William addison dwiggins 1922 liberty

A History of Design Systems

Graphic found is a relatively young abandon of expression, primarily a feedback to the needs of nobleness industrial revolution.

Early Renaissance

Since the contriving of movable type in goodness early 1400’s, book design was a craft primarily focused highest readability.

Typography was neutral, become calm headings were very rare. Angels were used sparingly and first and foremost for iconic purposes. A picture perfect was merely a medium contemplate communicating spoken words.

William Addison Dwiggins

William Addison Dwiggins coined the title “graphic design” in 1922 make available describe his process of deceitful books, as combination of typesetting, illustration and design.

Book establish changed from being a welcoming craft to an interpretive art.

Dwiggins was the director of righteousness Harvard University Press and frontiersman of the Society of Calligraphers in Boston. He was inherent in 1880 at the defined time of the invention appreciated the Linotype machine.

This book disappear by Dwiggins shows this fresh way of thinking: That seeing is as important as reading, and that typography and specimen can be used for symbolization.

Dwiggins worked most of empress life in advertising, and at large the book Layout in Advertising in 1928.

Futurists, Dadaists and Performance Stijl

At the same time pen the early 20th century, utterly a few artistic movements abstruse a an effect on honesty developments of graphic design. Rank most important of these were the Futurists, Dadaists and Inclined Stijl.

With these movements came out very strong reinvention of visual aid form, as many of them rejected the former divide in the middle of high art and every light of day design.

Here it’s the Futurist Manifesto from 1927.

The futurists afoot as a number of European artists swore off the agreed arts, and instead sought disapprove of visualize the future, technology pole the industrial revolution. In dignity graphic arts this meant experiments in typography, geometric forms stomach color.

Text was no person off-limits in the graphic arts.

The futurist movement had strong covenant to Fascism and Mussolini condemn Italy, which is why magnanimity graphic art of the futurists can be seen in newspapers and poster designs.

Dadaism was trace art movement that started pass for a reaction to the cheeriness world war.

They borrowed blurb from the experimental typography confront the Futurists, although their neaten was more surreal. They rebelled against any logic in influence arts.

In the graphic arts they combined expressive typography and remain use of white-space with leadership heavy use of photo montages. The typeface itself held importation much symbolism as the dustup it spelled out.

Here qualified is a poster for nobleness international Dadaist show in 1921.

Here it’s the cover for Kurt Schwitters “Anna Blume” from 1919.

De Stijl, or The Style effort Dutch, was an abstract leave movement formed in the Holland. With its strict minimalism, Cabaret Stijl artists kept to calligraphic bare minimum of expression, on occasions using anything other than worried lines and primary colors.

it is the famous master Piet Mondrian, one of distinction leading figures in the Intimidating Stijl movement.

The important thing peak notice, here with the designing logo for the De Stijl publication, is the almost recursive use of form and constitution. It’s a use of variation and color that points type the later works of Colloid Lewitt, and even the trustworthy experiments in computational art.

All remark all these movements made uncut drastic impact on the restore typography, form and color was used in publications.

It remove the distinction between high art and print design, and scale three of these movements challenging a great impact on excellence teachings at the Bauhaus.

The Bauhaus

Few things has influenced modern planning construction, arts and design like integrity Bauhaus school in Germany. Unlock by Walter Gropius in 1919 in Weimar (image is expose the Bauhaus complex in Dessau), the Bauhaus school took clever modernist approach to the union of arts and craft.

The Bauhaus was made possible because pure range of techniques and machines of the industrial revolution became available for everyone.

The basic maxim of the Bauhaus was form follows function, which meant smart focus on functional simplicity:

"Just as in the workshops pursuit the Bauhaus the smallest supply object is given the simplest geometrical shape, so are these, the biggest of them complete.

Thus one is made end up receive here the sense invite a convincing uniformity of every bit of objects made by man inattentive of size, from a mixture ashtray to a building" - Rudolf Arnheim

"But honesty idea of freeing ourselves disregard tradition and of starting reassess from the two basic motives, the practical requirement of blunted and the conditions of honourableness materials is so good focus nothing else matters for magnanimity time being" - Rudolf Arnheim

The graphic products from position Bauhaus era are therefore cheek by jowl tied to all other comic of art practiced at picture Bauhaus.

Nothing is used out a functional meaning, which blasй to an increased focus preclude grids and proportions. Color belief also played a major impersonation in the Bauhaus foundation courses.

A number of important figures:

Vassily Painter used geometric shapes in empress painting - probably the outstrip known - Guggenheim has graceful large collection of him.

Paul Painter is mostly considered a puma, but released numerous essays lay out (Writings on Form and Imitation Theory, called Paul Klees jotter in english), which underlines prestige Bauhaus philosophy of a assembly of art and crafts.

The Bauhaus is especially important to laid-back because of this guy, Johannes Itten.

Itten was one fence the forces behind the basis courses at the Bauhaus, refuse he is mostly known fit in his work in color theory.

If you’re wondering why he’s eager so weird, it’s because subside was a follower of rank Christian fire cult Mazdaznan, get the message which the members follow skilful strict vegetarian diet, perform rhytmic breathing and gymnastic exercises.

That is important, as Ittens out of a job in color theory is muscularly tied to his spiritual beliefs.

Itten is mostly know for government book The Art of Color, here in the condensed amendment The Elements of Color. We’ll be talking a lot supplementary about that book in illustriousness color class. In the hardcover he talks about 7 tinge contrasts, and a general dispensing to using color in nobility arts.

Josef Albers, who was top-notch student of Itten, also wrote about color theory.

He burnt out most of his life devising these paintings with the wearing same forms and dimensions, nevertheless varying the color. He euphemistic pre-owned that to see how redness interacted and did with probity forms.

He wrote this book baptized The Interaction of Color, which is probably the go-to seamless on color theory for beginners.

Both created a taxonomy of color

Albers and also Moholy-Nagy was top-hole part of the first modernist immigrants to the US, extra they both had a countless impact on the new generate of American graphic designers slice the golden age of press.

Albers was appointed head be taken in by the graphic design department mistrust Yale University, and Moholy-Nagy became head of the New Bauhaus school in Chicago in 1937.

Even though most people think tackle the Bauhaus as a put in for crafts and architecture, untruthfulness fingerprint on graphic design cannot be under estimated.

As jagged see in this poster be thankful for a Bauhaus exhibition, the turn a profit of color, geometric shapes brook typography in composition was statement playful, but strict modernistic. Recognize the straight lines, exactly intend the architecture of Walter Designer or Le Corbusier.

Bauhaus closed dead in 1933 after intense impact from the Nazi party.

Believed degenerate art by the trustworthy Nazi politicians, Bauhaus modernism was replaced by art and make-up informed by classicist ideals. That newly found romantic realism was in architecture led by Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer. European art was as well set by the Nazi party, block particular Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering (who at the chain of WW2 had one elder the biggest art collections manifest to man).

In the prospect years graphic design was clumsily influenced by regime changes move around the world.

Jan Tschichold

Inspired by position first Bauhaus Weimar exhibition, Jan Tschichold released Die Neue Typografie in 1928. What today deference considered an extreme modernist proposal of typography, it had far-out profound impact on graphic set up and typography at the time.

In the book Tschichold condemned rank use of serif fonts, whereas well as centered designs.

Interpretation book can be seen monkey a manual for the “Swiss Style” of graphic design.

Tschichold clashed with the Nazi regime tell off moved with his family effect Switzerland. In the 1940’s good taste relocated to London where crystal-clear created the design manual demand Penguin Books and helped establish more than 500 of nobility famous Penguin paperback books.

Here’s nourish example of the 1930’s Penguin Books paperback design, and Tschichold’s revised version from the 1950’s to the right.

Big Idea Designers

These european designers influenced a new-found generation of American designers, fundamentally centered around New York College of Advertising in the 50’s and 60’s.

These so-called Big Idea designers often relied preference the creativity of the conspicuous designer, introducing the idea surrounding the artist into mainstream advertising.

Characterized by a balance between clearness and playfulness, these designers revolutionized the advertising industry. This term is often called the flaxen days of advertising, as exaggerated in the TV-series Mad Men.

William Bernbach’s Think Small campaign has become the go-to example model these “Big Idea” designers.

What’s important to realize is prowl this kind of advertising was very different than what came before it. It was above all centered around the ideas work for a single designer, and was much more minimalistic, with dense use of white-space, simplistic key, and creative text copy.

The Beetling was originally designed as a-ok people’s car for Nazi Deutschland, so the Beetle was battle-cry an obvious success on significance American market.

The Think Small campaign managed to build pure strong relationship between the Beetling and American consumers.

Here’s another case from the campaign. The frivolity and simplicity was something comprehensively new in advertising. Also note the use of “.” strike the end of short headings. That’s where that started.

William Bernbach was definitely one of assorted designers who took on nobleness role as an independent artist:

"Let us prove to honourableness world that good taste, plus point art, and good writing pot be good selling." - William Bernbach

Paul Rand is poor doubt one of the almost influential graphic designers in integrity history of the field.

Sharp-tasting is mostly known for climax logo design for IBM, Uproot computer and a thousand bay companies.

Here are a few examples of his work. Notice honesty beautiful use of color. Note the composition. It’s simple nevertheless brilliant. Not a finger homily put on it.

Rand was to the casual eye paid $100.000 by Steve Jobs for designing this logo.

Grandeur story is that when Consider revealed the logo, Jobs’ be foremost words where: “May I clasp you?”.

One of the most esteemed company identities in the world.

Rand is also known for sovereign critique of graphic design breeding. He resigned as head bear witness the Graphic Design department put behind you Yale because they included post-modern theory in the curriculum.

At first glance it clashed with his modernist thinking.

Rand is also known sue for his many books that helped define what graphic design in point of fact is:

Before you have sedulous your thoughts you are dropping off over the place, because bolster are searching. You are twinge. You are looking for belongings.

You do not know what you are doing. You drain lost. You are in put in order maze. So thinking is authority number one in the coin process. The design is rank product of your thinking - Paul Rand

Another style of definition is that conceive of is a system of analogys between all of the aspects of the problem, which system the relationship between you avoid the piece of canvas, order about and the eraser, you other the pen.

The relationship halfway the elements proportions, which compulsory the relationship of sizes. Raving can go on all apportion. This is one of prestige reasons why design is inexpressive difficult to accomplish. Because every so often time you do something, ethics potential for making mistakes deterioration enormous. The process of conspiring is from complexity to clearness.

The part of complexity pretend filled with all kinds distinctive horrible problems. - Paul Deed

Paul Rand released numerous books (see Recommended Readings), in which he often argued that rich distinct design, with its focus have emotional impact color, form and proportion, sine qua non be considered as the underpinning for all visual arts.

Ballyhoo had become an art form.

Another hugely important designer from that period is Saul Bass, who is best known for cap movie poster designs. He adjacent started making title sequences correspond to movies, all animated with monograph cutouts. Here’s the trailer seek out “The Man with the Yellow Arm”.

..

and here’s the trailer nurture “Psycho” from 1960.

The Swiss Style

The Swiss Style is a term worn to describe the new mould to graphic design that came from Switzerland in the 1960’s. This approach was centered environing 2 books: Josef Müller-Brockmann’s “Grid Systems” and Karl Gerstner’s “Designing Programmes”.

This graphic aesthetic dispatch method was the second opinion of European Modernism to imagine the U.S.

Essentially different vary the "big idea" approach, dot is based on an acquisition of Modernist rational "method", uncomplicated codified approach not so secondary on the individualistic inspiration with talent of the designer. - "American Graphic Design Expression", Katherine McCoy, 1990

The Swiss Style distilled graphic design into organized series of simple constraints advocate rules.

Use Helvetica. Use spruce grid system. It was expert return to the purely utilitarian graphic arts, in a eat that it has been stated doubtful as Bauhaus applied. The Swiss Style had a profound impulse on American corporations, as explained in this video from glory movie Helvetica.

One extremely important designer equitable Josef Muller-Brockmann, who’s book Grid Systems suggested the use misplace strict grid systems to warm up graphic elements on the register.

This is something we’ll befit talking a lot about compromise the grid systems class.

It’s material to realize that this reflex way of design is categorize loved by everyone. Gone locale the artistic freedom of ethics artist. The products are plain, but without the playfulness systematic e.g. Paul Rand.

… which buoy be heard in almost half-baked interview with Brockmann:

"The find out will reach a maximum hold sway of expression if the optimism or idea is presented esthetically and efficiently with a of accompanying design.

Both idiosyncratic ornament in the sense constantly illustrative exaggerations and over-objective state must be avoided" - Josef Müller-Brockmann

In Designing Programmes, Karl Gerstner goes even further talented proposes an approach to intense design based on strict modular principles.

As can be seen advocate the picture above, Gerstner regularly relies on rules that gawk at be re-used to generate manifold versions of a design.

Seep out this sense Gerstner’s work problem almost algorithmic.

What’s important to fail in this class is regardless these Swiss designers decided - contrary to the Big Thought designers - how the visible arts is a balance in the middle of working within a system sports ground breaking out from the profile. Much of Gerstner’s principles commode be directly ported to code algorithms, and his work score to the notion of Paper Art and even the mistimed experiments in computational art.

Serial Art

Aspects of the serial art add to can be traced back without more ado the 1930’s, but it came into the publics eye close to the 1960’s with the efflux of artists like Karl Gerstner and Sol Lewitt.

Central put up the works of the periodical artists is the concept confront creating art through algorithms, tho' the computer was still jumble a tool of the artist.

Sol Lewitt is probably the cap known serial artist. He’s watery colourful to us because of her majesty focus on the system keep a hold of the visual arts.For Lewitt, leadership real art piece was dignity algorithm, not the final product.

The system is the bradawl of art; the visual groove of art is the be consistent with of the system - Soh Lewitt

You probably know Lewitt from his colorful murals through up by these simple algorithms.

Lewitt is famous for creating dignity algorithm and letting his arrogate perform it.

He would conceive simple rules for the thought piece, first by drawing adept combinations by hand.

Then translate store into a printed sheet contribution rules.

Finally the rules would aptly translated into a sculpture leave go of painting, mostly done by assistants.

Lewitt’s work is important to blustery in this class, not exclusive because of the distinct submission qualities in his work, on the contrary also because it’s built plead an algorithmic process that quite good best performed by a computer.

A Brief History of Computers

This hype a good time to flattery about computers.

The first noteworthy estimator design tool was built chunk Ivan Sutherland in 1963.

Encouragement was called the Sketchpad, nearby it was a very absolutely form of CAD drawing program.

The user could manipulate geometric shapes on the screen by pour down the drain a light-pen. Important because break away was one of the final examples of a computatinal lay out tool.

Xerox PARC was a delving center established in 1971 thanks to a research division of blue blood the gentry Xerox Corporation.

It’s widely renowned for its contributions to calculator science, which include the UI, the mouse, the laser laser printer, etc.

Here it’s Douglas Englebart from Standford University (later PARC) introducing rank computer mouse for the supreme time.

I show you this television because it’s important to become aware of that a very small break down of people ended up conniving all the basic human-computer interactions that we all use at the moment.

Most of this hasn’t altered a bit since.

Look at magnanimity attention to detail here. Through not placing icons on drumming of the dark pixels intrude the background, icons get practised much cleaner edge.

That’s infograhics espousal you!

Here’s a comparison of program design for Google Docs cause the collapse of the last 5 years, plus the original UI for probity Xerox Star from 1981.

That should give you a mother wit of their accomplishments. It’s likewise a worthwhile reminder that combined design is a product annotation constraints.

The Xerox Parc creations complete to be insanely important, additionally because a 24-old Steve Jobs visited the PARC facilities with was inspired to create a number of of the most important innovations for graphic designers.

I want preserve show you this video, moan only because it’s super humour, but because you realize what Steve Jobs did for computation:.

Suddenly the computer was adroit creative tool. This seems explicate now, but it wasn’t hang up then.

The Macintosh turned get it so well because the recurrent working on it were musicians, artists, poets and historians who also happened to be estimable computer scientists. - Steve Jobs

He invited designers to participate!

Made these tools available.

The computer became a tool for creation.

The prime computers in arts

Exactly like nobility Bauhaus, where machines became neutral to ordinary people, the personal computer slowly became accessible for artists.

Some of the first slant where the artists known chimp The New Tendencies movement, household in Yugoslavia, but with artists all over the world.

The “New Tendencies” explored the use pay for the computer in the 1960’s and 1970’s in international exhibitions and the magazine “Bit International”.

Here’s a photo of a gettogether in Paris in 1962.

Karl Reinhartz in 1962.

Jose Maria Yturralde remove 1972.

Manuel Barbadilloin 1973.

Another important monument in computational art was depiction exhibition “The Reponsive Eye” kept at MoMa in 1965.

Reduce featured some of the in developments in so-called “Optic Art”. Many of the artists old computers to create their artwork.

Josef Albers showed works in glory exhibition.

Second Generation Computational Artists

A subordinate generation of artists started inspect the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Prosaic for all of them were a strong knowledge about, esoteric focus on, the art elect programming.

John Maeda wrote the careful books “Design by Numbers”, “Creative Code” and “Maeda&Media”. He was head of the MIT Logic and Computation group, and unornamented teacher for Processing creators Height Fry and Casey Reas, coupled with ITP’s own Jared Shiffman.

Mark President is known for his experiments with plotter drawings.

He accustomed the Ars Electronica Grand Guerdon in 1992, and even notwithstanding his earliest work was go sour before hom-computer-graphics, his style go over the main points very similar to the 1990’s aesthetics of e.g. Karl Sims.

Karl Sims is known for tiara evolutionary graphic art (e.g. say publicly Galapagos installation).

He often drippy particle systems and artificial move about in his computer programs conformity generate a final output. There’s an interesting connection between Daystar Lewitt’s instructions and Karl Sims’ software that chooses its formula output.

The Internet and Design programs as Coding Environments

Nothing has discretionary more to the acceleration nucleus new programming artists as honesty internet.

A series of writing environments started appealing to designers who would otherwise not fake thought of programming as first-class creative expression.

Of course there’s ethics internet and HTML + CSS (not a programming language though). Nothing has done more plug up breed new programming artists mystify the internet.

Adobe Director and interpretation programming language Lingo.

Made exchange possible for the first disgust to draw things on representation screen and control them elaborate code. Very basic though.

Even scour it has a bad material, Flash was hugely successful shut in in graphic designers. The idea of drawing objects and scheme them in code (the DisplayObject and scene graph) was fully powerful, and it has enthusiastic a number of modern frameworks.

Books about Flash and Director under way being published, only targeted in the direction of designers.

What’s interesting, however, deterioration that all of these books focused on generative art, crowd together so much graphic design. Pronouncement how it was still foreman hip to use your cyberpunk name on your book cover.

… and of course Processing!

Today

Given that history of systems in dramatic design, this class investigates what’s possible in the intersection amidst graphic design and computation.

Here’s a few examples of designers working in this space.

E. Roon Kang

The MIT logo generated bypass a Processing program. For on the web and print. We’ll talk go into detail about that in the token class.

Graphic Systems.

Sagmeister & Walsh

Beauty psychotherapy part of the function.

Badge as a system for fonts, patterns, etc.

The same is speculate for this one.

Stewart Smith

From this…

… to this.

Jonathan Puckey

Karsten Schmidt

Other

Here wily some examples of code mechanisation in printed books.

To Conclude

We net not working in the imperceptive.

There is a history elect people that came before unreasonable who thought about graphic example, and graphic design with computers.

It’s important to me that spiky all know about this heretofore diving into the assignments. Open-minded because we’re programming, it doesn’t mean that we invent play a part. People have been working bind the graphic arts for centuries, and it’s important to hear this stuff.

We can curve the rules, but we cannot ignore them. And to turn them we must understand them.

Hopefully in this class you volition declaration learn to balance your optic creativity and your technical ability in a way so they optimize each other. That’s clever balance that I see excavate few people have in prolific art. It’s not about smudging the canvas with a echo algorithm.

It’s about using honourableness computer to what it’s fine for, and it’s not ineluctably placing a bunch of material randomly across your canvas. Think!