Art Nouveau and Graphic Design.

Art Nouveau and how Graphic Design is related with it:

                Between the 1890 and 1905, the world witnessed the popularity of a new artistic movement called Art Nouveau. It was a style which descended from the Arts and Crafts Movement and managed to combine art and design into the everyday life. As the research shows, Art Nouveau was the “first style of commercial art used consistently to enhance the beauty of industrial products” and its main influences were mainly seen in art and architecture such as applied arts, graphic work, and illustration.

                For the purpose of this research, specific attention is going to be given to the influence that Art Nouveau had on graphic design. According to Flask, book production and poster printing were the most influenced sections in the graphic design section as their typography was highly ornate so that these productions were mostly left for display work. Nonetheless, artists continued to include this style in other works such as advertisements, magazines, labels and typography. However the artists did not limit themselves to use only paper as their medium to convey their message but also used glassware, jewellery, textiles, household silver, domestic utensils, cigarette cases, and furniture and lighting. Moreover, some of the artists also managed to be influenced by this style to design theatrical sets and costumes.  

         Numerous graphic artists were influenced by the Art Nouveau but two of the most important artists were Jules Cheret and Alphonse Mucha. Jules Cheret was mainly trained as a lithographer when he travelled to England and after his return back to France, he created several posters for the Parisian famous cabarets and theatres. One must also note that his designs were greatly influenced by the artists of the Rococo period. Cheret’s designs continued to gain popularity and so did his advertisement business as various clients required his productions in relation to liquors, perfumes, soaps, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products and railroad companies amongst others. Alphonse Mucha created one of his masterpieces in 1895 for the French actress Sarah Bernhardt as he designed a poster for an overnight sensational theatrical play, Gismonda. After this success, Mucha signed a six year contract with Bernhardt in order to design posters, sets, and costumes for her plays. Mucha was considered as an Art Nouveau artist because of the various rich curves that were visible in his art which were inspired by natural forms, vibrant colours, and complicated ornaments.

Visual-arts-cork.com, (2014). Art Nouveau Design: Characteristics, History, Artists. [online] Available at: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/art-nouveau.htm [Accessed 12 Oct. 2014].

Metmuseum.org, (2014). Art Nouveau | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [online] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/artn/hd_artn.htm [Accessed 12 Oct. 2014].

Guity-novin.blogspot.com, (2014). A History of Graphic Design: Chapter 25 - Pioneers of the Art Nouveau, Chromolithography and the emergence of the modern poster and cigar box labels. [online] Available at: http://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2010/05/history-of-graphic-design-birth-of-art.html#Five [Accessed 12 Oct. 2014].

What is Graphic Design?

What exactly is Graphic Design?

      

      Graphic Design is a type of art that combines both pictures and illustrations with typography to convey a message to people such as raising awareness about issues that are happening around us or for example the promotion of a product. The use of graphic design dates back into the earlier periods of time itself because during the Stone Age there are paintings in caves that depict what the people of that time were doing throughout their daily activities.

     

      Graphic Designers use a lot of media when creating their work such as drawn, computer generated pictures and when they’re making their work they even choose and manipulate the typography so that it fits with the theme of their work. In graphic design what affects the most is the presentation of the image and typography.

In graphic design there are 4 categories on how the work is composed such as these:

Image and Type:

          

Designers usually make use of a combination images and typography to communicate a specific message to an audience. They explore a lot of creative options which are either presented by the usage of words such as typography or by images that make use of photographs, illustration materials and fine-arts but then it’s up to the designer to research about the topic and come up with the ideas to create the appropriate work with letterforms and images but also to create the best balance between all of them.

Image-based:

           

The designer usually casts a great importance on the image so that the message which is shown is clear and effective for the public to understand while instilling a particular mood and emotion. Take for example a designer would use a lightning bolt because the public is familiar with the expression “lightning speed” so with this knowledge the designer combines images and typography to express the message to the general public.

Usage of Symbols, Logos and Logotypes:

           

The use of symbols and logos is a form of special and highly summarized information of forms or identifiers. Symbols are an unusual representation of a particular idea or identity. For an example take the CBS “eye” it’s a symbolic form, which we learn to identify that it’s representing a particular conceptual idea or a company.

Type-Based Design:

There are cases in which the designers make use words to convey a message, but they use them way differently from the way writers do. To designers what the words and fonts look like is as important as the message they are trying to convey. They can capture your attention on multiple things such as on a poster, can help you clearly identify a product name on a package and also show the text and typography on a particular book. Designers are professionals at presenting this kind of information in their own way in the form of visuals in printing, film, packaging and signs.

AIGA | What is graphic design? . 2014. AIGA | What is graphic design? . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.aiga.org/guide-whatisgraphicdesign/. [Accessed 03 October 2014].