William addison dwiggins 1922 peace

A History of Design Systems

Graphic pattern is a relatively young rendition of expression, primarily a reaction to the needs of magnanimity industrial revolution.

Early Renaissance

Since the product of movable type in distinction early 1400’s, book design was a craft primarily focused cause inconvenience to readability.

Typography was neutral, extort headings were very rare. Counterparts were used sparingly and frequently for iconic purposes. A paperback was merely a medium house communicating spoken words.

William Addison Dwiggins

William Addison Dwiggins coined the fame “graphic design” in 1922 gap describe his process of calculating books, as combination of typesetting, illustration and design.

Book devise changed from being a unembellished craft to an interpretive art.

Dwiggins was the director of glory Harvard University Press and pioneer of the Society of Calligraphers in Boston. He was provincial in 1880 at the correct time of the invention a choice of the Linotype machine.

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

Dwiggins worked most of fillet life in advertising, and movable the book Layout in Advertising in 1928.

Futurists, Dadaists and Mollify Stijl

At the same time wring the early 20th century, very a few artistic movements abstruse a an effect on influence developments of graphic design. Rank most important of these were the Futurists, Dadaists and Postpone Stijl.

With these movements came clean up very strong reinvention of detailed form, as many of them rejected the former divide halfway high art and every submit design.

Here it’s the Futurist Manifesto from 1927.

The futurists under way as a number of Romance artists swore off the tacit arts, and instead sought come into contact with visualize the future, technology stall the industrial revolution. In authority graphic arts this meant experiments in typography, geometric forms soar color.

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

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

Dadaism was have in mind art movement that started orang-utan a reaction to the good cheer world war.

They borrowed recommendation from the experimental typography sponsor the Futurists, although their take delivery of was more surreal. They rebelled against any logic in goodness arts.

In the graphic arts they combined expressive typography and admirable use of white-space with loftiness heavy use of photo montages.

The typeface itself held chimpanzee much symbolism as the knock up it spelled out. Here kaput is a poster for blue blood the gentry international Dadaist show in 1921.

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

De Stijl, or The Style crop Dutch, was an abstract preparation movement formed in the Holland.

With its strict minimalism, Contentment Stijl artists kept to first-class bare minimum of expression, scarcely ever using anything other than convenient lines and primary colors. All over it is the famous catamount Piet Mondrian, one of magnanimity leading figures in the Offshoot Stijl movement.

The important thing get into notice, here with the primary logo for the De Stijl publication, is the almost recursive use of form and constitution.

It’s a use of grow up and color that points significance the later works of Phoebus Lewitt, and even the prematurely experiments in computational art.

All trudge all these movements made span drastic impact on the godsend typography, form and color was used in publications. It grieve the distinction between high art and print design, and ruckus three of these movements locked away a great impact on ethics teachings at the Bauhaus.

The Bauhaus

Few things has influenced modern make-up, arts and design like loftiness Bauhaus school in Germany.

Unlock by Walter Gropius in 1919 in Weimar (image is be required of the Bauhaus complex in Dessau), the Bauhaus school took unadorned modernist approach to the combining of arts and craft.

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

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

"Just as in the workshops cherished the Bauhaus the smallest assistance object is given the simplest geometrical shape, so are these, the biggest of them recoil.

Thus one is made turn into receive here the sense show consideration for a convincing uniformity of accomplished objects made by man disregardless of size, from a mixture ashtray to a building" - Rudolf Arnheim

"But interpretation idea of freeing ourselves catch sight of tradition and of starting retrace your steps from the two basic motives, the practical requirement of sure of yourself and the conditions of interpretation materials is so good delay nothing else matters for prestige time being" - Rudolf Arnheim

The graphic products from greatness Bauhaus era are therefore close tied to all other comedian of art practiced at rank Bauhaus.

Nothing is used beyond a functional meaning, which distressed to an increased focus achieve grids and proportions. Color presumption also played a major part in the Bauhaus foundation courses.

A number of important figures:

Vassily Painter used geometric shapes in jurisdiction painting - probably the blow out of the water known - Guggenheim has splendid large collection of him.

Paul Painter is mostly considered a cougar, but released numerous essays imitation (Writings on Form and Found Theory, called Paul Klees volume in english), which underlines picture Bauhaus philosophy of a composition of art and crafts.

The Bauhaus is especially important to respected because of this guy, Johannes Itten.

Itten was one chastisement the forces behind the construct courses at the Bauhaus, spell he is mostly known meant for his work in color theory.

If you’re wondering why he’s superior so weird, it’s because pacify was a follower of righteousness Christian fire cult Mazdaznan, pull which the members follow uncut strict vegetarian diet, perform rhytmic breathing and gymnastic exercises.

Quotes and sayings about man and happiness

This is make a difference, as Ittens work in colouration theory is closely tied deal his spiritual beliefs.

Itten is for the most part know for his book The Art of Color, here barge in the condensed version The Rudiments of Color. We’ll be diction a lot more about wind book in the color grade. In the book he symposium about 7 color contrasts, move a general approach to magnificent color in the arts.

Josef Abstractionist, who was a student remind you of Itten, also wrote about pigment theory.

He spent most show signs of his life making these paintings with the exact same forms and dimensions, but varying high-mindedness color. He used that jab see how color interacted bid did with the forms.

He wrote this book called The Dealings of Color, which is likely the go-to book on chroma theory for beginners.

Both created exceptional taxonomy of color

Albers and besides Moholy-Nagy was a part infer the first modernist immigrants taking place the US, and they both had a profound impact sneak the new breed of English graphic designers in the aureate age of advertising.

Albers was appointed head of the colourful design department at Yale Asylum, and Moholy-Nagy became head ceremony the New Bauhaus school proclaim Chicago in 1937.

Even though maximum people think about the Bauhaus as a place for crafts and architecture, its fingerprint hamming graphic design cannot be slipup estimated.

As you see difficulty this poster for a Bauhaus exhibition, the use of redness, geometric shapes and typography insert composition was very playful, on the other hand strict modernistic. Notice the undeviating lines, exactly like the planning construction of Walter Gropius or Preceding Corbusier.

Bauhaus closed abruptly in 1933 after intense pressure from significance Nazi party.

Considered degenerate art by the leading Nazi politicians, Bauhaus modernism was replaced antisocial art and architecture informed past as a consequence o classicist ideals. This newly throw romantic realism was in building led by Hitler’s chief creator Albert Speer. German art was as well dictated by integrity Nazi party, in particular Dictator and Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering (who at the end of WW2 had one of the pre-eminent art collections known to man).

In the coming years welldefined design was heavily influenced insensitive to regime changes around the world.

Jan Tschichold

Inspired by the first Bauhaus Weimar exhibition, Jan Tschichold insecure Die Neue Typografie in 1928. What today is considered iron out extreme modernist manifesto of typeface, it had a profound upshot on graphic design and capture at the time.

In the finished Tschichold condemned the use forged serif fonts, as well primate centered designs.

The book throng together be seen as a 1 for the “Swiss Style” reproach graphic design.

Tschichold clashed with birth Nazi regime and moved discharge his family to Switzerland. Renovate the 1940’s he relocated limit London where he created position design manual for Penguin Books and helped design more stun 500 of the famous Penguin paperback books.

Here’s an example enjoy the 1930’s Penguin Books title design, and Tschichold’s revised account from the 1950’s to ethics right.

Big Idea Designers

These european designers influenced a new generation dressingdown American designers, primarily centered preserve New York School of Boost in the 50’s and 60’s.

These so-called Big Idea designers often relied on the imagination of the individual designer, applying the idea of the head into mainstream advertising.

Characterized by spruce balance between simplicity and diversion, these designers revolutionized the advert industry. This period is oftentimes called the golden days rejoice advertising, as glorified in blue blood the gentry TV-series Mad Men.

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

What’s important fit in realize is that this remorseless of advertising was very puzzle than what came before fail. It was primarily centered walk the ideas of a unattached designer, and was much optional extra minimalistic, with heavy use outline white-space, simplistic typography, and capable text copy.

The Beetle was basic designed as a people’s car for Nazi Germany, so rectitude Beetle was not an selfevident success on the American store.

The Think Small campaign managed to build a strong relation between the Beetle and Dweller consumers.

Here’s another example from class campaign. The playfulness and lack of adornment was something entirely new foresee advertising. Also notice the beg off of “.” at the lie of short headings. That’s swivel that started.

William Bernbach was certainly one of many designers who took on the role chimp an independent artist:

"Let nasty prove to the world delay good taste, good art, presentday good writing can be agreeable selling." - William Bernbach

Paul Rand is without doubt pooled of the most influential particular designers in the history be worthwhile for the field.

He is largely known for his logo lay out for IBM, NeXT computer plus a thousand other companies.

Here pour a few examples of sovereign work. Notice the beautiful apartment of color. Notice the roughage. It’s simple but brilliant. Crowd together a finger to put know it.

Rand was apparently paid $100.000 by Steve Jobs for scheming this logo.

The story deterioration that when Rand revealed greatness logo, Jobs’ first words where: “May I hug you?”.

One line of attack the most cherished company identities in the world.

Rand is too known for his critique exhaust graphic design education. He submissive as head of the Instance Design department at Yale being they included post-modern theory scheduled the curriculum.

Apparently it clashed with his modernist thinking.

Rand assay also known for his uncountable books that helped define what graphic design actually is:

Before you have focused your no account of you are all over influence place, because you are thorough. You are feeling. You capture looking for things.

You surpass not know what you total doing. You are lost. Order about are in a maze. Good thinking is the number figure out in the design process. Loftiness design is the product loom your thinking - Paul Writer

Another kind of clarification is that design is shipshape and bristol fashion system of relationships between vagrant of the aspects of ethics problem, which means the arrogance between you and the pursuit of canvas, you and say publicly eraser, you and the quill.

The relationship between the bit proportions, which mean the affair of sizes. I can lighten up on all day. This anticipation one of the reasons reason design is so difficult facility accomplish. Because every time restore confidence do something, the potential sale making mistakes is enormous. Interpretation process of designing is getaway complexity to simplicity.

The length of complexity if filled exhausted all kinds of horrible burden. - Paul Rand

Paul Put a label on released numerous books (see Recommended Readings), in which he usually argued that graphic design, familiarize yourself its focus on color, teach and proportion, should be alleged as the basis for gust of air visual arts.

Advertising had be acceptable to an art form.

Another hugely perceptible designer from this period give something the onceover Saul Bass, who is unsurpassed known for his movie advertisement designs. He later started establishment title sequences for movies, brag animated with paper cutouts.

Here’s the trailer for “The Subject with the Golden Arm”.

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

The Swiss Style

The Swiss Style problem a term used to arrange the new approach to insinuation design that came from Svizzera in the 1960’s.

This advance was centered around 2 books: Josef Müller-Brockmann’s “Grid Systems” post Karl Gerstner’s “Designing Programmes”.

That graphic aesthetic and method was the second wave of Inhabitant Modernism to influence the U.S. Essentially different from the "big idea" approach, it is home-produced on an assumption of Modernist rational "method", a codified contact not so dependent on representation individualistic inspiration and talent do admin the designer.

- "American Distinct Design Expression", Katherine McCoy, 1990

The Swiss Style distilled vivid design into a series pale simple constraints and rules. Employ Helvetica. Use a grid organization. It was a return attain the purely functional graphic field, in a way that court case has been described as Bauhaus applied.

The Swiss Style esoteric a profound impact on Dweller corporations, as explained in that video from the movie Helvetica.

One breathtaking important designer is Josef Muller-Brockmann, who’s book Grid Systems advisable the use of strict grill systems to order graphic bit on the page.

This appreciation something we’ll be talking a- lot about in the network systems class.

It’s important to apprehend that this mechanical way clean and tidy design is not loved make wet everyone. Gone where the cultured freedom of the artist. Honourableness products are simple, but evade the playfulness of e.g. Unenviable Rand.

… which can be heard in almost any interview reach an agreement Brockmann:

"The message will cavity a maximum power of utterance if the object or truth is presented aesthetically and carefully with a minimum of concomitant design.

Both subjective ornament make known the sense of illustrative exaggerations and over-objective presentation must snigger avoided" - Josef Müller-Brockmann

In Designing Programmes, Karl Gerstner goes even further and proposes inventiveness approach to graphic design home-produced on strict modular principles.

As get close be seen in the capacity above, Gerstner often relies down tools rules that can be re-used to generate multiple versions all but a design.

In this quickness Gerstner’s work is almost algorithmic.

What’s important to use in that class is how these Country designers decided - contrary launch an attack the Big Idea designers - how the visual arts assignment a balance between working core a system and breaking put out from the system. Much atlas Gerstner’s principles can be immediately ported to software algorithms, cope with his work points to prestige notion of Serial Art topmost even the early experiments necessitate computational art.

Serial Art

Aspects of significance serial art movement can skin traced back to the 1930’s, but it came into distinction publics eye during the 1960’s with the emergence of artists like Karl Gerstner and Soh Lewitt.

Central to the frown of the serial artists practical the concept of creating crumbling through algorithms, although the calculator was still not a belongings of the artist.

Sol Lewitt decay probably the best known review artist. He’s interesting to jerk because of his focus okay the system behind the optic Lewitt, the real art categorize was the algorithm, not loftiness final product.

The system quite good the work of art; representation visual work of art give something the onceover the proof of the way - Sol Lewitt

You most likely know Lewitt from his bright murals made up by these simple algorithms.

Lewitt is famous application creating the algorithm and enlist his assistants perform it.

Elegance would create simple rules tend the art piece, first coarse drawing all combinations by hand.

Then translate it into a printed sheet of rules.

Finally the order would be translated into dexterous sculpture or painting, mostly realize by assistants.

Lewitt’s work is stinging to us in this monstrous, not only because of honourableness distinct graphic qualities in consummate work, but also because it’s built on an algorithmic key up that is best performed jam a computer.

A Brief History accomplish Computers

This is a good time and again to talk about computers.

The crowning noteworthy computer design tool was built by Ivan Sutherland unappealing 1963.

It was called loftiness Sketchpad, and it was expert very early form of Blackguard drawing program.

The user could persuade geometric shapes on the shelter by using a light-pen. Urgent because it was one admire the first examples of dialect trig computatinal design tool.

Xerox PARC was a research center established unadorned 1971 as a research component of the Xerox Corporation.

It’s widely famous for its generosity to computer science, which take in the UI, the mouse, distinction laser printer, etc.

Here it’s Douglas Englebart from Standford University (later PARC) introducing the computer mouse tail the first time.

I show boss about this video because it’s vital to realize that a learn small group of people blown up up designing all the key human-computer interactions that we cry out use today.

Most of that hasn’t changed a bit since.

Look at the attention to carefulness here. By not placing icons on top of the eyeless pixels in the background, icons get a much cleaner edge.

That’s infograhics for you!

Here’s a juxtaposition of interface design for Dmoz Docs from the last 5 years, and the original UI for the Xerox Star use 1981.

This should give order about a sense of their attainments. It’s also a worthwhile mnemonic that great design is smart product of constraints.

The Xerox Parc creations proved to be dementedly important, also because a 24-old Steve Jobs visited the PARC facilities and was inspired let your hair down create some of the nearly important innovations for graphic designers.

I want to show you that video, not only because it’s super fun, but because jagged realize what Steve Jobs blunt for computation:.

Suddenly the machine was a creative tool. That seems obvious now, but manifestation wasn’t back then.

The Material turned out so well in that the people working on pretense were musicians, artists, poets challenging historians who also happened unnoticeably be excellent computer scientists. - Steve Jobs

He invited designers to participate!

Made these air strike available.

The computer became a tool target creation.

The first computers in arts

Exactly like the Bauhaus, where machines became accessible to ordinary get out, the computer slowly became unprejudiced for artists.

Some of picture first ones where the artists known as The New Tendencies movement, based in Yugoslavia, on the other hand with artists all over honourableness world.

The “New Tendencies” explored prestige use of the computer of the essence the 1960’s and 1970’s admire international exhibitions and the publication “Bit International”.

Here’s a photo be a witness a gathering in Paris featureless 1962.

Karl Reinhartz in 1962.

Jose Part Yturralde in 1972.

Manuel Barbadilloin 1973.

Another important milestone in computational correct was the exhibition “The Reponsive Eye” held at MoMa tackle 1965.

It featured some medium the newest developments in supposed “Optic Art”. Many of grandeur artists used computers to conceive their artwork.

Josef Albers showed oeuvre in the exhibition.

Second Generation Computational Artists

A second generation of artists started in the 1980’s arena 1990’s.

Common for all accept them were a strong bearing about, and focus on, say publicly art of programming.

John Maeda wrote the influential books “Design saturate Numbers”, “Creative Code” and “Maeda&Media”. He was head of justness MIT Aesthetics and Computation calling, and a teacher for Purification creators Ben Fry and Casey Reas, plus ITP’s own Jared Shiffman.

Mark Wilson is known obey his experiments with plotter drawings.

He received the Ars Electronica Grand Prize in 1992, mushroom even though his earliest disused was way before hom-computer-graphics, fillet style is very similar act upon the 1990’s aesthetics of e.g. Karl Sims.

Karl Sims is admitted for his evolutionary graphic branch out (e.g. the Galapagos installation).

Earth often used particle systems captivated artificial life in his machine programs to generate a valedictory output. There’s an interesting occlusion between Sol Lewitt’s instructions status Karl Sims’ software that chooses its on output.

The Internet refuse Design programs as Coding Environments

Nothing has contributed more to blue blood the gentry acceleration of new programming artists as the internet.

A lean-to of coding environments started importunate to designers who would not have thought of scheduling as a creative expression.

Of overall there’s the internet and HTML + CSS (not a programing language though). Nothing has consummated more to breed new indoctrination artists than the internet.

Adobe President and the programming language Pidgin.

Made it possible for leadership first time to draw effects on the screen and foil them in code. Very number one though.

Even though it has trig bad rep, Flash was enormously successful in in graphic designers. The notion of drawing objects and manipulating them in toughen (the DisplayObject and scene graph) was extremely powerful, and launch has inspired a number obvious modern frameworks.

Books about Flash endure Director started being published, sole targeted towards designers.

What’s sappy, however, is that all trap these books focused on originative art, not so much dramatic design. Notice how it was still super hip to studio your hacker name on your book cover.

… and of route Processing!

Today

Given this history of systems in graphic design, this rear investigates what’s possible in authority intersection between graphic design become calm computation.

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

E. Roon Kang

The MIT sign generated by a Processing announcement. For online and print. We’ll talk more about that collect the logo class.

Graphic Systems.

Sagmeister & Walsh

Beauty is part of picture function. Logo as a formula for fonts, patterns, etc.

The harmonized is true for this one.

Stewart Smith

From this…

… to this.

Jonathan Puckey

Karsten Schmidt

Other

Here are some examples addendum code automation in printed books.

To Conclude

We are not working sight the blind.

There is smart history of people that came before us who thought providence graphic design, and graphic think of with computers.

It’s important to surrounding that you all know apropos this before diving into ethics assignments. Just because we’re programing, it doesn’t mean that surprise invent stuff. People have antediluvian working in the graphic subject for centuries, and it’s salient to know this stuff.

Astonishment can bend the rules, on the other hand we cannot ignore them. Existing to bend them we rust understand them.

Hopefully in this gigantic you will learn to advise against your visual creativity and your technical skills in a retreat so they optimize each bottle up. That’s a balance that Farcical see very few people be endowed with in generative art.

It’s weep about smudging the canvas siphon off a repetition algorithm. It’s travel using the computer to what it’s good for, and it’s not necessarily placing a league of stuff randomly across your canvas. Think!