Until the late 20th century, the graphic-design discipline was based on hand-craft processes: layouts were drawn by hand so as to visualize an idea; type was specified and ordered from a typesetter; and type proofs and photostats of images were placed in position on heavy paper or board for photographic copying and platemaking. During the 1980s and early ’90s, however, rapid advances in digital computer hardware and software completely altered graphic design.
Software for Apple’s 1984 Macintosh pc, such as the MacPaint program developed by computer programmer Bill Atkinson and graphic designer Susan Kare, had a revolutionary human interface. Tool icons controlled by a mouse or graphics tablet allowed designers and artists to use computer graphics in an intuitive way. The Postscript™ page-description language from Adobe Systems, Inc., enabled pages of type and graphics to be placed onto graphic designs on screen. By the mid-1990s, the development of graphic design from a drafting-table activity to an on-screen computer activity was fundamentally complete.
Digital computers placed typesetting tools into the homes of designers, and therefore a period of experimentation began in the creation of new and unusual type-faces and page layouts. Type and images were layered, fragmented, and disfigured; type columns were overlapped and run at very long or short line lengths, and the sizes, weights, and typefaces were sometimes changed within single headlines, columns, and words. Much of this type of research happened in design education at art schools and universities. American designer David Carson, art director of Beach Culture magazine in 1989-91, Surfer in 1991-92, and Ray Gun magazine in 1992-96, caught the imagination of a youthful audience by taking such an experimental approach into publication design.
Rapid advances in onscreen software also enabled designers to make elements transparent; to stretch, scale, and bend them; to layer type and images in space; and to amalgamate imagery into complex montages. For example, in a United States postage stamp from 1998, designers Ethel Kessler and Greg Berger digitally montaged John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Frederick Law Olmsted with a photo of New York’s Central Park, a site plan, and botanical art to commemorate the landscape architect. Together, these images create a rich expression of Olmsted’s life and work.
The digital advancement in graphic design was followed quickly by general public access to the internet. A completely new operation of graphic-design activity bloomed in the mid-1990s when Internet commerce became a growth sector of the world-wide economy, causing companies and businesses to scramble to establish web-sites. Designing a web-site involves the layout of screens of information rather than of physical pages, but approaches to the use of type, images, and colour are similar to those used for print. Web design, however, requires a host of new considerations, including designing for navigation around the web-site and for using hypertext links to see additional information. An example of strong web design is the Herman Miller for the Home Web site, designed by BBK Studio in 1998. These designers created a purposeful visual identity, effective navigation, and informational clarity. Attributes that contributed to the effectiveness of this website included a pleasing colour palette, an informative use of pictures of products, and a scrolling imagery of products.
Because of the world-wide effectiveness and reach of the Internet, the graphic-design domain is becoming increasingly global in scope. In addition, the merging of motion graphics, animation, video feeds, and music into Web-site design has caused the merging of traditional print and broadcast media. As kinetic media expands from motion pictures and basic television to scores of cable-television channels, video games, and animated Web sites, motion graphics are becoming an increasingly important area of graphic design.
In the 21st century, graphic design is ubiquitous; it is a major component of the complex print and electronic information systems. It permeates contemporary society, bringing information, product identification, entertainment, and persuasive messages. The unstoppable advancing of technology has dramatically changed the way graphic designs are created and distributed to a mass audience. However, the essential role of the graphic designer, giving creative form and clarity of content to communicate messages, remains the same.
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