History of Design – G1

The reciprocal exchange between the viewer and the artwork, the ability to manipulate media and objects intuitively and with immediacy. This topic explores the evolution of the technical, aesthetic, and cognitive concepts behind human-computer interactions, and their influence on the art, design and application of interactive media. Beginning with the fundamentals of cybernetics as conceived by engineer Norbert Wiener in the late 1940s, we will discuss subsequent scientific breakthroughs in human-computer interaction including Douglas Engelbart’s oNLine System and the invention of the mouse. We will then explore parallel cybernetic and interactive tendencies emerging in the arts during the 1960s through the writings and work of John Cage and Roy Ascott.

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The non-sequential linking of information, events, and discrete media. A discussion of the evolution of hypermedia and the non-linear association of information resulting in the collapse of traditional spatial and temporal boundaries. We will begin with Vannevar Bush’s seminal investigation into the concept of the hyperlink through his design of the Memex in 1945, the prototypical multimedia workstation. This will be followed by Ted Nelson’s coining of the term hypertext in the early 1960s, in which non-linear associative thinking was applied to human-computer interaction, concluding with Alan Kay’s creation of the graphical user interface and the first hypermedia system for a personal computer at Xerox PARC in California in the 1970s.

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The experience of entering a multi-sensory representation of three-dimensional space. An exploration of the evolution of virtual reality and 3D virtual space: multimedia as an immersive experience that engages all the senses. We will overview the research of pioneering VR artists and scientists dating back to the 1950s, including Morton Heilig,  Ivan Sutherland,  Scott Fisher,  Jenny Holzer,  Jeffrey Shaw, and Char Davies, who pioneered the tools and aesthetics of virtual reality, stereoscopic imaging, and telepresence, leading to the creation of digital, immersive environments.

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Hello and welcome This week we will explore the visible word; how writing as we know it as a visual communication system has evolved. How our ancestors from around the world used mark making as a means of communication and how this has impacted upon the mark making strategies of today. We'll explore pictograms, ideographs and logograms. Alphabets, syllabaries and logo-graphics and how different cultures and civilisations applied these to create visual systems. We'll also look at the printing process and how this evolved in both the east and the West. Finally you'll have the opportunity to create your own form of visible communication system using the Rebus principle. I look forward to working with you all. Lisa

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This week we'll fast forward to the Avant Garde creative movements influenced by the industrial revelation. We'll explore the arts and crafts movement and it's social aims to improve the quality of working conditions and we'll take a look at some of the key artists and designers of the time. We'll review the organic beauty of Art Nouveau and it's opulence, enjoy the craziness of the Dada movement and the geometric explosion of cubism. It's a lot of information to take in so please review the lecture notes and take a look at the readings for a deeper understanding of these important and influential times.

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This week we'll explore the Modernist era and some of the major art movements of the times. We'll begin in the Netherlands with Dutch modernism and how this paved the way for one of the most influential design schools in Graphic Design history, The Bauhaus and we'll see how the philosophies and teachings have all greatly impacted upon contemporary creative practice. You'll be asked to make your own creative response to the Bauhaus' philosophy on geometric shapes and primary colours to demonstrate your understanding of their principles and there are several interesting readings and videos to help you along the way. Once again this session will be packed with information so please take notes and reflect on your OSS site.

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