Ideas from the History of Graphic Design

About this course: This condensed survey course focuses on four key periods or themes from the history of design. Together we’ll trace the emergence of design as a recognized practice, why things look the way they do, and how designers approached specific design problems in their work. Each week, a short quiz will test your knowledge of concepts, and a short reflective assignment will give you the opportunity to analyze the questions designers ask themselves today. This is an essential course for emerging designers entering the field, or for students interested in learning more about visual culture and analysis. No previous experience is required.

Created by:  California Institute of the Arts

• Taught by:  Louise Sandhaus, Faculty, Program in Graphic Design

  School of Art

• Taught by:  Lorraine Wild, Faculty, Program in Graphic Design

  School of Art

Basic Info Course 4 of 5 in the Graphic Design Specialization Level Beginner Commitment 4 weeks of study, 2-3 hours/week Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.6 stars Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said Trabajo del curso

Cada curso es como un libro de texto interactivo, con videos pregrabados, cuestionarios y proyectos.

Ayuda de tus compañeros

Conéctate con miles de estudiantes y debate ideas y materiales del curso, y obtén ayuda para dominar los conceptos.

Certificados

Obtén reconocimiento oficial por tu trabajo y comparte tu éxito con amigos, compañeros y empleadores.

California Institute of the Arts CalArts has earned an international reputation as the leading college of the visual and performing arts in the United States. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Early Mass Marketing
This week we are going to take a look at the effects of industrialization in the late 19th century, and how goods were produced, sold, and marketed.


11 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Video: Course Introduction
2. Leyendo: About this course
3. Leyendo: About the assignments
4. Video: Introduction to Early Mass Marketing
5. Video: Form Follows Function
6. Video: A Democratization of Choice
7. Video: A Revival of Styles
8. Video: Style Mash-up

9. Video: An Exaggeration of Type
10. Leyendo: The Designer's Toolbox: Wood Type
11. Video: Branding
12. Video: A Household Name
13. Video: Text and Image
14. Video: "Words doing the work"

Graded: Week 1 Quiz
Graded: Connecting the Past to the Present

WEEK 2


The Bauhaus
This week, we'll look at how the work and teachings of The Bauhaus (1919-1933), and how design emerged as a recognized practice.


11 videos, 1 reading expand

1. Video: Introduction to The Bauhaus
2. Leyendo: Week 2 Resources
3. Video: Founding the Bauhaus
4. Video: The Foundation Year
5. Video: The Bauhaus and Architecture
6. Video: Klee, Schlemmer & Albers
7. Video: László Moholy-Nagy
8. Video: Herbert Bayer
9. Video: Color & Image
10. Video: Textiles & Ceramics
11. Video: Typography
12. Video: Publications

Graded: Week 2 Quiz
Graded: A Designer's Tools, Now and Then

WEEK 3


Modernism in America
Modernism in mid-century America through the eyes of four key designers.


13 videos, 1 reading expand

1. Video: Introduction to Modernism in America
2. Leyendo: Week 3 Resources
3. Video: The Bauhaus influence
4. Video: A symbolic language
5. Video: Case Study: Scope Magazine
6. Video: Developing corporate identities
7. Video: A new subjectivity
8. Video: Case Study: Fortune Magazine
9. Video: Play and humor
10. Video: Case Study: The Mechanized Mule brochure
11. Video: Duality & Simplicity
12. Video: Case Study: El Producto cigars
13. Video: Rand’s Logo Designs
14. Video: A clear identity

Graded: Week 3 Quiz
Graded: Symbolic Forms

WEEK 4


Graphic Design Radicalism
Design practice in the late 1950s to early 1970s was new, radical and divergent. To show you just how varied it was, we’ll look at the work of four key players/movements.


14 videos, 5 readings expand

1. Video: Introduction to Graphic Design Radicalism
2. Leyendo: Week 4 Resources
3. Video: The objectivity of Swiss Design
4. Video: Incorporating abstraction
5. Leyendo: The Designer's Toolbox: Four-color printing
6. Video: Josef Mueller-Brockmann
7. Video: The Grid
8. Video: Emil Ruder
9. Video: Compositional Strategies
10. Video: The subjectivity of Push Pin
11. Video: Milton Glaser
12. Video: “The South”
13. Video: The Psychedelic Poster and Looking to the Past
14. Leyendo: The Designer's Toolbox: "Psychedelic" Effects
15. Video: The Diggers
16. Leyendo: The Designer's Toolbox: Gestetner Machine
17. Video: Sister Corita’s Aesthetics
18. Video: Sister Corita’s Politics
19. Leyendo: The Designer's Toolbox: Screen printing

Graded: Week 4 Quiz
Graded: Graphic Design Subcultures Today