The Evolution of Digital Art
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Up until the late 20th century, the graphic-design area had been based on hand-craft processes: layouts being drawn by hand so as to visualise a design; type was specified and ordered from a typesetter; and type proofs and photostats of images were placed in position on heavy paper or card for photo copying and platemaking. During the 1980s and early ’90s, however, rapid advances in digital pc hardware and software utterly changed graphic design.
Software for Apple’s 1984 Macintosh computer, such as the MacPaint programme created by computer programmer Bill Atkinson and graphic designer Susan Kare, had a majorly revolutionary human interface. Tool icons controlled by a mouse or graphics tablet enabled designers and artists to use computer graphics in a new, intuitive way. The Postscript™ page-description language from Adobe Systems, Inc., allowed for pages of type and images to be placed into graphic designs on-screen. By the mid-1990s, the transition of design from a drafting-table action to an on-screen computer activity was fundamentally complete.
Digital computers allowed typesetting tools to be placed into the homes of designers, and therefore a time of experimentation occurred in the creation of new and unusual typefaces and page layouts. Type and graphics were layered, fragmented, and disfigured; type columns were overlapped and run at very long or short line lengths, and the sizes, weights, and typefaces were often changed within single headlines, columns, and words. Much of this type of research happened in design training at art schools and universities. American designer David Carson, art director of Beach Culture magazine in 1989-91, Surfer in 1991-92, and Ray Gun magazine in 1992-96, caught the imagination of a youthful audience by taking this kind of experimental approach into graphic design.
Fast advances in onscreen software also enabled designers to make elements transparent; to stretch, scale, and bend elements; to layer type and images in space; and to combine imagery into complex montages. For example, in a United States postage stamp from 1998, designers Ethel Kessler and Greg Berger digitally montaged John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Frederick Law Olmsted with a photo of New York’s Central Park, a site plan, and botanical art to commemorate the landscape architect. Placed together, these images evoke a rich expression of Olmsted’s life and work.
The digital advancement in graphic design was followed quickly by public access to the internet. A whole new sphere of graphic design activity mushroomed in the mid-1990s when internet commerce became a fast growing sector of the global economy, causing organizations and businesses to scramble to establish websites. Designing a Web site involves the layout of screens of information rather than of pages, but approaches to the use of type, images, and colour are similar to those used for print. Web design, however, requires a number of new considerations, including designing for navigation through the website and for using hypertext links to see additional information. An example of strong web design is the Herman Miller for the Home Web site, designed by BBK Studio in 1998. These designers created a purposeful visual identity, effective navigation, and informational clarity. Attributes that contributed to the effectiveness of this web-site included a consistent colour palette, an informative use of pictures of products, and a scrolling montage of products.
Because of the universal usefulness and reach of the internet, the graphic-design domain is becoming increasingly global in scope. In addition, the merging of motion graphics, animation, video feeds, and music into website design has caused the merging of traditional print and broadcast media. As kinetic media expand from motion pictures and basic television to scores of cable-television channels, video games, and animated Web sites, motion graphics are becoming an increasingly important area of graphic design.
In the 21st century, graphic design is ubiquitous; it is a major component of the complex print and electronic information systems. It permeates contemporary society, bringing information, product identification, entertainment, and persuasive messages. The relentless advancing of technology has dramatically changed the way graphic design is created and distributed to a mass audience. However, the fundamental role of the graphic designer, giving expressive form and clarity of content to communicative messages, remains the same.
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