MODULE 1 - LOOK AT EVERY PICTURE IN THE BOOK

The purpose of this blog is to read, absorb, and reflect on the history of graphic design through the Meggs' History of Graphic Design book (Meggs and Purvis 2016). The purpose of Module 1 is to look at every picture in the book before actually reading the text and reflect. 

Picture Credit: https://draw-down.com/products/meggs-history-of-graphic-design-6th-edition

My first honest impression when receiving this book in the mail was that it was massive and I was intimidated by the thought of reading the entire thing. But it also had a modern and dynamic cover which drew me in. I know, I know - don't judge a book by its cover. Well, upon opening this gargatuan beast, I discovered smooth, glossy pages of beautiful pictures ranging from: 

• prehistoric cave paintings, 
• early alphabet forms, 
• first and elaborate printing of texts, 
• detailed art pages within the pages of the book, 
• colorful posters of the early 1900's, 
• abstract and seemingly controversial decor of the 1920's, 
• propaganda from the 1930's and 1940's, 
• distinct lines and forms of the 1950's, 
• experimentation with mixed media of the 1960's,
• the visitation of previous generations of art mixed with modern day graphic design,
• the seemingly wild mix of art forms and contrasting colors in the 1980's,
• more abstract and realistic designs in the 1990's,
• and finally, the introduction of digital art in our current period of art history.

The take aways from my brief travel through graphic design history by way of Meggs' (2016) is that:

1. Art transitioned from necessity to communication to just being art and back all of the above throughout time. We still need art to communicate. But we can also use art to express ourselves and create art because it fulfills a creative need in ourselves. As a professional biologist, I can't help but think art is engrained in our genetics. We will always need some form of way to express ourselves as humans in a creative way - whether we think we possess those skills or not. 
2. I found it interesting that historic art had made its influence on future art. Obviously every new step of graphic design through history influenced the next generation and that next generation learned something from the old but put their needs or spin on the previous version of whatever that might be - the evolution of graphic design. 
3. But what is even more interesting is how modern day art reflects so much from say, ancient history. The 1920's were filled of reflections from the ancient Egyptian period. That could have been influenced from many of the pharaohs' tombs being excavated during that time and so much was unknown in the early periods of excavation. A fascination with an ancient people appeared in modern 1920's art. Also, for example, many of the distinct and bold text of the ancient Greek and Roman alphabet can be seen in modern day typography.

So, my final thoughts for today is that reviewing the history of a modern subject is more critical now than I originally thought. There is a great deal of historic influence to today than I had originally anticipated, I have gained a healthy appreciation of this giant tablet of a textbook, and I feel learning more about the historic influences of art through time will offer inspiration and exploration into my own artistic endeavors.