Course Details

1. Appreciate and understand the development of Graphic Design.
2. Utilize a variety of approaches to the understanding of Graphic Design.
3. Identify and evaluate the development and historical context of graphic design and art and design movements of the 20th century.
4. Develop knowledge skills of research, visual analysis and oral and written communication.
5. Recognize and focus attention on the meaning and context of artistic and cultural activities now and in the past, in industrialized and non-industrial societies.

The course deals with the evolution of graphic design with greater emphasis on areas such as the invention of writing by the Sumerians, the formulation of the written language and the design of the alphabet.

Concentration is put onto the origins of printing and typography in Europe and concludes to the Industrial Revolution and the impact of industrial technology upon graphic design.

The course concentrates on the development and historical context of graphic design in the 20th century and art and design movements. This is introduced as the growth and development of modern graphic design with greater attention being focused on the influence of modern art, the Bauhaus and the new typography concluding with the concept of the Global dialogue.

• Visual Arts in the 20th Century, Lucie-Smith Eduard, 1996 Laurence King
• Typography, When, Who, How, Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott, Bernard Stein, 1998
• Graphic Design-A Concise History, Richard Hollis, 1994 Thames and Hudson.
• Graphic Design Now, Charlotte & Peter Fiell, 2005 Taschen.
• Movements in Art since 1945, Issues and Concepts, Edward Lucie-Smith, 1995 Thames and Hudson.

• Visual contemporary references on magazines like: Domus, eye, Abitare, wallpaper, The Face, Wired, Design Diffusion, Ottagono, Creative Review, +design. Avant–garde films and screenings.

Main teaching method concentrates around a series of illustrated lectures. A program of prescribed reading and viewing also forms another element, which is intended to reinforce and extend the knowledge of the student group. Attention is given to the appreciation of each era within the visual arts, but inspiration and a wider knowledge is encouraged in areas of art and design like architecture, industrial form, fashion design, photography.

Enriched knowledge through screenings in class.