graphic designing. With software, designers - students and professionals alike - were given democracy to access special tools and programs needed for their own designs. As a result, there has been an increased appreciation of good design that has actually benefited graphic design instead of weakening its professionalism (Thornton, 1996 para 15).

Nicole Hickman, one of the prominent graphic designer and production nowadays disclosed the most recent software or program now being used in graphic designing, and this is the use of Postscript.

Before, things that were done with special equipment, or not done at all. With Postscript imaging technology, the ability to set type to an unlimited size without degradation of the quality of the type outlines made typositor machines a thing of the past. As Macs became more advanced and faster, and software like Adobe Photoshop, Quark and Illustrator made it possible to do more complicated layouts and composition incorporating photography and type effects, things that would have been too expensive to produce in the past became a matter of course..." (Hickman)

Change in Graphic Design Education

Going back to the early years of graphic designing - during the early parts of 1960s, teaching-school-based designers would never touch or highlight advertising as part of graphic designing. However, this attitude gradually changed as the younger generation of art directors serve as the professional leaders. This is because these new generation of art directors studied and were trained in design schools and universities (Alessi, et.al. 1991 p 34).

As a result, advertising became more connected with the designers rather than those marketing or sales people. In the same manner, the line that divides the art directors who created advertising and those who called themselves graphic designers became very thin. It eventually came to a point wherein the advertising agencies put up design sections while the graphic designers adopted the Japanese method where there is little difference between independent art directors and graphic designers (Alessi, et.al. 1991 p 34)

Slowly, the education for graphic design evolved with the new technology and a new focus from the faculty. One of the most noticeable changes was the addition of decoration for printing to visual problem-solving that createed industrial and corporate identity depending upon the look of their publications. Teachers concentrated on educating the aspiring designers on creative research focusing on experimental visual solutions to problems in communication rather than emphasizing vocational training (Alessi, et.al. 1991 p 34).

Before the computer cam into prominence, design students would be having their designs dependent to limited production quality. Most of the solutions were just painted, glued, and even hand-crafted. However, to the students' disadvantage, the prototypes they would be making will always look unfinished until it was actually printed. Now, with the advent of computers, printing and color copying allows are making it possible for the students to produce finished work that looks as professional and finished as the outputs from the expensive printing presses (Alessi, et.al. 1991 p 35)

Programs in the computers were also expanding. Instead of the old and large Scitex Response System which was commonly used to manipulate color photographs, students were taught to use electronic methods of changing images through Adobe Photoshop (Alessi, et.al. 1991 p 35).

Another aspect of the change in educating the students with graphic designing was the availability of published textbooks and development of courses in European and American design history that started during the 1980s. These textbooks and newer perspectives from different countries added interest and depth to design education (Alessi, et.al. 1991 p 36). Students who were earlier taught about one approach and an older point-of-view were then given the chance to decipher and analyzed the perspectives from two highly industrialized nations.

The Benefits Brought by Graphic Design Technology

Graphic designing is already being done even before. However, the dawn of computer technology has brought tremendous improvement to the methods and approaches on graphic design (Thornton, 1996 para 1).

Because of computers, a lot of changes have happened and a number of tasking jobs were removed with the methods of designing. Typesetting has been gradually eliminated and was replaced by graphic designing. The use of traditional types of fonts was substituted by newer seemingly unrecognizable letters, yet producing an effective design (Thornton, 1996 para 2).

Today, graphic design technology is being used by a lot of other designers and/or artists. Some of the highly noted graphic designers are Jules Cheret, Piet Zwart, Paul Rand, Alexey Brodovitch, Milton Glaser, and David Carson (Thornton, 1996 para 2).

From the interview, Hickman revealed his unwavering appreciation to the advent of graphic design technology. According to him there was really a big change in the technology of graphic designing since he started on 1976, and he was just a typesetter then.

You saw the results of your work only after it came out on the imagesetter. Since then, everything is produced on-screen, and later printed, and apart for things like color correction, you can pretty much rely on the fact that what you see on the screen is what your layout will look like, because you have a preview..." (Hickman)

This is for him was the most beneficial thing that graphic design technology has brought to the world of art, communication and advertising.

Graphic designing conserves time, energy and resources. No need to consume several days of waiting for the final lay-out and printing to be seen so as to ensure that everything is laid out correctly and properly. Editing and correcting all possible errors is also made easy because in just one click of the mouse or the keyboard, the changes will immediately appear even without having initial printing first. Thus, resources, time and energy will be spent wisely and excess of which can be used for other tasks.