Print changed the world completely! But print isn't just something pretty like an image or design. Print was a basic way of getting information out there. It is about visual text, its purely there for communication. The context of the print helps us to differentiate between different types of print, its context and purpose affects the way it is designed.
In the past there were small communities of people and all they knew was in that community. They wouldn't know anyone else existed but didn't have a need to because the context was that it was just them.
Offset = another layer and aspect to the printing process. Instead of printing directly ink could be transferred to another surface and then printed from that e.g. potato printing. Printing is a physical thing that exists - once its out there its there for anyone to read but equally when its destroyed it is gone. Print made things real. It took time to produce but was so worth it as it set facts almost in stone. If information was spread via word of mouth, much like chinese wishers, details would change or be left out. Printing completely got rid of this problem - we all knew the same thing.
Documentation, Communication, Reproduction.
Printing started in Japan in 200BC! From here it took 300 years to get to China. 300 years shows how long it took to travel and that word of mouth was slow, it also shows how disjointed the world was. When printing started in China they used cloth to print onto as it was durable and easy to carry in the sense that it was less likely to break. In 1400BC printing began in Europe.
Religion was a good way to distribute information - It bought people together with a common interest.
When the Gutenburg press was developed in 1450's it changed type all together as it allowed for movable mechanical type. It allowed anyone to print and for mass copies to be made. THere was no restrictions and you could write anything as no-one would say what was right and wrong. Literacy from here really developed because it meant more people could have a copy of something so they had reason to learn how to read. The Gutenburg press allowed them to print 3,600 pages a day compared to the 20 pages previously! It bought around a scientific revolution as it meant we could write down facts and spread them so everyone knew. Print also changed language with the way it was formalised. It reinforced the spoken language.
Marshall McLuhan - the medium is the message. 1911 - 1980. He predicted the World Wide Web 30 year it existed and he argued that print developed our cognitive skills.
It bought around Individualism as people could express how they felt. Democracy as people could be democratic and have their say, their own freedom. Capitalism as it separated those who could read and write from those who could not creating a class split.
Lino Type = 1960 -1970. Everything changed, it allowed printing and everything that came with it to go down in size.
Etching = It allowed people to see and drawing and understand whats going on. Oldest examples are religious themes.
Renasiance = 1870's. Having 'pretty' artwork and design for the sake of it. It served no physical purpose but would show wealth and design.
No comments:
Post a Comment