History of Graphic Design

he dawn of the 20th century brought with it an era of 

inspirational evolution of human expression, and from this 

innovation the term 'graphic designer' emerged as a by-

product. From the ancient caves of Lascaux in 13,000 B.C. 

to the present day billboards of NYC, these elements of 

creative art are all significant milestones in the history 

of graphic design and its related contemporaries.

he history of graphic design can be traced back from the 

birth of graphic images on the walls of Lascaux in 13,000 

BC with the beginning of written language. These were perhaps 

the two biggest landmarks in the history of graphic design, 

which further led to the production of graphic designing 

on a broader level.

Graphic Design HistoryBy 650 B.C. the ancient Greeks started 

using large diameter punches to imprint images and designs 

onto coins and tokens. This episode in the history of graphic 

design led to the discovery of moveable types or typefaces 

used to print books. Around 1040, Chinese inventor Bi Sheng 

invented moveable types with Chinese text on it. When used 

with ink, these typefaces could easily print monographic 

images of the texts into many copies without much labor.

However, it was only around 1450 that the history of graphic 

Graphic Design Historydesign witnessed the greatest phase 

of progression, when a German inventor Johannes Gutenberg 

introduced moveable types in Europe that made the books 

widely available. The history of graphic design then did 

not see any significant development until the Arts and 

Crafts movement in the late 19th century. By then, chapters 

in the history of graphic design evolved into different 

forms of mass communication including typography, image 

development and page layout.

Though the history of graphic design cannot be ignored in 

today's fast paced age of globalization and consumer 

advertising, its roots have definitely been forgotten.