Visual Communications has always been an inextricable part of human history. It has existed as long as there has been the need to make marks or leave traces, to communicate through signs and symbols rather than the spoken word. In the comtemporary world, the activity of organizing these signs and symbols is recognized as graphic design, a specialist area of the broader field of design.
Some histories of graphic design begin with prehistoric cave paintings and go on to consider, along the way, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Chinese calligraphy, medieval manuscripts and typedesign of the eighteenth century. But a whole new era of graphic design n advertising started with the division of labour brought about by industrialization during the twentieth century.
Today, design embraces printed material from the smallest ephemeral item - a stamp, label or ticket to publication design in the form of the interiors and exteriors of books and magazines. It also includes poster and advertising design, as well as trademarks, logos and symbols. Then there are extensive systems of information design - signage in the built environment, exhibitions and corporate identities for companies, all often developed in close association with architectural practices. Modern day graphic design can also mean involving traditional print media or in screen-based design for film, computer and television.
When the Apple Macintosh computer was launched in 1984, it opened up graphic design to a much wider visual spectrum as well as users, who were after that fully equipped to develop a whole new field of desktop publishing. From then on, the enormous impact of computers on the visual-related field has been _____. From this time changes in typography and graphic design reflected a renewed freshness about the interaction between type and other forms of artistic expressions.
