History of Graphic Design: Chapter 1 (The Invention of Writing)

Evolution of Design and Writing

• Human Hand: Developed to carry food and hold objects.
• Toolmaking: Creation of implements with sharpened edges, marking the beginning of the design process (over 200,000 years old).
• Speech and Writing: Speech developed, and writing became the visual form of communication.

Early Forms of Writing

• Cave Paintings: Earliest records seen in cave wall paintings (e.g., Lascaux, France).
  • Materials Used: Charcoal (black), iron oxides (red, yellow, orange, brown).
  • Significance: Documented experiences such as successful hunts.
• Petroglyphs: Simple pictures that were precursors to pictographs.
  • Pictographs: Simplified images; early forms of pictorial drawing and precursors to writing.

Mesopotamian Contributions

• Cradle of Civilization: Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey and Iraq).
• Sumerians: Settled in lower Mesopotamia; invented writing.
  • Pictographic Tablet (3100 BCE): Early example with structured horizontal, vertical zones.
• Religion & Writing: Writing evolved for temple record keeping; conducted by scribes, priests.

Evolution of Writing Systems

• Ideographs: Transition from literal pictographs to abstract symbols (e.g., sun = day, light).
• Scribes' Innovations: Pictographs turned sideways for easier writing (2800 BCE).
• Cuneiform Writing (2500 BCE): Represented sounds of objects (phonograms).
  • Examples: Cuneiform tablets documenting transactions, law codes (e.g., Code of Hammurabi).

Impact on Society

• Law & Order: Writing stabilized society through laws, standardizing weights and measures.
  • Code of Hammurabi: One of the earliest sets of written laws (1792-1750 BCE).
• Cookbook: World's oldest found in Babylon, containing royal/temple recipes.

Use of Seals

• Mesopotamian Seals: Used to identify ownership and craftsmanship.
  • Cylinder Seals: Decorative, figurative images; precursors to printing.
  • Persian Stamp Seal (500 BCE): Precious materials, symmetrical designs (status symbols).

Decline of Mesopotamian Civilization

• Babylon: Reached its peak under King Nebuchadnezzar; later fell under Persian, Greek, Roman control.
• Alphabetic System: Cuneiform simplified by Phoenicians.

Next Lecture Preview

• Focus: Early and Late Egyptian writing systems and their impact on graphic design.