History of Graphic Design
Graphic design is simply the art of creating graphics; or producing visuals on a surface. This can be done on canvas, stone, pottery, or — perhaps most commonly recognized today — on a computer screen. With so many different tools to work with, the artistic method of graphic design covers visuals from drawings and symbols to graphs and charts, custom logo design, book cover design, and more.
The history of graphic design stretches so far back that it encompasses the entire history of art. Here’s how graphic design got its origin and developed to where it’s at today.
GRAPHIC DESIGN ROOTS: 15,000–3,600 BC
Graphic design can be traced back to 15,000 BC when the first known visual communications arose. Fast-forward several thousand years, and you’ll discover the Blau Monument. It’s the first known artefact to use both words and pictures on it.
Of course, these designed pieces are far from what we think of as graphic design today; but they helped spark the thought of putting images on surfaces, putting us on the path towards things like drawings, posters, banners, and more.
PAPER AND PRINTING: 105 AD — 1530 AD
The invention of paper in 105 AD by a Chinese man led to the concept of printing. The first illustrations in a printed book followed shortly after, in 1460. Seventy years of printing went by before Claude Garamond opened the very first type foundry — in 1530 — which created and sold fonts to printers.
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: 1760–1800
The Industrial Revolution hit in the 1760s and guided in a new age for graphic design. Innovative technologies began popping up at an unusual rate; including the method of lithography, which was a printing method that helped decrease costs. The Industrial Revolution also embraced the printing press in 1800, a machine that not only reduced labour by 90% but also doubled the size of paper that could be printed.
GROWTH OF GRAPHIC DESIGN: 1900S
Since the time of the Industrial Revolution, graphic design had been easing its way into business practices, and in the 1900s, its use exploded. With the growth of the advertising industry and colour printing, businesses began creating logos to help brand their company.
Naturally, graphic design became widely used in advertising and other industries, marking beautiful designs on everything from posters to t-shirts, record covers, and more. As computer technology was invented and released throughout the late 1900s, designers began using digital tools — such as Photoshop. These digital tools revolutionized the field.
GRAPHIC DESIGN TODAY
Today, graphic design refers mainly to designing visuals for magazines, books, advertisements, and digital posters. This intensive branch of design involves the art form of communicating ideas through visuals and text. Graphic designers still use drawings and paintings in some cases, but much of graphic design today is completed using digital technologies. These modern graphic design skills can be implemented to custom logo design, book cover design, magazine layouts, billboard advertisements, clothing design, online banner ads, and much more.
Graphic design has been around for quite some time, but as we view it today in the world of business, it’s only been alive for the last hundred years or so. Over those hundred years, graphic design has permeated the space of business and consumerism, grasping our attention, sparking our interests, or sometimes, blending seamlessly into our surroundings. It’s all around us; unless you’re looking for it, you may not realize how often it shows up in your daily life.
