History Of Graphic Design

In the truest sense of the word, graphic design was born with the cave paintings of Europe that date to 16,000 years ago. Those are the first known arrangements of images used to communicate abstract ideas or messages, one of the important elements of design. The advent of movable type and the printing press made mass communication much easier, and the growth of graphic design since that era has been relatively gradual.

Piet Mondrian is often credited with being the father of modern graphic design. The flat geography of the Netherlands may be the inspiration for his grid-like "compositions," rectangular shapes of red, yellow, and blue separated by thick black lines that are recognized around the world. Today's modern advertising layout is known as the grid system and is the basis of most contemporary design work.

Technological advancements in the fields of printing and photography gave the design world a creative boost in the early 20th century, just as the rise of computers has done more recently. Limited at first, computers are now capable of designing almost everything that can be imaged, including three-dimensional renderings for not just art, but engineering and other disciplines. While almost all graphic designers use the computer, some still use traditional tools, as well.

Adobe Systems has created a number of software programs for specific design fields, such as Photoshop for photographic work, Illustrator for drawing, and InDesign for desktop publishing. As the Information Age develops, so does the technology, allowing for newer art forms, such as web-based animations. Although some traditional design techniques are gone forever, digitized design has a seemingly endless potential.