History of Graphic Design: From Cave to Kodak

By KatrinaSS
  • 15,000 BCE

    Cave paintings at Lascaux, France.

    Cave paintings at Lascaux, France.
  • 3100 BCE

    Earliest Egyptian hieroglyphs.

    Earliest Egyptian hieroglyphs.
    Pictographic writing on clay tablets
  • 2900 BCE

    Cuneiform tablets using cuneiform script.

    Cuneiform tablets using cuneiform script.
    A logographic system where words represent concepts.
  • 2000 BCE

    Full cuneiform scripts documented.

    Full cuneiform scripts documented.
    For communicating ideas and to represent abstract ideas like love, fear, betrayal, hope.
  • 2000 BCE

    Angono Rizal petroglyphs.

    Angono Rizal petroglyphs.
    A rock shelter with 127 human figures scattered on the wall, made by engraving lines using a piece of stone on the surface.
  • 1300 BCE

    Early Book of the Dead papyrus scrolls.

    Early Book of the Dead papyrus scrolls.
    The Egyptians are credited for creating the first major advancement in writing surfaces from the papyrus plant.
  • 700 BCE

    Greek alphabet.

    Greek alphabet.
    24 characters. The economy of the written word.
  • 105

    China’s Ts'ai Lun invents paper.

    China’s Ts'ai Lun invents paper.
  • 220

    China’s wooden printing presses.

    China’s wooden printing presses.
    They were carving symbols on a wooden block which were pressed onto sheets of paper.
  • 300

    Roman Alphabet or Latin Alphabet.

    Roman Alphabet or Latin Alphabet.
  • 300

    Illuminated Manuscripts during the Roman Empire.

    Illuminated Manuscripts during the Roman Empire.
    The title of the manuscript in the image is: "The Creation of Birds and Fishes."
  • 1002

    The Butuan Ivory Seal

    The Butuan Ivory Seal
    Earliest proof of the Philippines’ own writing system, the Baybayin.
  • 1040

    China’s Pi Sheng invents movable type.

    China’s Pi Sheng invents movable type.
    The thousand-character writing system kept movable type from prospering in China and Korea.
  • 1300

    Rise of Secular Books and Public Libraries

    Rise of Secular Books and Public Libraries
    Context: the Italian Renaissance.
  • 1450

    Johann Gutenburg's printing press.

    Johann Gutenburg's printing press.
    Developed from movable type, this made printing books possible and effectively replaced manuscripts.
  • 1455

    Gutenberg and Fust complete 42-line Bible.

    Gutenberg and Fust complete 42-line Bible.
  • 1460

    Albrecht Pfister: First printed book with illustrations

    Albrecht Pfister: First printed book with illustrations
  • 1475

    William Caxton's 1st English-language typographic book

    William Caxton's 1st English-language typographic book

  • 1st English newspaper: Weekly Newes

    1st English newspaper: Weekly Newes

  • Growth of Typography

    Growth of Typography
    Types: Caslon, Didot, Baskerville, Bodoni, and earlier in 1530, Garamond

  • Alois Senefelder discovers lithography.

    Alois Senefelder discovers lithography.
    A cheaper way to do multiple copies of the scripts he was writing.

  • First Fat-Face Type made by Robert Thorne.

    First Fat-Face Type made by Robert Thorne.

  • Vincent Figgins develops first Egyptian type.

    Vincent Figgins develops first Egyptian type.
    Also called Slab Serif.

  • Caslon's first sans-serif type.

    Caslon's first sans-serif type.

  • Claude Niépce develops what is considered as first photograph.

    Claude Niépce develops what is considered as first photograph.

  • Ottmar Mergenthaler invents the Linotype machine.

    Ottmar Mergenthaler invents the Linotype machine.
    Technique of “line casting” placed entire lines of type for printing, rather than just individual letter typesetting.

  • Tolbert Lanston invents the Monotype machine.

    Tolbert Lanston invents the Monotype machine.
    Forms individual letters using a keyboard on perforated paper.

  • Eastman Kodak camera commercializes photography.

    Eastman Kodak camera commercializes photography.