Graphic Design: A Medium for the Masses
In 1912, William Addison Dwiggins, a successful designer, coined the term,
'graphic design': "In the matter of layout, forget art at the start and use horse-sense. The printing-designer's whole duty is to make a clear presentation of the message - to get the important statements forward and the minor parts placed so that they will not be overlooked. This calls for an exercise of common sense and a faculty for analysis rather than for art.
Important images referenced in these notes include:
Bison and Horses Cave Painting (15,000 - 10,000 BC)
Earliest forms of visual communication
People were unable to read and write
Pears Soap Advertisement - John Everett Millais (1886)
Alphonse Mucha (1898) Poster for cigarette papers
Are these examples 'Graphic design' or 'Fine art'?
Whether a design is understood is important in graphic design whereas this is the opposite with fine art - it doesn't matter if someone does not understand the piece.
El Lissitksy (1919) Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge
Fighting against communists
Geometric elements reminiscent of Kandinksy
Different to figurative representations in the West
