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A brief history of graphic design
and how to use it to evolve with the future of design.
While UX/UI and product design may be fairly modern disciplines of design, the history of graphic design goes back farther than you may think. It actually existed long before software and tools like Photoshop and Illustrator. But what exactly was graphic design before the invention of the computer?
What is graphic design?
First, let’s begin with defining what graphic design is. The term “graphic design” is broad and is often used to categorize various disciplines of design including digital and web design. But traditional graphic design is referred to as print design like posters, book covers, magazine layouts, advertisements, package design, as well as logo and branding.
Essentially, graphic designers take visual content like illustrations or photography and combine them with typography to communicate a message.
The key is communication. But where did graphic design come from originally and how has it evolved over time?
A prologue to graphic design
Before we get into the specific art and design movements that played a key role in the visual style of graphic design as we know it, let’s start with the earliest form of visual and written language and how we distributed our message through the invention of printing.
The first signs of visual communication
Historians trace the origins of graphic design to early cave paintings from about 38,000 BCE. These early forms of cave paintings were how people communicated from one generation to another.
Subjects in these cave paintings mainly featured animals, handprints, weapons, and other references to hunting. While it’s unclear what humans were communicating, it’s obvious they were communicating visually.
