Discuss the social and cultural impact of digital technology on the production and consumption of visual communication from the 1980's to the present day.
List of Illustrations
1 - The setting of a line of type
2 - The anatomy of a piece of type
3 - Stefan Sagmeister Aiga Poster
4 - Various sized spacing material
5 - Iggy Poster - 1993 - David Carson
6 - John Doe feature - 1990 - David Carson
7 - Great Beginnings - Paula Scher - 1984
9 - CNN Logo
11 - Nike Logo
12 Design Host Print - Website
14 - Design Host Print - Facebook
See Bibliography for References.
This essay will attempt to argue that the development of digital technology has made it much easier for people to become designers, and in turn, bad designers. Before the invention of Personal Computers and design software in the 1980's, the job of a designer was more of a speciality career, with professional designers using scalpels, big machines to set type, darkrooms, and drawing boards. The final product made by a designer was either illustrated from scratch, or had parts cut from pictures. Pieces had to be actual size, otherwise the designer would have to go back to the darkroom to re-size it by hand. The big machines to set type used metal pieces with letters on that had to be made from hand. These letters had to be lined up in reverse with correct spacing, like the image below, to create pieces of type for art or news or other mediums. The image below to the left shows the scale and size of a 3 dimensional single letter that would be used to create the real thing.
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| 1 - The setting of a line of type |
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| 2 - The anatomy of a piece of type |
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| 3 - Stefan Sagmeister Aiga Poster |
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| 4 - Various sized spacing material. |
The idea of a very time consuming process is shown even more by the care taken when working out the spacing. Shown right, a number of various sizes used to ensure that the page looks balanced and correctly spaced, pages had to be proofed a number of times before the final pages could be mass printed.
This time consuming process was also shown when creating large letters on a letter press, as the metal template for the letter had to be made from scratch. This meant that certain designs were very costly if custom sized letters had to be made. This was also the same for techniques including overprinting, being very time consuming as you would have to print once, change the letter or shape, print again, and repeat until you were done. Comparing this to now, with technology and software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign that allows you to instantly set the size of a letter or word to whatever is needed, and also overlaying letters in separate text boxes, or by changing the kerning or other settings. This saves a lot of time compared to the old method, meaning creating images like the ones below by David Carson took half the time and next to no manual labour.
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| 5 - Iggy - 1993 |
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| 6 - John Doe feature - 1990 |
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| 7 - Great Beginnings - Paula Scher - 1984 |
When using the machines to print with in the 1980's a 'kiss' method was used;
which involved only pressing down so much that the ink transferred on to the paper, which gave off a print which looks like a normal home printed page in modern times. This is one of the main reasons why letterpress printing was more time consuming and took more talent than simply printing a page today. People who use letter presses today are more interested in de-bossing the page thus leaving impressions in the page, as this shows that a letterpress has been used to print the page and nothing else. This statement is backed up by Rainy Planet Press who have discussed how modern printing is instant compared to letterpress saying:
"In an age of instant Internet publishing, '(letterpress) is a throwback to a slower era, where patience, craftsmanship, and quality mattered." 8
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9 - CNN Logo
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One example of this is the CNN logo, created in under 48 hours in 1980; 4 years before the first Apple Macintosh was released. The idea was simple, unique and effective. The logo is CNN in bold, all joined together suggesting a connection, maybe between the audience and the network. Also the cable running through the middle of the bold text suggests that it is a cable network.
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11 - Nike Logo
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This shows how Davidson worked; through rough drafts until the final idea was created. This compared to modern times with software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, is a very different process, with poor designers not taking time to draft out ideas and taking them straight to screen. This along with the invention and development of the internet means that the production and consumption of visual communication is constantly rising, with peoples designs being readily available on-line, for the whole world to see.
This invention of the internet also led to the development of social communication in the means of social networking sites, starting with Friendster and more well known, MySpace in 2002/03. The idea of social networking sites allows you to find other peoples work with a click of a button, along with putting your own visual ideas up for other people to see. This means that because anyone can access to the internet and anyone can publicly share their ideas, there are many bad designs and designers on social media sites, trying to get their work recognised. However, because of the vast amount of people doing this, it can be difficult to find good creativity and design among all the amateur designs and illustrations.
Companies have used this to their advantage by displaying their work on the internet across a number of media. A good design company will use the internet as a portfolio and a means of contact for work, for example, using their website to display their work and allowing people and other companies to contact them via the internet through the website or through social media sites. The more mediums a company uses, the more exposure it has to different people. An example of this is Design Host Print in Hartlepool, a digital and print design company. Their main website displays their portfolio and work and allows people to contact them, along with a number of social networking site links clearly visible on their website, which include Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram.
Andrew Scotter from Design Host Print comments on the importance of social media and an on-line presence saying:
This invention of the internet also led to the development of social communication in the means of social networking sites, starting with Friendster and more well known, MySpace in 2002/03. The idea of social networking sites allows you to find other peoples work with a click of a button, along with putting your own visual ideas up for other people to see. This means that because anyone can access to the internet and anyone can publicly share their ideas, there are many bad designs and designers on social media sites, trying to get their work recognised. However, because of the vast amount of people doing this, it can be difficult to find good creativity and design among all the amateur designs and illustrations.
Companies have used this to their advantage by displaying their work on the internet across a number of media. A good design company will use the internet as a portfolio and a means of contact for work, for example, using their website to display their work and allowing people and other companies to contact them via the internet through the website or through social media sites. The more mediums a company uses, the more exposure it has to different people. An example of this is Design Host Print in Hartlepool, a digital and print design company. Their main website displays their portfolio and work and allows people to contact them, along with a number of social networking site links clearly visible on their website, which include Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram.
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12 Design Host Print - Website
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"The main reason we use social media is business has changed and developed alongside technology. Smartphones and tablets have changed the way people do business. Business is more mobile than ever! Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have also become a cost effective way for small businesses to promote in the decline of newspapers, magazines and older ways of advertising. Every business on social media for us is a potential client." 13
Social media sites are more important now to freelance designers than any other type of designer. This is because larger companies like Design Host Print have the money and team to manage a well designed website along with the social media sites tagged with it. Whereas a freelance designer may rely more on the social networking side to create an audience, through a number of different media, which would be difficult without social media as a freelance designer is just one person among many. Social Media Consultant and Trainer Steve Nicholls answers questions for GraphicDesign.com saying:
(How important do you think social media is to a design agency or freelancer?)
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| 14 - Design Host Print - Facebook |
(How important do you think social media is to a design agency or freelancer?)
"Social media is one of the reasons why the ‘freelance class’ has been rising so exponentially in the past few years. Social media has made it possible and easy to be a freelancer or a design agency because there are so many different platforms where freelancers can be found and get in touch with clients. Freelancing and social media thus almost inherently go hand-in-hand." 15
Social media sites are now available on a number of different output mediums, meaning that the consumption of visual communication is now everywhere, any time and available to everyone. These types of sites started out simply being on computers, meaning people would have to sit down at a desk, check out other peoples work and what they're currently up to, then leave and not have access to it away from the desk. However since the invention of smart phones and tablets, and how cheap laptops are becoming; the consumption of visual culture is happening on the bus journey home, in bed before sleep, and even on the toilet. Evidence of this is shown in a poll of 2,000 people carried out by Sony and O2, which shows that 75% of people use their phone on the toilet. Also, David Johnson from O2 said:
"We've become a nation of multi-taskers when it comes to our smartphones - browsing Twitter while we watch telly, staying in touch with the office while pounding the streets between meetings, and checking the news over a cup of coffee." 16
Social media sites are now available on a number of different output mediums, meaning that the consumption of visual communication is now everywhere, any time and available to everyone. These types of sites started out simply being on computers, meaning people would have to sit down at a desk, check out other peoples work and what they're currently up to, then leave and not have access to it away from the desk. However since the invention of smart phones and tablets, and how cheap laptops are becoming; the consumption of visual culture is happening on the bus journey home, in bed before sleep, and even on the toilet. Evidence of this is shown in a poll of 2,000 people carried out by Sony and O2, which shows that 75% of people use their phone on the toilet. Also, David Johnson from O2 said:
"We've become a nation of multi-taskers when it comes to our smartphones - browsing Twitter while we watch telly, staying in touch with the office while pounding the streets between meetings, and checking the news over a cup of coffee." 16
This consumption of visual culture has developed greatly from the late 1980's as mentioned earlier regarding visual communication being everywhere. When computer generated media started to spark during this period, people took up this new technology and means of media, meaning that media was everywhere, as backed up by Malcolm Barnard in Art, Design and Visual Culture:
"Computer-produced words and images were introduced into magazines, newspapers, film, videos and television."17
There have also been inventions of different input mediums since the 1980's. One in particular, Graphics Tablets allows people to create 'straight to digital' designs, which links in to my first point of the long process of illustrating from scratch on paper, through to the process of having the design ready to press using metal plates. Graphics tablets are available from around £50 meaning that amateur designers can get a hold of hardware easily, along with design software like Adobe's Creative Cloud, to create pieces of work. However; this accessibility to materials does not mean that the final solution or piece of work will be great. Without the mind of a designer, and knowledge of theory behind design, many people on the internet are creating poor quality designs.
In conclusion, this essay has discussed how the development of technology in a number of different mediums, has created new jobs, causing old jobs to disappear, and change the way we design in the modern day. It has shown how freelance designers and artists are increasingly on the rise because of social media, and how communicating through these mediums is so important for modern day advertising and company growth. Overall, the points discussed suggest that there has been an increase in production of visual communication, with more people having easy access to cheap yet professional design packages like Adobe Creative Cloud, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. This piece of work also shows the increase in the consumption of visual culture because of influences like social media sites and the invention of tablets and other output mediums allowing people to consume visual culture anywhere, any time.
Bibliography
1 Baines, Phil & Haslam, Andrew - Type & Typography - Laurence King Publishing - 2005
2 Baines, Phil & Haslam, Andrew - Type & Typography - Laurence King Publishing - 2005
17 Barnard, Malcolm - Art, Design and Visual Culture - Macmillan Press Ltd. - First Published in 1998
15 Cannon, Matt - Interview with Steve Nicholls on The Importance of Social Media for Graphic Designers - Web - Accessed 12th March 2014.
www.graphicdesign.com/article/social-media-graphic-designers/#.UyBsm_l_tps
5 Carson, David & Blackwell, Lewis - The End Of Print 2nd Edition - The Grafik Design of David Carson - Laurence King Publising - 2000
6 Carson, David & Blackwell, Lewis - The End Of Print 2nd Edition - The Grafik Design of David Carson - Laurence King Publising - 2000
9 CNN logo - www.cnn.com
11 Davidson, Carolyn - Nike Logo - 1971 www.therooster.ca/wp-content/uploads/73592.jpg
3 Heller, Steven & Llic, Mirko - Handwritten Expressive Lettering In The Digital Age - Thames & Hudson - 2004
10 Howard, Brian Clark - Woman who designed Nike's swoosh explains how chance encounter with Phil Knight led to its inception 40 years ago - Daily Mail - Web - Accessed 5th March 2014.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004273/Woman-designed-Nike-swoosh-explains-story-inception-40-years-ago.html
16 Johnson, David - O2 - Digital Spy - Web - Accessed 12th March 2014.
www.digitalspy.co.uk/fun/news/a464219/75-percent-of-people-use-their-phone-on-the-toilet.html
4 Margetts, Martina - General Editor - Hurst, Jacqui - Photography - Type & Classic Crafts: A Practical Compendium Of Traditional Skills - First Published in 1989 by Guild Publishing16 Johnson, David - O2 - Digital Spy - Web - Accessed 12th March 2014.
www.digitalspy.co.uk/fun/news/a464219/75-percent-of-people-use-their-phone-on-the-toilet.html
7 Meggs, Philip B. & Purvis, Alston W. - Meggs' History Of Graphic Design - Fifth Edition - Wiley Publishing - Orignial Revision Published in 1998, Fifth Edition in 2012
8 Rainy Planet Press - Why Letterpress? - Web - Accessed 12th March 2014 www.rainyplanet.com/blog/about_letterpress
12 Scotter, Andrew - Owner/Creative Director at Design Host Print.
13 Design Host Print Website - Home Page - Accessed 12th March 2014 - www.designhostprint.co.uk
14 Design Host Print Facebook Page - Accessed 12th March 2014 - www.facebook.com/DesignHostPrint
13 Design Host Print Website - Home Page - Accessed 12th March 2014 - www.designhostprint.co.uk
14 Design Host Print Facebook Page - Accessed 12th March 2014 - www.facebook.com/DesignHostPrint
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