Chapter 9-The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution is incredibly interesting in that it was a major transfer from rural areas to more condensed urban setting. This period in time lasted from 1760-1800 and turned the design world upside down. This revolution gave birth to machinery and took away the hassle and tedious process of hand made crafts. This movement is known to be a movement that effected and influenced not just the art but society as well. I would go one step further in saying that this was more of a social movement then anything. With the industry booming after the invention of the steam engine, jobs popped up everywhere and people rushed to where the money was this led to overpopulated urban settings with poor work/living conditions. 

As for the design side of this time, we start to see advertising arising along with the industries. This meant posters were at high demands, and everyone was looking for a way to produce more posters, faster and cheaper. The invention of Gutenburgs printing press led to the creation of other printing machines that rapidly produced finished products. First was Lord Stanhope's design of a light weight all iron press, then came Fredrich Koenig and his steam powered press that pumped out 400 sheets per hour, finally came the Line'O'type that produced 4000 sheets per hour and resembled a typewriter. Along side the mass production of woodblock prints, was the invention of something completely new to the world of design. Photography began during this revolution in 1826 when Niepce took the very firs photo onto light sensitive paper. This movement known as the Industrial revolution is considered a time of scientific reasoning and the search for new ideas, it gave the world of design this identity of advertising and brought forth new inventions like the printing presses and photography. 

After Class-Chapter 8

Today we did a quick review about the renaissance, covering the three renaissance men that we learned about in class and in chapter 7, the designers we talked about were Ratdolt, Manutius, and Tory. All we did to remember these designers was review the major design aspects that each person used, and we clarified some new inventions or techniques that came about during this time. We only spent a few minutes going over the renaissance, cause most of our focus in class was aimed toward chapter 8 and of typographic genius. Mainly this chapter went over the French rococco period of art and the letterforms that were being used during that point in time. Many changes were made to typography including the invention of the first font family and formula for font sizes. These discoveries were made by Fournier le Jeune, and he created font sizes by using the point system where 72 points equals one inch. The most helpful part of class discussion was when we looked at the evolution of the type going from old style to transitional, to modern. We focused on the difference of strokes and how the letter form change due to the preference of the time. For example the modern types were machine made and thats because everyone was fascinated by the rise of industrial power so they had the urge for machine made lettering opposed to hand drawn type. 

Weekly Image

This is an image of the EA sports gaming logo. This, much like my last weekly image, can be related to class because it also is a logogram like the ones created during the rise of civilization. However I am using this image to show how it relates to the renaissance, more importantly how the renaissance helped push the development of new typeface. I was intrigued by the lettering of the E and the A for this logo. The type is highly stylized and is unique in the way that the strokes were created, and this uniqueness reminded me of Geoffroy Tory and his fantasy type. It was the renaissance era that brought forth this new sense of creativity and artistic license. If it was not for the inventiveness of the renaissance than there would never be this endless amount of fonts that are seen in the modern day design world. 

Before Class-Geoffroy Tory & Chapter 8

Geoffroy Tory is the name of graphic artist that lived from 1480-1533. He was not just an artist he was also considered a renaissance man covering and successfully accomplishing almost all factions of life. For example Tory was known to be a professor, scholar, translator, poet, author,publisher printer, bookseller, calligrapher, designer, illustrator, and an engraver. Not only did he accomplish such great feats but he did so during a time when such careers were yet fully developed. Tory can be considered a true renaissance man because he was, as previously listed, a man of many talents but also a man of worldly knowledge. I believe that it was his ability to understand so many different types of languages and styles that allow him to be considered one of the most profound graphic artists of his time and of history. It is also interesting to know that Tory was not a privileged child and that he studied hard and traveled in order to gain his knowledge of the arts and the world. The reason why I found this to be interesting is because usually back then it was hard to become anything/anyone unless you came from a noble background. Tory set out to understand and perfect all spectrums of design, but he also was known for inventing new styles and a new perspective of design. He is known for stepping away from the bold, cluttered style of the Gothic era by adding mathematical organization and spacing to his works. Along with the page layouts Tory also was seen as an inventor of type, mainly known for his unique typeface that involved each letter being represented by a certain tool. Tory was considered the most influential designer of the century opening the door for future designers to build off of his accomplishments.

The focus of chapter 8 is on the increasing inventiveness of typeface after the turn of the eighteenth century. Designers stepped away from the formality of the Roman capitals, and began to invent new typefaces that were put together using mathematics, however the overall lettering would be created for aesthetic appeal. during the Rococo era in the eighteenth century brought fourth a sense of organic lettering. Floral designs and the use of s-curves caused the rococo period to be full of intricate patterns that derived from nature. The most important invention to come out of the rococo period was the set of guidelines and rules created by Fournier le Jeune. What Jeune did was create a book that included a system of design in which measurements, rules, and typeface were all unified for other designers to use as reference. This invention also lead to the beginning of type families, or fonts. This set of guidelines also involved principles involving the use of fonts in relation to the use of decorative typefaces. It is during this time that engravers or print makers start to be seen more as artists because they were no longer confined to using a certain type, they began to invent and create new decorative engravings.

This period in time allowed designers to create their very own type, one man in particular was William Caslon who was an englishman that created his own typeface called Caslon Old Style. This become the main font used by all designers in England at the time. What was unique about his font designs was that they were mainly easy to read but still maintained this sense of artistry that was pleasing to the eye. Next in line to change the world of type was a man who also resided in England, his name was John Baskerville. What Baskerville did was improve the printing press and designed cast and set type. He also borrowed some ideas from the Japanese and he would often finish his work by hand painting flowers and fruits throughout. Truly the most important aspect that came from this time period was the inventiveness and use of different types. Also it is important to note that guidelines were created that helped organize the world of graphic design and type, however it did not limit creativity and the search for new ideas.

Weekly Image

This Advertisement for NIKE represents what we have been learning in class more specifically the early stages of civilization when logograms were being used. A logogram is something that represents a certain concept, for example how the dollar sign($) represents money/currency. I saw this image once before outside the internet, but this image was taken of the computer. The main reason why I was attracted to this particular piece is due to the color contrast between the dark, rugged terrain and the red of the NIKE swoosh. I was also drawn to this advertisement because, like I said earlier, I remember seeing this image before. For NIKe this is meant to sell products, or overall draw attention to their company. Even though this image is recent, we can still see how design is used to communicate, NIKE is using an element of communication that dates back before the Phoenicians. The only difference is that ancient civilizations used logograms to help communicate important ideas, whereas NIKE uses it to promote a product. However the effect is still the same because the NIKE swoosh is known worldwide due to the logogram being easy to identify.

Class Presentation-Illuminated Manuscripts

1) History of the Romanesque and Gothic period: • Romanesque period happened A.D. 1000-1150 • Saw renewed religious feelings • Monasticism reached its peak • During the middle of the 12th Century, the Romanesque period evolved into the Gothic period which lasted until A.D. 1150 • The Gothic period became very advanced because towns turned into cities and the upbringing of agriculture aided in international trade • Money became the main source of wealth and stable governments emerged

2) Describe the history, influence of the style: • Liturgical books such as bibles, Gospels, and psalters emerged during the Romanesque period • The Middle Ages produced a new emphasis on linear drawing and distorting figures for the overall design of the page. This was because during the Carolingian era, illusionism really took off • The rise of universities also increased making the book market boom during the Gothic era and the illuminators emerged to help meet the high demand for the books

3) Summarizing the look of the style: • Gothic art became a Medieval art movement led by the development of Gothic architecture. • One of the famous Gothic illumination is called the Douce Apocalypse (Page 54) • As you can see in this specific scene, a beautiful illustration is above two columns of text • Another example of Gothic illumination is a page from the Ormesby Psalter (Page 55), a famous liturgical book of the late medieval era • You can see more illustrations surrounding the text and a lot of red and blue were used in many late Gothic manuscripts, especially this one

4) Describe key designers within the style: • Unfortunately, the scribe and illuminator are unknown in the previous figures on pages 54 and 55 but there were artists that have been known during this time era

• Jean Pucelle grew up in the Gothic era and became an illuminator active between 1320 and 1350 • He liked color and a delicate touch
• Hermann Jean and Paul Limbourg worked with a different style called International Gothic • Created late medieval illumination 5) Describe the typography of the style: • Black lettering became the calligraphic form used • Littera moderna (latin for modern lettering) became the dominant mode of Gothic lettering • Tall, narrow lettering and sharp, angular lines make up the calligraphy unlike the typical round Carolingian we have talked about • Condensed space was key in Romanesque/Gothic typography

After Class-Chapters 2&3

Today we went over the reading for chapters 2 and 3. Much like the last class discussion today helped clarify some misunderstandings I had for the readings, and it also went over some topics or key terms that I missed. For example I missed when the book went over what a logogram is, but after class discussion I was able to find out that a logogram is simply a symbol that represents an object like the dollar sign representing money. Also in class we went over how the Phoenicians were the first to use achrophonic symbols or in other words symbols that stand for the initial sound made when spoken.

I also found it interesting how different writing in the west is from the writing style of the Chinese and other Asian cultures. Even though the Greek and Roman empires developed an alphabet that closely relates to modern day writing, I find myself being more interested in the calligraphy of China. One aspect of the western writing style that I found to be intriguing is how both the Greeks and Romans developed two styles each, one being neat and carefully written the other being sloppy and quickly written. For the Greeks it was called unicials which were letters with more rounded edges rather than geometric shapes. As for the Romans it was called capitalis rustica which was written very quickly with no spacing of the letters so they could fit more words on one piece of parchment. The reason why I find this interesting is because these forms of quick sloppy writing is like the early stages of modern day cursive.

After reading both of these chapters my only question that I keep asking myself is which culture had a greater impact on the world with its developments, the West or the East?