COP 1 Lecture 5 - The History of Type - Production and Distribution - Part 2

Today's lecture was a continuation of last week's topic, the history of type.

We discussed how the Bauhaus movement revolutionised type design due to the change in production methods and the fact that practitioners from different disciplines had begun working alongside each other rather than separately. The idea that 'form follows function' became the main focus as commerce started to drive design. This led to the real 'birth' of graphic design.

We also looked at pre-modern, modern, and post-modern design.

-Pre-modern design was based around the idea that 'God put it there', therefore that's the way its meant to be

-Modern design was about moving onwards and upwards with inevitable progress - it is very linear, with one thing coming after another

-Post-modern design was about complexity and contradiction, being non-conformist and non-modernist

We talked about Max Meidinger creating Helvetica in 1957, which is the epitomy of the modernist idea of type.The focus around that time was mass communication and mass deliveration, and Helvetica was an accessible, neutral type that could be used for many purposes.
We also learnt that Helvetica was stolen by Microsoft and turned into Arial 25 years later.

Steve Jobs created the first Macintosh computer available under $1000 in 1990, meaning creatives could now have their own computer for designing purposes. This allowed the individual to create a typeface, turning the computer into a design tool. This was a major step forward in digital type design and development as type became a focal point and something everyone could use.

Also in 1990, Tim Berners-Lee invented the internet. He gave this to the world for free without taking a penny in return. This was introduced globally, and helped create a culture of email and websites - meaning there was no demand for book publishers and hand produced type.

In 1994 Vincent Connare created Comic Sans, a sans serif casual script typeface. Connare worked for Microsoft, and in 1995 Bill Gates created Internet Explorer for Microsoft, which was the first globally adopted browser. Templates and rules were imposed and only 8 fonts were available to use - including Arial and Comic Sans. Due to this internet, people began making less phone calls and emailing instead. People stopped speaking and began typing and the spoken word started to decline.
We also looked at how emojis are increasing in popularity, where we are replacing words with images as a global language. This demonstrates how we are almost reverting back to using symbols to communicate ideas.

Post-modernism was heavily influence by artists such as Jamie Reid in 1977, who created the visual culture surrounding punk and the Sex Pistols. This style was about reusing type, ripping it up and starting again, not using the grid. This was an integrated way of looking at culture around commerce, the language of protest and politicisation of communication.

Barbara Kruger uses type in a clear way that delivers a message effectively, and this shows type moving into the fine art gallery system. This is similar to David Carson's work that has an aesthetic drive to change what type is.

This lecture has helped me gain a full and better understanding of type and its origins, which will definitely help inform my design decisions in the future.