History of Visual Communication - Essay Example

History of Visual Communication Introduction Visual communication is the transmission of ideas and concepts from one point to another with the use of meaningful images. Such communication can cover fields such as art, photography, typography, illustrations and many other areas where meaning can be conveyed by means other than the use of words alone. Since the last half of the 20th century, visual communication played a major role in advertisement and marketing while more recently, creating Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for computer software as well as graphic design have been the mainstay of visual communication. An Ancient Art The development of visual communication did not originate from the WIMP (Windows Icon Mouse Pointer) interface which is most commonly seen system for controlling computers. Rather, the origins of the communication style come from cave paintings and drawing made in prehistoric times where certain ideas and concepts had been shared by the original dwellers of the caves to individuals who came after them. Even though the people who inhabited the caves and we are separated by a few thousand years we can still understand the basic message which is being conveyed by the image (Solymar, 1999). The message and pictures themselves become complicated as time goes by and the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt contain pictographic writings on the walls of the monuments they created to the clay tablets used for record keeping. In time, the medium changed along with the form of the message and things like animal skins, bone fragments, vellum, tree bark and papyrus began to be used as means for recording information. Even though the ancients had refined paper to a great extent, they did not have the ability to duplicate the same information hundreds of times with ease (Solymar, 1999). With the advent of Christianity, knowledge became a premium requirement for many people and the demand for documents that contained religious information was increased. Books and notes were copied in hand with a significant amount of labor involved in the process but that labor could be carried out by anyone even if they were illiterate as long as they could see and copy characters. On the other hand, it was far easier to transfer knowledge through visual images and the use of color in various pictures that explain certain stories (Ivins, 1969). The medieval ages perhaps represent the golden age of visual imagery since every image had several layers of meaning for the story connected to the image and even the individual colors of the persons portrayed in the pictures had one meaning or another (Solymar, 1999). Concepts, ideas and stories were understood and retold with the use of paintings, frescos, tapestries and other visual representation where color added to the aesthetics of the situation but also added meaning for the teller of the story which he/she could explain to the audience (Ivins, 1969). Start the Presses For example, the visual representation of the color blue could mean a member of the church, the red color could mean high birth and the purple color was the color of royal fellows. At the same time, other colors like yellow, orange and black could be used to suggest other meanings and therefore visually add to the meaning included in the words alongside the pictures (Ivins, 1969). A person skilled in the art of visual communication could often make out what was being reported on the page by looking at the picture and understanding the colors as well as the relationship which the figures in the illustration had to each other. Before the invention of the printing press, the cost of owning a document was tremendously high and only rich princes could afford to have and maintain libraries with volumes of information. The written word was kept by priests and scribes and had to help those in power to communicate with others as well as to understand written messages from third parties (Solymar, 1999). The priestly class had complete control over what was written and drawn therefore they had complete control over the rules of society. This certainly adds to the value of communication as outlined by Rogers (1994) since the words control laws and laws control society. The situation changed significantly in the 1450s when Gutenberg invented a remarkable device known as the printing press. Devices of similar designs had been invented earlier in other locations but he is given the credit for bringing the product to the mass market. With the press, it became very easy to create multiple copies of the same document (Fang, 1997). The method also permitted the masses to have access to the written word while previously it was maintained only by the rich and the priestly class. Despite the value the press added to the world of communication, it certainly took a lot away from visual communication since black and white became the predominant colors of books. At the same time, illustrations became more or less impossible since metal engravings were costly if they were to be used just a few times (Fang, 1997). A document could of course be illuminated by hand, but that would often void any labor cost saved or time gained by printing in the first place. The method and process designed by Gutenberg was so efficient that the basic principle of the printing press was not changed for hundreds of years. In fact, color printing only came back to the picture in 1710 when Jakob LeBlon developed a three color process for printing (Fang, 1997). In 1798 Alois Senefelder created the lithography process which drastically improved the quality of printed materials. The next revolutionary step came in 1893 when process color printing was developed that allowed the printing of color photographs in the early 20th century (Solymar, 1999). Motion and Color Photography came before motion pictures as an art form as well as means of visual communication but the heights achieved by the marvel of the moving picture could never be attained by static images alone (Harper, 1994). Early pioneers in the field of photography took up the task of creating movies and the invention of cellulose film permitted the early adventurers to create visual communication which could be understood by the masses as reality taking place in front of them (OBrien and Holland, 1987). In 1891, several technologies of the time came together for the creation of a new visual communication medium when William Dickson ran George Eastman’s 35mm film through Edison’s Camera and American cinema was born with one minute projector films (OBrien and Holland, 1987). By the end of the First World War, motion pictures were more popular than theater, town parties or any other form of local entertainment. In the coming years, experiments with color produced results which were even more popular with the cinemagoers and an entire industry founded on the principles of visual communication had been created (Harper, 1994). Today, entire cinematic productions are created using computer graphics alone but in the pre World War Two era; computer graphics were could only be fantasized about. Modern Graphics After the Second World War, communications became the realm of computers and electronic machines which needed human control and guidance. The interface between man and machine could only be done through visual means at first since machines had not evolved to synthesize speech as of then. The earliest computers did not have visual displays based on CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) technology but had to make do with rows of lights where different sequences conveyed different results. While such interfaces might have been acceptable to engineers and technical gurus, the usefulness of computers to the public was still very limited (Fang, 1997). Apple computers is credited with creating the first mass market computer operating system with a GUI (Graphical User Interface) that was useable and practical (Hertzfeld, 2004). Modern computer interfaces as we know and understand them today owe a lot to Apple and the visual communication artists who first created the ideas of how a computer system can be used. While the system itself has undergone a lot of changes since 1984, the basic control have remained more or less the same. Very recently, graphical user interfaces have seen remarkable changes and extremely high levels of detail and enhanced usability in operating systems like the current Mac OS X and the forthcoming Windows Vista. Additionally, the focus of the visual communication media gurus has shifted from operating systems and computer software to something which is a lot more dynamic and open than a computer system alone. The focus of visual communication is more towards the internet and the World Wide Web than anything else since that is one medium where creativity is not confined by anything other than usability and functionality. Additionally, the web allows visual communication experts to combine various disjointed media to experiment in creating communications which include elements from the written word, still pictures, moving pictures and even auditory information into one document (Fang, 1997). Moreover, the delivery systems for the internet have also undergone several evolutionary cycles and the same piece of visual information may be accessed on a laptop computer, a desktop machine or even a cell phone where the user experience of the visual communication could be changed drastically. This is certainly a significant change from the historical perspective where visual communication mediums often defined how the user would experience a given piece of art or how a viewer could interact with given information. In conclusion, looking at the history of the field, it is easy to see that the future certainly holds a lot of promise and hope for those who seek to make their mark in visual communication history. At the same time, it is interesting to note that the speech balloons used in ancient times to show words of a king are still being used by modern computer systems to display warnings or other information about software. Things like this show to me that the history of visual communication is indeed important for the future of the field since it shows where we are going in terms of where we are coming from. Future experiences in virtual reality and three dimensional graphical user interfaces may certainly change our perception of visual communications but they will certainly not erase our need or appreciation for it. Word Count: 1,808 Works Cited OBrien, M. and Holland, J. “Picture Shows” History Today 37.2 (1987): 9-16. Harper, S. Picturing the Past. British Film Institute, 1994. Hertzfeld, A. Revolution in the Valley. OReilly Media, 2004. Rogers, E. History of Communication Study. Free Press, 1994. Ivins, W. Prints and Visual Communication. De Capo, 1969. Fang, I. A History of Mass Communication: Six Information Revolutions. Focal Press, 1997. Solymar, L. Getting the Message: A History of Communications. OUP, 1999. Read More