Welcome to an overview of Graphic Design History.

In these pages we examine the artistic, social, and technological influences on graphic design from the Industrial Revolution to the present.

I’ve collected many excellent links and resources for you to bookmark. This information only skims the surface of design history — there is so much more than can fit into a single website. For more in-depth information I highly recommend Philip Meggs’ History of Graphic Design and any of Steven Heller’s many books on graphic design. If you just want a quick read, I recommend this page by blogger Tom Gerencer : notes-on-design

The printed word.

In Europe, prior to 1440 the only way to reproduce anything on paper (and remember, paper was pretty rare back then) was with tedious hand-drawn calligraphy and wood-block carvings.

In 1455, a German goldsmith & printer named Johannes Gutenberg published a revolutionary work that caught the attention of Europe – a bible using his invention of re-usable blocks of letters made from his own custom blend of metals that could withstand the pressure of a press. He also experimented with ink, paper, and different sorts of presses. He was able to make around 180 identical copies of the bible with this method – and it changed the world.

Fifty years later, printing shops using this new technology were operating in every major city in Europe. In that short  time an enormous new industry had evolved with many new professions: paper manufacturers, type designers, engravers, type setters, printers, and even news papers.

(an interesting aside: there was a newsletter in 1556 in Venice that sold for one gazetta – a small coin –  which became the origin of the English word gazette, another term for newspaper)

The development of printing brought about a major shift in the Western world. The spread of knowledge and scientific discoveries promoted more scientific development and became a milestone in the historical progress towards modern times.

(important to know: Gutenberg didn’t invent printing as we know it. Printers in Korea invented and were using movable type over 150 years before Gutenberg was born, but their remarkable invention stayed mostly in Korea and China: the-korean-invention-of-the-printing-press)

Another revolution.

Fast forward 570 years to now — another communication revolution on the same global scale has occurred. Now, the technology for reproducing works has become cheap enough and easy enough that anyone can publish anything to be read on paper or on computers. (It’s worth noting this is happening at a time when most of the world’s population can read.)

Over the last 500+ years, we have seen Western culture evolve through experiments in technology that brought photography and color to the printed page.  We have passed through a variety of styles (arts & craft, modernist, deco, etc) in response to the social and political trends of the times. Yet graphic designers are the minds and hands through which published communication travels.

Just like the revolution that followed Gutenberg’s work, we have entered a new era in communication. Many new industries and new professions have developed: information architects, user interface experts, application developers, and the like. Instant grass-roots communication has become an important part of our lives.

I am a graphic designer.

It is a designer’s responsibility to honor our long history. It is up to us to resist being conned into using our talent for political propaganda or unsustainable consumption. Ours is an honorable and  ancient profession of artists, writers, inventors, and skillful communicators.

We need to know where we’ve been in order to see where we are going, because it’s all interconnected. And it’s all very interesting.

Renée Claire Tafoya
Professor of Art + Graphic Design, retired