- As I was putting this course together,
I repeatedly bumped into the issue of time.
Each of these individual subjects,
from the Bauhaus to Post-Modernism,
could fill an entire two hour course.
We've covered a vast amount of material here.
It's obviously a subject I love,
and hopefully the introduction here
will lead you to a time period
or movement that inspires you.
The history of graphic design is
complex and multilayered.
I have broken the subjects into individual sections,
but in reality they all overlap in time.
Some of the subjects like the Bauhaus
influenced design for decades.
Others occurred simultaneously, like Dada and De Stijl.
Here we touched on the tip of the iceberg.
For every single designer we discussed,
there are ten more just as influential and interesting.
There are threads that become apparent.
Graphic design history is the
concrete history of our culture.
If reflects the attitudes, beliefs
and events of a time and place.
The artifacts designers created are the
physical manifestations of a time.
A poster from the Futurists is about
more than energetic lines and colors.
It reflects a society grappling
with new inventions and ideas.
The Whole Earth Catalog is more than a
cover with a circle and a line of type.
It reflects a culture moving toward radical new ideas.
The best graphic design works at a visceral level,
speaking to the viewer emotionally.
Graphic design history tells us who we were
and not what we thought, but what we felt.
Design history also expands our toolkit.
You probably don't want to liberally
rip off a Japanese poster, but understanding
what they made and why they did it gives
you, as a designer, more to work with.
There are many books on graphic design history,
some listed in the exercise files.
I urge you to do a deeper dive
into an area you find intriguing.
Believe me, there are images and ideas
that change the way you work.
Remember, it's not about studying
hard for a quiz on the civil war,
it's an exploration for inspiration.