Up until the late 20th century, the graphic-design discipline was based on handicraft processes: layouts being made by hand in order to actualise an idea; type was specified and ordered from a typesetter; and type proofs and photostats of images were assembled in position on heavy paper or board for photo reproduction and platemaking. Over the course of the 1980s and early ’90s, however, rapid advances in digital pc hardware and software completely changed graphic design.
Software for Apple’s 1984 Macintosh pc, such as the MacPaint program created by computer programmer Bill Atkinson and graphic designer Susan Kare, had a majorly revolutionary human interface. Tool icons controlled by a mouse or graphics tablet enabled designers and artists to use computer graphics in an intuitive manner. The Postscript™ page-description language from Adobe Systems, Inc., enabled pages of type and graphics to be placed into graphic designs on screen. By the mid-1990s, the development of design from drafting-table activity to an on-screen computer action was essentially complete.
Digital computers placed typesetting tools into the realm of designers, and so a period of experimentation occurred in the creation of new and unusual typefaces and page layouts. Type and images were layered, fragmented, and dismembered; type columns were overlapped and run at very long or short line lengths, and the sizes, weights, and fonts were often 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 this kind of experimental approach into graphic design.
Rapid growth in onscreen software also allowed designers to make elements transparent; to stretch, scale, and bend elements; to layer type and graphics in mid-space; and to blend 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 photograph 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 developed in the mid-1990s when internet business became a growth sector of the world-wide economy, causing companies and businesses to quickly establish Web sites. Designing a web-site involves layout of screens of information rather than of pages, but approaches to the use of type, images, and colour are similar to those used for print. Web design, however, requires a myriad of new considerations, including designing for navigation through the web-site and for using hypertext links to be taken to 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 added to the effectiveness of this Web site included a pleasing colour palette, an informative use of pictures of products, and a scrolling imagery of products.
Because of the global appeal and reach of the internet, the graphic-design profession 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 everywhere; it is a major component of the complex print and electronic information systems. It permeates modern society, delivering information, product identification, entertainment, and persuasive messages. The ongoing advancing of technology has changed dramatically the way graphic designs are created and distributed to a mass market. However, the basic role of the graphic designer, providing expressive form and clarity of content to communicate messages, remains the same.
Looking for art supplies? Australia is the lucky country when it comes to canvas art supplies and if you are looking for a painting easel, make sure you consider Discount Art Warehouse.