PowerPoint Presentation

[Virtual Presenter] Good afternoon everyone! Today I'm here to discuss the roots of graphic design, from the invention of writing up until today. We'll explore the connection between text and image, and how our language evolved over time. I am excited to dive into this journey with all of you and present the findings of two great authors; Meggs and Purvis from pages 1 to 17, and Heller and Balance from pages 13 to 18. Let's get started!.

[Audio] Graphic design is an art form that has existed since the invention of writing; it involves the arrangement of visual forms and text in a way that communicates effectively. In this lecture, we will explore the relation between text and image, and focus on two elements of this relationship - the relative status of images and text, and how they relate to one another in terms of logic and semantics. We will examine how text and images are used together in different genres of multimodal discourse, and the system for image-text relations as proposed by Andrew Salway. Additionally, we will look at the logic dimension, which refers to the proper and more consequential arrangement of elements in a composition, and the semantic dimension which is the study of meaning and the relation between signifiers and what they stand for..

[Audio] The study of the evolution of language is a difficult task due to the lack of fossils and the limited information provided by fossil skulls. There are various theories on the origin of language, such as that language began as sign language and that it evolved in stages through a succession of hominid lines. One suggestion is that the initial "proto-language" would have been akin to animal communication, enabling intraspecific communication but insufficient for expressing concepts or combining symbols. Despite the plethora of theories, the only definitive evidence we have is the shape of the vocal tract. Ultimately, there remains no definitive answer on the origin of language, yet it is certain that it has a complex and compelling history..

[Audio] Evidence of complex behaviors and external symbolization in early humans has been discovered in Blombos Cave and Pinnacle Point in Southern Africa. These artifacts show that humans sourced, combined, and stored materials to enhance their technology and social practices, indicating a level of sophistication not previously known. Even more remarkable are the remains suggesting the external symbolization of religion had already arisen 100000 years ago, before humans had even left Africa..

At Lascaux, a magnificently painted cave in France dating to c. 15,000 to 10,000 BCI images of animals are superimposed on top of earlier depictions, which suggests that the motivation for the paintings may have been in the act of portraying the animals in isolation, rather than in the artistic effect of the final composition. However, their purpose remains obscure. Most of the paintings are located at a distance from the cave's entrance, and many of the chambers are not easily accessible. This placement, together with the enormous size and compelling grandeur of the paintings, suggests that the remote chambers may have served as sacred or ceremonial meeting places. In addition to the paintedimages, Lascaux is rich with engravings of animals as well as abstract designs. In the absence of natural light, these works could only have been created with the aid of torches and stone lamps filled with animal fat. The pigments used to paint Lascaux and other caves were derived from readily available minerals and include red, yellow, black, brown, and violet. No brushes have been found, so in all probability the broad black outlines were applied using mats of moss or hair, or even with chunks of raw color applied by hand. The surfaces appear to have been covered by paint blown directly from the mouth or through a tube; color-stained, hollowed-out bones have been found in the caves. Laura Anne Tedesco Sdwlar.

[Audio] At 15000 to 10000 BC, a crucial turning point in the history of graphic design can be seen. In France, an astonishing revelation was made by the Lascaux Cave paintings - even preceding the invention of written communication, the pictorial representations had understanding of visual structure, with the right placement and variation in scale of the figures. This incredible insight has rewritten our knowledge of this age..

[Audio] Although the origin of communication is unknown, the history of language and image making is closely linked. As far back as the Paleolithic era, humans have used signs and symbols to convey messages. Examination of the earliest known examples of graphic design suggests a distinct connection between these two methods of communication. Gordon Meggs and Alston Purvis's book provides an in-depth look at the development of graphic design from ancient times to modern day, exploring how the invention of writing has shaped its evolution. Stephen Heller and Veronique Vienne have each written extensively on the design movements of the twentieth century and the arrival of the digital age, which have created substantial changes in the way we design today. It is evident that language and image making have grown and adapted together over the ages, emerging as the powerful communication tools they are today..

[Audio] An awe-inspiring detail from the Hall of the Bulls in Lascaux, France, serves as a remarkable reminder of pre-historical visual communication. When the cave paintings were discovered in the late nineteenth century, many experts were unconvinced of their authenticity and assumed they were a hoax. However, subsequent investigations have proven that they are in fact an impressive testament to visual expression preceding the development of writing..

[Audio] Coming further back in graphic design history leads us to the invention of writing and symbols which improved communication of ideas by giving the possibility to express and transmit them in a new manner. Prehistorical drawings often feature high accuracy, such as two diamond forms with interior marks on the upper right side of the image, depicting an early symbol making system. This example gives us a hint to the age before words that early man experienced while struggling to find a way to show their thoughts and ideas to others..

[Audio] In the early stages of human development, the invention of writing stands out as one of the most significant events in our history. By introducing a means of communication and expression that could be recorded permanently, writing systems let us capture our thoughts, feelings, and ideas in a way that had never been possible before. Examples of these early writing systems are petroglyphs, pictographs, and ideographs. Petroglyphs were often images or symbols placed into stone, usually as part of a religious ritual. Pictographs showed objects, while ideographs represented more concepts. The combination of these symbols allowed us to communicate with more complexity than ever..

[Audio] Early humans discovered a way to communicate with each other through the petroglyphs they carved into rocks. These symbols, although different in various regions in the world, have a certain level of similarity between them. Thanks to these petroglyphs, pictorial art and writing came into being. Humans began to depict the objects of our world with more precision and developed the symbols into more forms, which later became letters. This new method of communication revolutionized human history..

[Audio] Communication has been integral to the development of human civilization since its inception. Writing allowed people to communicate in innovative ways, combining text and graphics for greater effect. The Sumerians, around 3000 B C E , were the first to develop a true written language, while the Egyptians introduced hieroglyphs, a pictorial language. This gave scribes exceptional status and enabled civilizations to pass down knowledge across generations. The Egyptians also developed the papyrus plant, which further advanced writing surfaces. As the world progressed and technology developed, the ability to communicate through writing and graphics has evolved, leading us to the present day..

Mesopotamia, were writing appear first, means the lend between the rivers.

[Audio] Humankind has relied on oral stories for thousands of years to communicate and preserve their history, until the invention of writing. The advent of writing has had a major role in reshaping the world, with the emergence of the Sumerians in Mesopotamia four millennia ago being one of the earliest examples. WesPenre.Com is a website dedicated to spreading awareness about the history of graphic design and how writing has shaped the world. It offers a detailed timeline and a world map that illustrate its effects on a global scale..

[Audio] Evidence suggests that writing was independently invented at least four times in human history: cuneiform was used in Mesopotamia between 3400 and 3300 B C ; Egypt's writing system appeared around 3200 B C ; China's late Shang dynasty had a fully operational writing system by 1300 B C ; and writing appears in Mesoamerica between 900 and 600 B C It is possible that there are other places where writing was invented, but it remains undeciphered. Each writing system has its own unique qualities, without evidence of any links between them. This is an important part of the history of graphic design which is essential to understanding the evolution of design through the ages..

[Audio] Pictographs are a form of writing which uses symbols to represent ideas, feelings and stories. Examples of the earliest forms of writing can be seen in pictographs from 9000 BC, used by ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egyptian civilizations to share ideas and communicate. Before language even existed, pictographs allowed the world to communicate with each other..

Early Sumerian pictographic clay tablet c. 3100 B. C..

[Audio] Graphic design has its roots in the invention of writing, as evidenced by an example from nearly 3000 BC of one of the earliest forms of printing. This form, believed to have originated in East Asia, involved carved blocks to create intricate patterns and symbols. This fascinating evidence of printing serves as a testament to the power of human creativity..

[Audio] Graphic design has been evolving since the early days of 3000 BC when Sumerian culture used metaphors and symbols to communicate stories and ideas. One such example is a scene depicting a god enthroned, surrounded by cult objects, and five deities approaching him, one with two faces. To the right of the enthroned god is a god slaying a fallen enemy, while two others burn the two-faced god. Upon inspection, two buried bodies can be observed, one positioned under the god's throne and another beneath the pyre, symbolizing a link to the Underworld. This scene serves as an inspiring reminder of the immense power of visual communication and how it has endured throughout time..

[Audio] Writing has been a crucial accomplishment for human society, with its invention holding great significance to human history, connecting humans and their culture, technology and design. The origins of writing can be traced back to Mesopotamia, adopted later by the Babylonians and the Persians after the fall of Babylon in 538 BC. The Persian culture not only adopted writing systems, but it was also influential in their artistic skills and their refined sense of design. Similarly, the invention of graphic design can be traced back to even earlier in human history..

[Audio] Cuneiform is a writing system that was first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia around 3500-3000 BCE. It was used by all the great civilizations of Mesopotamia until it was replaced by an alphabetic script after 100 BCE. Cuneiform is so named because the impressions created with a stylus resemble small wedges in clay..

Sumerian symbol for Star, early Sumerian pictographic c. 3.100 BC.

[Audio] Cuneiform is an ancient writing system developed by the Sumerians over 4000 years ago. It was one of the earliest writing systems to represent complex ideas by using ideography and syllabic writing to capture the sounds of words. The introduction of a triangular point stylus allowed for imprinting of cuneiform characters directly onto clay surfaces, resulting in faster production of texts and more efficient ways of preserving language. Cuneiform has provided much insight into the Sumerian civilization and is studied as a remarkable example of early writing..

[Audio] This clay cuneiform tablet is an impressive illustration of ancient communication. Measuring five and a quarter inches long and two and three quarters inches wide, it dates back to the 14th century BC, having been discovered in the Middle East at Tell El-Amarna in Upper Egypt as part of the Amarna Letters. Specifically, it is a diplomatic letter from Burra-Buriyash of Babylon to Pharaoh Naphurareya (more commonly known as Akhenaten), who established a new capital in Tell El-Amarna. It stands as a remarkable testament to how writing has developed over time and been utilized to bridge communication between disparate cultures..

[Audio] Over 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia, the power of writing was discovered and it enabled societies to organize themselves under the rule of law. One of the earliest examples of this is the Code of Hammurabi, written between 1792-1750 BC. This 3500-year-old stela bears an inscription of the code as well as a powerful visual representation of the divide between the king and the people. The image depicts the King standing on a mountaintop with the sun god Shamash ordering him to write down the laws in order to encourage the people to obey. This message of authority has been passed down through time and is still applicable today as it is echoed by various biblical events..

[Audio] Exploring how the invention of writing revolutionized the way we store and transmit information, we will discuss how the development of libraries and the ability to store and pass down information, from religion to science, with a higher degree of accuracy than before, dramatically impacted civilization. Taking a closer look at the monumental journey of literature and science, and how writing provided the medium for it to be passed down through generations, will be our focus..

[Audio] The development of early civilizations in the Middle East marked the introduction of writing and the establishment of a system for measuring and keeping record of things. This greatly contributed to the formation and standardization of weights and measurements, and such information was preserved through written records. A great example of this is the cuneiform inscription, which guaranteed a weight of fine minas that can be estimated to be at around 18 ounces. With this, civilizations were able to track their payments and obligations, thus setting up the foundation of the present-day economies..

[Audio] Our lecture focuses on the prehistory of graphic design and the invention of writing. We will look at the influence of writing on authority and ownership, the early forms of signature, the emergence of trademarks, authentication and forgery, the use of narrative designs for visual storytelling, and the expression of divine authority. We will discuss important points proposed by Meggs and Purvis as well as Heller and Balance. We will also explore how these tools have molded our current understanding of graphic design, and how they are being used in the present..

[Audio] People have long sought ways to express their ideas and feelings, and one of the most groundbreaking accomplishments was the combination of text and images. This started with early shale artifacts featuring both etched writing and carved relief figures, and has been expanded upon by Meggs and Purvis in pages 1 to 17, and Heller and Balance in pages 13 to 18 of this presentation..

[Audio] Ancient Egyptians were responsible for developing the use of pictorial writing, known as hieroglyphs, which required a certain skill to create. Hieroglyphs consisted of images of things, sounds of words, and meanings of other glyphs, which could only be used by Pharaohs, Nobility, and Priests. With time, simpler forms of writing such as hieratic and demotic scripts were developed and hieroglyphs were replaced. This Egyptian invention had a huge impact on the development of writing and still affects our communication today..

[Audio] Ancient Egypt saw a major achievement when writing was invented, allowing humans to organize their stories, histories, laws, and even mathematics. This development established a society with a hierarchy and by the second millennium BCE, demotic script was used to record a multitude of information. This milestone enabled the establishment of a class of scribes who were highly knowledgeable and part of the royal court. This group was knowledgeable in the arts of writing and arithmetic, and painters and artisans were tasked with the responsibility of adorning reliefs with scenes, characters, and hieroglyphic texts. This moment signaled the first step in the fight for writing to become a tool for societal control and democratization..

[Audio] As early as 3000 BCE, writing records were created using tools. The scribe's set is one of the oldest examples, represented in hieroglyphs from Egypt's Old Kingdom. It consisted of a sack for storing dried ink and a reed brush holder, illustrating the continual development of writing. This is apparent in the design of this hieroglyph, which changes over time..

Ivory Tablet of King Zet, First Dynasty. The Egyptians adopted the Sumerian complex writing system based on pictures, called Hieroglyphs (Greek for sacred carving). This five- thousand -year-old tablet is perhaps the earliest known existing example of Egyptian pictograph writing that evolved into the Egyptian Hieroglyphs..

[Audio] The Rosetta Stone is highly significant in understanding Ancient Egyptian scripts. It is a famous example of Demotic script, which is inscribed with texts in three languages: Hieroglyphic, Greek, and Demotic. It was a decree written on behalf of King Ptolemy V in 196 BC, and its primary value is that it provides the same text in all three scripts. This allowed for the modern understanding of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, making the Rosetta Stone a symbol of cultural understanding and a reminder of the importance of language and writing..

[Audio] The Rosetta Stone is an iconic artifact that gives an insight into the progress of language, communication and writing through several millennia of history. Discovered by French archeologists in 1799, it was a major breakthrough in that it had texts in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, and three scripts: Egyptian hieroglyph, Egyptian Demotic and Greek. The Greek text on the stone provided the initial clue for scholars to decode the ancient Egyptian language, thus leading to the creation of one of the oldest alphabetical writing systems ever..

[Audio] The development of the written word had a significant impact on civilizations throughout history. Demotic, or popular script, was the name given to a northern variant of the Hieratic script that developed in around 660 BC. This script was primarily written in ink with a reed brush on papyrus, allowing scribes to write quickly without resorting to time-consuming hieroglyphs. The Egyptians themselves called the Demotic script "writing for documents." It was used for writing business, legal, scientific, literary, and religious documents, almost exclusively from right to left in horizontal lines. During the 26th Dynasty, the Demotic script became the preferred script at court. During the Ptolemaic period, it was regularly carved in stone, in addition to its use in papyrus. Its invention allowed our ancestors to communicate and document ideas in a new way, opening the door to unprecedented levels of cultural and intellectual advancement..

[Audio] Today I'd like to discuss papyrus, an ancient material used for writing as early as the third century C E Papyrus was made from the pith of the Cyperus papyrus stem, a wetland sedge that grew along the bottom of the Nile. Strips of the stem were laid out horizontally and vertically before being glued together side by side and then rolled up. This resulted in a sheet of papyrus paper between 6–9 inches wide and 12–15 inches long. It was then rolled with the writing on the inside, and used in either scrolls or codex form. Papyrus was an important writing material in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and helped to spread knowledge and information before more modern writing technologies..

[Audio] The Rosetta Stone is an iconic example of the power of writing. It was uncovered by French archeologist and linguist, Champollion, who succeeded in deciphering its hieroglyphs. This was groundbreaking for its time and allowed us to look back at the places besides Egypt with which the pharaohs had contact. With this knowledge, we are now able to appreciate the alphabet characters and their approximate phonetic sounds inscribed on the cartouches of Ptolemy and Cleopatra..

In linguistics, the rebus principle is the use of existing symbols, such as pictograms, purely for their sounds regardless of their meaning, to represent new words. Many ancient writing systems used the rebus principle to represent abstract words, which otherwise would be hard to be represented by pictograms..

[Audio] Rebus is an ancient method of communication that combines pictograms and phonetic letters to convey a message. Visual elements, such as pictures, symbols, and text, can be used to make the message understandable to both those who can read as well as those who cannot. The Rebus principle has had a significant impact on the evolution of writing systems, as it has enabled the invention of symbols and images for communication..

Paul Rand “Eye Bee M” poster 1981.

[Audio] Invention of writing was a monumental breakthrough for mankind. It changed the way knowledge and information was disseminated and retained between generations and cultures. Found inscribed in the lower registers of these ancient stones, hieroglyphs are evidences of the emergence of graphic design as a type of communication. These hieroglyphs are organised in a mathematical grid of deeply-etched lines, showcasing the extent of sophistication and accuracy, suggesting graphic design has been employed for communication since the origin of civilization..

Sarcophagus of Aspalta King of Ethiopia, C. 593-569 BC.

[Audio] Egyptian hieroglyphs are among the oldest and most renowned writing forms around. They are composed of a combination of illustrations and symbols employed to convey meanings. Over time, these pictograms underwent simplification, yet their original pictures and symbols are still recognizable. This serves as a prime example of how ion and simplification can be utilized to formulate efficient communication..

[Audio] In ancient Egypt, cylinder seals and proprietary marks were employed to recognize pottery and other articles. These kinds of identification were passed down from the Sumerians. These symbols enabled for reliable identification, and became an essential part of their culture, as well as being a crucial part in the progress of symbols and writing. Moreover, they extended writing as a way of storing and disseminating stories and concepts, influencing the way of civilization as we recognize it today..

[Audio] The ancient Book of the Dead is a remarkable work of text and graphic design, found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Preceding it was the Pyramid and Coffin texts, which were painted onto objects rather than written on papyrus as the later Books of Dead were. This impressive work of design, with the additional element of writing, enabled ancient Egyptians to transmit their beliefs and ideas to generations to come..

[Audio] Mankind's advancement in communication and design is remarkable. The Book of the Dead from Ancient Egypt is an influential example of early communication through design. Contrary to popular belief, this was not a single book, but instead a combination of religious and magical texts, written in hieroglyphic or hieratic script. These texts and designs were made around 1420 BCE and greatly influence modern graphic design..

[Audio] Graphic design and writing have been creative tools employed by humanity since time immemorial. The Maya writing system is one of the most fascinating examples, allowing them to communicate concepts with 800 individual signs or glyphs. Glyphs were carved into stone and wood, painted onto paper, plaster walls, and pottery, and used to express royal names and titles, numbers and time periods. This lecture examines the incredible prehistory of graphic design and writing by the Maya. We are privileged to be able to learn more about their culture by studying their writing system. Thank you for listening..