The term graphic design was coined by William Addison Dwiggins to refer the activities of designing books, by combining typesetting, illustrations and design. Most of the silk and spices used in European countries were imported from China and this is how paper got to Europe during the 11th century. It is this paper that was used for preparing hand-written manuscripts. The Chinese already had printing technology by this time. Printing was brought to Europe by explorers like Marco Polo, who during his explorations in China, learnt the technology of printing. On his return to Italy, Marco Polo introduced this technology and Italians began printing books on woodblocks. Soon this technology spread throughout Europe. Typography was invented which was used to define printing using independent, adjustable and recyclable metal and/or wood bits which had raised letterforms on a single face.
Printing was accelerated by a handful of factors. Upon its introduction and spread in Europe, demand for handwritten manuscripts and books diminished a great deal, albeit slowly. Copying using hands was considered terribly slow thus time-consuming, expensive and very laborious. For example, to develop a two-hundred-page book would require a scribe who would work continuously for a period of 4-5 months with 25 sheepskins which were even more expensive than the scribe’s labor. Hand-written books could also get damaged easily due to the fragile materials from which they were made and they could not be carried easily from one place to another. These shortcomings of the hand-written manuscripts led to an increased popularity of the woodblock printing technology. Most materials that were printed using this technique were playing cards, religious pieces which contained simple texts, and textiles.
Books that were printed using woodblock technology, generally referred to as block books, had hand painted watercolors with images which served as visual cues for the speakers and symbolic illustrations to the audience. These books differ with those that are there currently in that they were printed only on one side. In woodblock printing, there were cutters and designers, whose operations were stipulated in trade guilds. For example, a monastic designer could cut his/her own woodblock but cutters, whose work depended on ink layouts by the designer were usually members of carpentry guilds. An example of such a book is The Ars Moriendi, Manual on the Art of Dying (Book of Notable Religious Figures).
As more people familiarized with printing, the demand for books increased. Fast and affordable printing would, thus, be necessary and in 1430s Johann Gutenberg came up with the first ever known printing press in Mainz Germany. Gutenberg was a trained metallurgist as well as a goldsmith. He applied his skills in setting up of the Johannes Gutenberg Printing Press which greatly influenced modern times printing as it brought about the Printing Revolution.
His first book was the Bible, referred to as Gutenberg’s Bible, which he printed mechanically, but the initial letters at the beginning of each chapter (decorative flourishes) were painted by calligraphers by hand.
Initially printed books were for the wealthy patrons. The demand for books increased and was insatiable. There were emerging more middle class who liked to read as a way of identifying themselves from the poor. At the same time, universities were expanding rapidly accommodating more students and brought to an end the monopoly on literacy by the clergy.
Renaissance Graphic Design
Renaissance is used to address revival, reinvention or rebirth of an idea. This was the period starting in the 15th century Italy, during which the classical/oldest written works of the ancient Greece and Rome were freshly reborn. This period, in the history of graphic design, marks the transition that took place from the ancient to the new world. Renaissance took place in Venice, Europe’s trade link to the East and which was a center of many commercial activities. Italian typographical books design was developed here. Type design, illustrations, page layout and the total design of books was completely restructured through the works of Italian printers as well as scholars.
The birth of graphic design was partly influenced by the advancements in printing press. Humanity could recreate text and designs easily, fast and at massive scales. With this progression, many merchants noticed that visuals how people shopped, which would mean more profits. Thus, modern day graphic design was born. The first notable steps of the Renaissance were the Roman alphabet and Sweynheym and Pannartz, who established the first printing press at the Benedictine monastery near Rome, in Italy. Another one was the rough decorative borders on the early books in French.
In 1476, Regiomontanus Calendarium (Record Book), the first book which had a title page was written. It was printed by Erhard Ratdolt in many colors, had diagrams illustrating the eclipses (solar and lunar) and the 3-part mathematical part which could be used to determine solar cycles. . Apart from these, it was also the first book to include printer’s type example, which depicted a range of different typographic sizes plus styles. Later in 1482, Ratdolt would print the Euclid’s Geometriae elementa whose borders were decorated with colors added through hands and which were inspired by Islamic culture and antiquity. Other materials that marked this great period of the rebirth of literatures were Giovanni and Alberto Alvise’s Ars Moriendi in 1478 and Roberto Valturio’s De Re Militari which was characterized by its semi-Gothic design in which drawings were made freely with ink and pen. These books differed with those that were printed before the Renaissance by their richness in visual aids and multiple colors.
As more books were designed, the need and hunger to advance knowledge increased, bringing about Renaissance Humanism; a philosophy regarding human dignity and self-worth defining man as able to use reason combined with scientific knowledge and inquiry to gain both comprehension of the earth and insight into himself. This brought with it renewed studies of classical literature from Greek and Romans.
A new term, “Renaissance Man”, was usually applied to define an individual who was considered unique and genius, and had artistic, philosophical, scientific or literary activities and ideas contributed greatly to these fields. More people continued developing their own unique styles, some of which gained a lot of popularity among writers. Example of such include Griffo’s Roman style, Aldus Manutius which was slanted and somehow “informal” according to writers.
The Italian Renaissance, then faded away as Holy Roman Emperor Charles v with the help of Spanish allies attacked Rome. The innovation passed to France as King Charles VIII attacked Italy. It is under Francis I, who fully supported humanists, authors and other artists, that book design flourished in France. Many designs were developed with the emergence of designers like Estienne Elder, Charles Estienne and Geoffroy Toy.
The ancient graphic design paved way for what we have today in graphic design. Starting with rudimentary materials like sheep hides, woodblocks, metal and wood chips, printing was invented and made possible. Time and innovation are among the factors that determine the relevance of something. The Renaissance of graphic design and printing introduced many typography styles which made books more interesting and legible. They formed a basis for modern designs. Some of these styles, like Garamond, are still in use up to date.
