The History of Graphic Design

Catalog description

A survey of graphic design, especially emphasizing influential movements, innovative designers and technological advances relevant to contemporary visual communication. GD 202 The History of Graphic Design (3) The History of Graphic Design course provides an overview of design as a vehicle of visual communication. The primary focus of the coursework is on images and styles of image-making as well as on language as a visual, typographic form. The application of images and typography is the basis of design, and its history ranges from Sumerian clay tablets to 21st century digital tablets. Special emphasis is given to periods of innovation and inspiration, including the late Roman period, the Renaissance, the Industrial Era, the rise of Modernism in Europe and America, and the digital revolution. Graphic design is a discipline which embraces its production and delivery technology; therefore, attention is also focused on the evolution of that technology--from the letterpress and metal typography, through the camera and photomechanical reproduction era, to current computer and digital production processes.