Energy Talk! ? Blog Archive ? The Evolution of Digital Art

July 17th, 2011

Up until the late 20th century, the graphic-design medium was based on hand-craft processes: layouts being made by hand in order to create an idea; type was specified and ordered from a typesetter; and type proofs and photostats of images were placed into position on heavy paper or board for photographic reproduction and platemaking. Over the course of the 1980s and early ?90s, however, rapid changes in digital pc hardware and software radically altered graphic design.

Software for Apple?s 1984 Macintosh pc, such as the MacPaint programme 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 enabled 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 images to be placed onto graphic designs on-screen. By the mid-1990s, the transition of graphic design from drafting-table activity to an on-screen computer action was essentially complete.

Digital computers allowed typesetting tools to be placed into the hands of individual designers, and so a period of experimentation began in the creation of new and unusual type and page layouts. Type and graphics were layered, fragmented, and disfigured; type columns were overlapped and run at very long or short line lengths, and the sizes, weights, and fonts were sometimes changed within single headlines, columns, and words. Much of this research took place 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, captured the imagination of a youthful audience by taking this kind of experimental approach into publication design.

Fast growth in onscreen software also enabled designers to make elements transparent; to stretch, scale, and bend elements; to layer type and images in 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 an image of New York?s Central Park, a site plan, and botanical art to commemorate the landscape architect. Interwoven, these images evoke a rich expression of Olmsted?s life and work.

The electronic transition in graphic design was shortly followed by public access to the Internet. A whole new operation of graphic-design activity developed in the mid-1990s when internet business became a fast growing sector of the world-wide economy, causing companies and businesses to quickly 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 myriad of new things to consider, including designing for navigation around the website 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 developed a purposeful visual identity, effective navigation, and informational clarity. Attributes that contributed to the effectiveness of this Web site included a consistent colour palette, an informative use of pictures of products, and a scrolling montage of products.

Because of the universal usefulness and reach of the Internet, the graphic-design trade is becoming increasingly global in scope. Moreover, the blending 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 expand 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 our complex print and electronic information systems. It permeates modern society, delivering information, product identification, entertainment, and persuasive messages. The relentless advancing of technology has dramatically changed the way graphic design is created and distributed to a mass market. However, the essential role of the graphic designer, adding expressive form and clarity of content to communicate messages, remains the same.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 17th, 2011 at 2:17 pm and is filed under General Interest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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