1. A (brief) History of Graphic Design
Design is subject to fashion and changing moods of the political and economic climate. There is a tend towards casual elegance and conservative design during poor economic times, and hard modern designs during economic booms.
Trends tend to move back and forth in a pendulum arc from one extreme to the other over the course of years. This has, however, accelerated recently.

2. Arts & Crafts Movement: late 1800s
Tied to the post-industrial age as a backlash against industrialization
Artists’ community was interested in skills being lost and forgotten: handmade objects with intricate detailing
William Morris was a leader of the A&C Movement – outspoken about decline in quality of goods due to mass production
Qualities of the era: ornamentation, gilding, frills, elegance

6. Art Nouveau:
Exploded on the scene at the 1900s World’s Fair
Goal was to create an international style
Influenced by fluid & organic shapes
Like Arts & Crafts, it was a response to the Industrial Revolution
Proponents believed all art should work together to create a “total work of art” also known as Gesamtkunstwerk
Motifs from Art Nouveau were predominantly based on nature
Filigree!!!

10. Constructivism: 1913 – 1930s
Started in Russia by artists influenced by cubism
The movement wrote a manifesto known as the “Realist Manifesto” outlining their goals
Primary goal was to “construct art”, hence the name constructivism
The group declared enthusiasm for machines, technology, industrialism, and modern materials.
Despite being artists, they wanted to emulate the practical thinking of engineers.
Communist revolution influenced the movement

13. De Stijl: 1917 - 1928 Means “The Style”
Related to Constructivism and primarily located in the Netherlands
Artist Piet Mondrian and Architect Theo van Doesburg were leading figures
All designs (including typography) were ordered by rules of design economy & simplicity
Designers sought to create a universal style in painting, art, architecture, and design using rectangles and squares in geometric shapes with bold primary colors in a grid.

15. Bauhaus:
Similar ideals as De Stijl and Constructivism in unifying all design disciplines
Merger of industrial techniques and artistic design standards.
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
“Simplify, simplify, simplify”
Stressed clarity of message in design work
Bauhaus group had a school in Dessau, Germany

20. Pictorial Modernism: 1917 - 1950
Grew in parallel to Bauhaus, Constructivism, and De Stijl
Ideal illustrations of contemporary society
A huge trend in advertising

23. International Typographic Style: 1950 – 1970s
Emerged from Switzerland and Germany post WWII
Also known as “Swiss design”
While other design movements were somewhat limited in scope, ITS dominated the design world for over 20 years.
Goal was to present visual and verbal information in a clearly articulated and easily understood manner
This goal achieved through rigorously constructed mathematical grids.
Use of sans-serif typefaces, specifically helvetica

27. New York School: 1950s Borrowed from ITS in a post war America
Dawn of corporatism
Start of the era of corporate branding and corporate logos
Largest designers from this era: Paul Rand and Saul Bass

30. Psychedelic Era: 1960 – 1970s
Design moves away from the sterile and rigid 1950s to revisit fluid and organic concepts
Clarity pushed aside in favor of style
“If the communication is cool enough, the reader will come to understand it”
Started with hippies in San Francisco and spread globally

34. The Digital Era: 1980s - Today
Previous design work had been done manually.
The rise of computers allowed the freedom for more interesting, and faster designs
Type could be set in seconds, rather than hours or days. Font creation and manipulation was easy
Anyone can be a designer without needing to master overly complex tools, machinery, and techniques