Unit 1 (chapter 1) History of Graphic Design

papyrus, substrate, recto, verso, hieratic, demotic

Papyrus and Writing: Development of papyrus, a paperlike _________ for manuscripts, major step in Egyptian visual communication. The Cyperus papyrus plant grew along the Nile and the flower used for garlands at the temples, roots for fuel and utensils, stems as raw material (sails, mats, cloths, sandals, etc) Natural History by Pliny the Elder explains how papyrus is made.... peel the rind away, inner pith of stem was cut into longitude strips and laid side by side. 2nd layer laid on top of 1st at right angle. It is then soaked in Nile and then pressed/ hammered until single sheet (glutinous sap acted as adhesive. Dried in sun and then smoothed with ivory or stone polisher. Finished sheet: 1) upper surface of horizontal fibers called the _______ 2) bottom, vertical fibers called the __________ Scribes used wooden palette: 1) had two depressions to hold black, red, or other ink cakes (gum solution- binder, carbon- black ink, ground red ocher- red ink, they added water to wet the cakes) 2) slot in middle held brushes (rush stems, tip of stem cut to make angle and chewed on by scribe to separate fibers into a brush) Hieroglyphic books evolved from monumental form to a simplified inscriptional hieroglyphs from constructed pictures to quick gestures (look at image 1-30) 1500 BCE Priests developed cursory __________ (Greek "priestly") script, used for religious writing and pen-stroke simplification of hieroglyphs book. Used a rush pen instead of pointed brush, producing more abstract characters with terse, angular quality. Reserved for clergy, short hand for hieroglyphs Evolved from pictograph (elementary pictures or sketches that represented the things that were in the world around them) System of abstract shapes/symbols which represented most consonance sounds Ink with reed brush on paper simplified hierocratic 400 BCE more abstract script called __________ (Greek "popular") used for commercial and legal writing General masses (a simplification of a simplification) hieratic and demotic supplanted hieroglyphs (used for religious and inscriptional purposes) not supplanted them

images

Design format for illustrated manuscripts: 1) 1 or more horizontal bands (colored) at top and bottom of manuscript 2) vertical columns of writing separated by ruled lines (left to right) 3) images inserted adjacent to text 4) Images were often on lower horizontal bands with columns of text handing down from the top horizontal band 5) horizontal friezelike register ran along top 6) sometimes sheets divided into rectangular zones, separating text and images Earlier Books of the Dead: scribes wrote first and left blanks for _________. Artists would fill blanks best they could Later: artists drew first and scribes wrote trying to avoid awkward spaces and sometimes wrote in margins if not enough room. These scribes were not scholars and passages were omitted for purposes of layout or bad workmanship Illustrations: simplified contour lines (black or brown) and flat colors (white ,black, brown, blue, green, sometimes yellow). Wall paintings and papyri- men shown darker skin then women, more important people were drawn bigger. Human body was 2-D: frontal body had arms, legs, and head profile. Eyes were read as both profile and frontal image Buyer could commission or purchase a stock copy (have name inserted). They could select the chapters, number and quality of illustrations, and length.

Blau monument, law, Code of Hammurabi, stele

Early Sumerian artisans mixed writing with relief images. _______ _____________: Oldest extant artifact combining words and pictures on same surface. Mesopotamia libraries: tablets on religion, math, history, law, literature, etc Writing fostered history, tablets chronicled the events that occurred during reign of monarchs. Writing enabled society to stabilize itself under rule of ____. Measurements and weights were standardized and guaranteed by writing. ________ ____ ____________- spelled out crimes and punishment, thus established social order and justice. written in cuneiform on a ________- inscribed or carved in stone or slab or slab for commemorative purposes 282 laws in 21 columns

hieroglyphs, rosetta stone, cartouche, phonograms

Egyptian hieroglyphs: 3100 BCE Sumerian inventions reached Egypt like cylinder seal, design motifs, fundamentals of writing Egypt retained picture-writing script called ______________ (Greek "sacred carving" Egypt "the God's words" ___________ ________: black slab found with Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian demotic script, and Greek. Written 197/6 BCE after priests met to commemorate ascension of Pharaoh Ptolemy V to the throne. Dr. Thomas Young proved the directions of glyphs of animals/ people faced was the direction from which hieroglyphs should be read. ____________- oval frame around glyphs of important figure Jean-Francois Champollion was the major decipher of the rosetta stone. Realized some signs were alphabetic, some syllabic, and some determinatives (signs that determined how preceding glyphs should be interpreted). Realized hieroglyphs functioned as ______________ not just pictographs.

cylinder seals, proprietary marks, heart-scarab

Egyptian visual identification Used __________ __________ and __________ __________ on items like pottery. They inherited both formed of identification from Sumerians. Scarab beetle was considered sacred or magical. It was linked to sun god, Khepri (rolling sun across sky) and the beetle's life cycle to to cyclical process of nature. 12 Dynasty- carved Scarab emblems and used as identification seals. Were oval stones (glazed steatite) sculpted into beetle. Flat underside had engraved hieroglyphs used as seal Healing symbol, ritual (rising sun) heart was the most important organ (where soul/self was) was left in the body and put hear scarab over heart Amulet called ________-_________ was placed over heart of mummy and engraved undersurface had brief plea to heart not to act as hostile witness in Hall of Justice of Osiris.

Ankh, living

Egyptians used design and were sensitive to decorative and textual qualities of their hieroglyphs. They were carved into raised images and incised relief and color was often applied. Buildings, tomes, temples, jewelry, etc had decorative and inscriptional purposes and often magical and religious values were ascribed to certain hieroglyphs. __________- a cross surrounded by a loop symbol for life and immorality and used as sacred emblem. Design flexibility of hieroglyphics was increased by choice of writing direction. Started in direction _______ creatures were facing and lines could be written horizontally or vertically. 4 choices: 1) left to right horizontally 2) left to right vertical columns 3) right to left horizontally 4) right to left vertical columns More than one design was possible in one work.

illustrated manuscripts, book of the dead,

First Illustrated manuscripts: Egyptians 1st to produce __________ ___________(words and pictures combined to communicate info). Egyptians strongly believed in journey in the afterlife and final judgement which allowed the deceased to by in company of the gods or be damned. Scribes and artists made funerary papyri called the Chapters of Coming Forth by Day, now called Book of the Dead. book of the dead- third phase of evolution of funerary text. First was: pyramid text- hieroglyphs covered walls including myths, hymns, prayers relating to pharaoh's life in afterworld. 2nd: coffin text- entire surface was covered in writing and illustrated pictures of possessions for use in the afterlife. High officials and nobleman could enjoy benefits of funerary text. New Kingdom 1580 BCE- papyrus manuscripts came into use for funerary text. It was cheaper then other two and more widespread use of funerary text. _______ __ ___ _______: written in first person narrative by deceased and placed in the tomb to help triumph over dangers of the underworld. Artists who illustrated were called upon to foretell what would occur after each subject died and entered afterlife. Magic spells, passwords, and protect of gods were given to help them through their journey. Journey into underworld was shown as chronological narrative. Papyrus of Ani- final judgement by Anubis weighing heart against a feather, Thoth to write the verdict, and Ammit the devourer of the dead

pictograms, phonograms, determinatives, rebus, determinatives

Hieroglyphs consisted of ____________ which depict ideas, ____________ denoting sounds, and ____________ identifying categories. Early scribes used _______ (using pictures for sounds) to express difficult words in visual form to write desired words. They also designated a pictorial symbol for every consonant (All the letters in the alphabet apart from A, E, I, O, and U) sound and combination of consonant in their speech. Never developed words for connecting sounds, but combing glyphs produced skeleton form of every word. New Kingdom: there were more than 700 hieroglyphs, 100 which were pictographs and remainder were phonograms, Egyptians contains many homonyms (each of two or more words having the same spelling but different meanings and origins) so _____________ were used after these words to ensure correct interpretation (like putting a beer pot or women/men to infer if you meant liquid measure or neighbor). Hieroglyphs used for historical/ commercial documents, literature, myths/epics, geography, science, medicine, concept of time, etc Greeks received much of its knowledge from Egyptians and out use of visual symbols originated with Egyptians (inherited zodiac, scales of justice, use of animals to represent cities, people, etc).

ownership, specialization, cylinder seals,

Mesopotamian Visual Identification: 2 by-products of rise of village culture were: 1) ____________ of property 2) ____________ of trades and crafts both needed visual identification: 1. cattle brands and proprietary marks were developed so ownership can be established 2. mark of pottery or objects identified in case of problems or to mark superiority for repeat purchases Identifying author of tablets verifying commercial documents and contracts and proving authority of religious and royal proclamations was needed. Mesopotamian ____________ ________ provided a forgery-proof method for sealing documents and proving authenticity. Cylinder seals: has images and writing etched into surface, were rolled across clay to create raised impression of depressed design (made "trademarks") Images were carved so when rolled they made a raised flat design it was almost impossible to counterfeit. They could be worn around the neck or wrist by attaching string through the hole on the seal. Cylinder seals- ornaments, status symbols, personal signature, etc First ones: engraved images of kings, lines of cattle, mystical creature later: narratives, gods Egyptians evolved a complex writing based on pictographs and Phoenicians replaced complexity of cuneiform with simple phonetic signs

utilitarian, ritualistic, pictographs, petroglyphs, ideographs, pictorial, writing

Prehistoric visual communications: Early humans left cave paintings like Lascaux caves in southern France (drew animal paintings). Black made from charcoal, light to red-brown was made from red and yellow iron oxides and was mixed with animal fat (medium). Pigment smeared on wall with hands or with brush made from reed or bristles. Images made for ____________ and ____________ purposes. They were used for magical rituals designed to gain power over animals and success in the hunt. Abstract geometric signs (dots, squares, etc) are included with the animals. Animal images are _____________- elementary pictures or sketches that represent the things depicted. They also left ________________- carved or scratched signs or simple figures on rock Many petroglyphs are pictographs and may be _____________- symbols to represent ideas or concepts High level of observation and memory evident in the drawings in cave of Lorthet. Early pictographs evolved in 2 ways: 1) they were the beginning of _____________ art- the objects and events of the world were recorded in increasing exactitude over time 2) they formed the basis of ___________. Images ultimately became symbols for spoken-language sounds

Tyszkiewicz seal

Stamp-cylinder seal ("the ________________ __________") Mythological scenes between bands of spiral ornament. An enthroned god sits amidst various cult objects before a mountain in which a human figure is buried under the god's throne, perhaps a representation of the Underworld. Five deities approach him, one with two faces. On the right another god slays a fallen enemy, while two others burn the two-faced god on a flaming pyre. Underneath the pyre is again a buried body.

Mesopotamia, Sumerians

The Cradle of Civilization: ______________- between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is a flat, once-fertile plain who attracted early civilization 8000 BCE, wild grain was planted, animals domesticated, and agriculture began. 6000 BCE made objects from copper 3000 BCE Bronze age, alloyed tin to make tools and weapons and wheel was invented ______________- contributed to social and intellectual progress. They invented a system of gods with head god, Anu and developed god-man relationship. They invented writing and records of invaders in Mesopotamia formed.

Ziggurat, writing, cuneiform, rebus, phonograms

The Earliest Writing: ___________- a stepped temple compound (dominated Sumerian city-states). The brick temple had a series of recessed levels with shrine at the top and housed priests and scribes. ____________ evolved because the temple need for record keeping. They needed to keep track of taxes, amount of foos stored, etc. These were necessary info if the priests wanted to maintain order and stability of the city-state. Writing was needed to identify contents of sacks and pottery containers used to store food. Clay tags were made to identify contents with pictograph and amount with elementary decimal numbering system based on 10 human fingers Earliest written records are tablets that list commodities by pictographic drawings of objects with numerals and personal names in orderly columns. They used clay for tablets and reed stylus sharped to a point to write carefully vertical columns. Evolved: writing was structured on a grid of horizontal and vertical spatial divisions 2800 BCE scribes turned pictographs on their sides and began to write in horizontal rows, From left to right to bottom. Made writing easier and less literal. 2500 BCE writing speed increased by replacing sharp-pointed stylus with triangular-tipped one (pushed into clay instead of being dragged though it). Characters composed now of wedge-shaped strokes rather than continuous line drawing. This innovation altered nature of writing: Pictograph evolved into abstract signs writing called _____________. Evolving writing and ability to record info expanded 1st stage: picture-symbols represented animate and inanimate objects, signs became ideographs and began represent abstract ideas. Sun symbol replaced by sigh for "day" or "light" As early scribes began to develop writing to function in the same way as their speech, the need to represent spoken sounds was not easily depicted arose. Adverbs, prepositions, personal names not be adapted to pictograph representations Picture symbols began to represent sounds of objects depicted rather than the objects themselves. Cuneiform became rebus writing _____________- pictures and or/ pictographs representing words and syllables with the same or similar sound as the object depicted. Pictures used as ______________- graphic symbols for sound. Cuneiform used abstract signs to represent syllables (sounds made by combining more elementary sounds) Youngsters selected to be scribes began schooling at edubba, writing school, before age 10 and worked sunrise to sunset everyday (6 days off a month). To be a scribe was reserved for few and writings took on important magical and ceremonial qualities.

Ziggurat

____________- A multistory stepped brick temple constructed as a series of recessed levels that were smaller toward the top

Cuneiform

____________- Contained the seeds for the development of writing. Information structured into grid zones by horizontal and vertical division. Written on clay tablets, by means of a blunt reed for a stylus. The impressions left by the stylus were wedge shaped, thus giving rise to the name cuneiform ("wedge shaped", from the Latin cuneus, meaning "wedge"). Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium (the Uruk IV period), cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs. In the three millennia the script spanned, the pictorial representations became simplified and more abstract as the number of characters in use also grew gradually smaller, from about 1,000 unique characters in the Early Bronze Age to about 400 unique characters in Late Bronze Age earliest form words of written expression began as Pictographs: pictures that resemble what they signify became more simplified and number of characters grew smaller over time They were stored vertically

Hieroglyphics

____________- Egyptian pictograms that depict objects or beings An ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures were used to represent ideas and sounds some were pictograms (ideograms), letters, and syllables (and rebuses) They never developed connecting sounds (vowels) They combine glyphs and symbols to create skeleton form for every word

Substrate

____________- Material used for writing on Marks, symbols, pictures , or letters drawn or written upon a surface

Blau monument

____________- Maybe the oldest extant artifact combining words and pictures on the same surface. The Blau Monuments are commonly thought to be a form of ancient kudurru - a property marker. record given to land owners to mark their boundary (stored at the temple and marking boundary)

Scribe

____________- They worked in priesthood, state management, medicine, government (positions reserved for select few). Writing took on magical and ritual connotations. Those who could write looked upon in awe. The palette which held ink cakes and reed brush was tools of their trade. Note the Hieratic Script is essentially a shorthand gesture for Hieroglyphics, initially reserved for Priests. Hieratic roughly translates to "Priestly". (1-30) You can see how the Hieroglyphic turned into Hieratic which turned into Demotic, all a shorthand more efficient way to draw the characters

Papyrus

____________- a paperlike substrate for manuscripts laid in strips and pound together, then written on, and then painted illustrations Illustrations: 1) body is shown twisted 2) torso and iris (was centered) was frontal 3) feet, legs, head were profile 4) always showed both hands and legs

Cartouche

____________- an oval frame around the glyph of an important figure, is also the French word for "bullet", the frame's shape

Pictograph

____________- are ideograms that convey its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. are elementary pictures or sketches that represent the things depicted. (can be visualized)

Petroglyph

____________- are rock carvings (rock paintings are called pictographs) made by pecking directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel and a hammerstone. (also called rock carvings) Are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading (starches into cave wall) Eventually found itself into written form of language

Mesopotamia

____________- between rivers," was the cradle of civilization.

Rosetta Stone

____________- c. 197-196 BCE. From top to bottom, the concurrent hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek inscriptions provided the key to the secrets of ancient Egypt. Note the Hieratic Script is essentially a shorthand gesture for Hieroglyphics, initially reserved for Priests. Hieratic roughly translates to "Priestly". You can see how the Hieroglyphic turned into Hieratic which turned into Demotic, all a shorthand more efficient way to draw the characters

Phonogram

____________- is a letter or combination of letters that represent a sound. For example: ck is a phonogram that says /k/ as in clock. graphic symbols for sound.

Rebus writing

____________- is a representation of words or syllables by pictures of objects or by symbols whose names resemble the intended words or syllables in sound; also : a riddle made up of such pictures or symbols. pictures and or/ pictographs representing words and syllables with the same or similar sound as the object depicted. represent word/syllable by picture of an object the name of which resembles in sound the represented word or syllable (can be combined to make phrase/ sentence) Egyptian rebus is conjunction with symbols to denote consonance

Ankh

____________- is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic ideograph with the meaning "life". The Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest. Notice the ankh symbol on the Sun God's knee in Ani's Book of the Dead

Stele bearing the Code of Hammurabi

____________- the most complete and perfect extant collection of Babylonian laws, developed during the reign of Hammurabi (1792-1750 bce) of the 1st dynasty of Babylon. It consists of his legal decisions that were collected toward the end of his reign and inscribed on a diorite stela set up in Babylon's temple of Marduk, the national god of Babylonia. These 282 case laws include economic provisions (prices, tariffs, trade, and commerce), family law (marriage and divorce), as well as criminal law (assault, theft) and civil law (slavery, debt). Penalties varied according to the status of the offenders and the circumstances of the offenses. The background of the code is a body of Sumerian law under which civilized communities had lived for many centuries. The existing text is in the Akkadian (Semitic) language, but, even though no Sumerian version is known to survive, the code was meant to be applied to a wider realm than any single country and to integrate Semitic and Sumerian traditions and peoples. Moreover, despite a few primitive survivals relating to family solidarity, district responsibility, trial by ordeal, and the lex talionis (i.e., an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth), the code was advanced far beyond tribal custom and recognized no blood feud, private retribution, or marriage by capture. stabilized civilization under rule of law. Covered everyday life, transactions, marriage, inheritance

The Book of the Dead

____________- was written as a first-person narrative by the deceased and placed in the tomb to help triumph over the dangers of the underworld. The artists who illustrated the Book of the Dead papyri were called upon to foretell what would occur after each subject died and entered the afterlife. (1st illustrated manuscript, illustration gave spells more power) The Egyptians were the first people to produce illustrated manuscripts in which words and pictures were combined to communicate information. A preoccupation with death and a strong belief in the afterlife compelled the Egyptians to evolve a complex mythology about the journey into the afterlife. Through inventive myth and legend, the inexplicable was explained and faced. A final judgment would ultimately allow the deceased either to be admitted into the company of the gods or to suffer eternal damnation. The prayer of every Egyptian was to be cleansed of sin and found worthy at the final judgment. Scribes and artists were commissioned to prepare funerary papyri, called the Chapters of Coming Forth by Day. A nineteenth-century scholar named them the Book of the Dead, and this name is generally used today. Magical spells could enable the deceased to turn into powerful creatures; passwords to enter various states of the underworld were provided, and the protection of the gods was sought. Wonderful futures were illustrated. The ancient Egyptians believed that, when they died, they would be judged on their behaviour during their lifetime before they could be granted a place in the Afterlife. This judgement ceremony was called "Weighing of the Heart". The symbolic ritual that accompanied this ritual was the weighing of the heart of the deceased on a pair of enormous scales. It was weighed against the principle of truth and justice ( known as maat ) represented by a feather, the symbol of the goddess of truth, order and justice, Maat. If the heart balanced against the feather then the deceased would be granted a place in the Fields of Hetep and Iaru. If it was heavy with the weight of wrongdoings, the balance would sink and the heart would be grabbed and devoured by a terrifying beast that sat ready and waiting by the scales. This beast was Ammit, "the gobbler", a composite animal with the head of a crocodile, the front legs and body of lion or leopard, and the back legs of a hippopotamus. Notice the ankh symbol on the Sun God's knee in Ani's Book of the Dead

Cylinder seal

____________- were impression stamps, often quite intricate in design, used throughout Mesopotamia. These seals were worn by their owners on strings of leather or other material around the neck or wrist or pinned to a garment. Their purpose was to serve as a personal signature on a document or package to guarantee authenticity or legitimize a business deal as one signs a letter or form in the present day. The seal was rolled onto the moist clay of the document as an official, binding signature. Cylinder and Stamp Seals can be seen as a precursor to printing and branding. Egyptians used cylinder seals and proprietary marks on such items as pottery very early in their history. They inherited both forms of identification from the Sumerians. From prehistoric times the scarab beetle was considered sacred or magical. Carved scarab emblems were commonly used as identification seals. With the development of trade Sumerians invented the contract Cylinder seal was carved with negative by relief and rolled in clay for contracts (when contract was entered into all goods needed be identified, the marks sealed the transaction) identify themselves so wax seals were made (rolled and stamp)

Lascaux

_____________ cave paintings Random placement and shifting scale signify prehistoric people's lack of structure and sequence in recording their experiences Lots of observation (how to draw the animals), a little expressive, and used the contours of the walls before they painted Speech- ability to make sounds in order to communicate- and writing is the visual counterpart of speech. Marks, symbols, pictures, or letters drawn or written became graphic counterpart of spoken word or thoughts. Writing made it possible to preserve knowledge, experiences, and thoughts. Writing and visible language's originated in simple pictures (connection between drawing pictures and marks of writing).

logogram

_____________- is a letter, symbol, or sign used to represent an entire word: the ampersand and dollar sign are examples of logograms (can be directly and constantly read)

Ideograph

______________- are symbols that represents an idea or a thing, rather than the sounds of a word. A smiley face emoji is an ideograph that represents happiness. symbols to represent ideas or concepts (can be imagined)