The Beginnings

That was the first class of the History of Graphic Design. It has started with the story about the times before the actual graphic history. In the very beginning it was the pictographs from the Lascaux caves that depicted an intention of an anonymous author (e.g. the hunting scenes, animals). Later with the development of Western civilization the text was carved out from the stone blocks and in this form it was displayed to the public (e.g. in Roman Empire). After centuries the stone was replaced with the vellum, the mammal skin that served as a paper before this material was introduced in Europe. The hand made manuscripts written and beautifully decorated with Gothic calligraphy were performed usually by the monks who were literate and spent their time on copying the books, focusing on the religious texts, e.g. the Bible, devotion books for the clergy and people. This tedious work and expensive materials meant that only the richest people could afford to posses a book. Even the smallest mistake could stop the working process so copying even a short text was very time consuming. In the XVth century one man, Johannes Gutenberg, turned upside down the evolution of the written text. Although it was the time of experimentation and development in the calligraphy and manuscript art it was Gutenberg who completed an innovative machine in around 1439. Thanks to his movable printing press, more and more people had a chance to posses the books, learn how to read and in a cheap and fast way distribute the books. The technology spread over the whole Europe and nowadays many historian mark the date when the printing press was invented as a transition between the Middle Ages and the time of Enlightenment.. The major work the inventor was focusing on for years was the Gutenberg Bible, completed in 1455.

Johannes Gutenberg

Gutenberg's printing press in XV century