What is the role of print media in the digital age? 1.0

Meredith Davis - Graphic Design Theory

Formal tone due to the language she uses, lexis such as 'facsimiles' is an efficient way of saying ‘the reproduction of an older piece’. I like how she puts the subjects into context by describing the impact on social media. Davis is clearly observing the trend of technology taking over due to how she looks into social pragmatics; “Photoshop went from being the name of a software program to a verb referring to the digital alteration of images.” I have seen evidence of this in social media and I agree, it is due to the easy availability of photo-editing software. Davis mentions many different aspects and angles of design that the digital age has effected which is thorough. It is clear she is writing for an educated audience with a basic understanding of what design is. She writes maturely which is reflected in her complex language. 

Davis has picked up on how digital technology helps to create design easily and quickly. 'As software developed, it became possible to create and output accurate facsimiles of printed work in a fraction of the time spent in hand-generated processes'. She likes to describe the movements of technology and results it has on design. This creates a very balanced argument. When she does introduce her opinion, it is justified with fact: 'Everyone is, in some sense, is a write, designer and publisher.' This may be portrayed as a bold statement, especially to established designers, but technology such as mobile phones and computers give people the means to change their own type and imagery. Analysing the quote, 'in some cases' adds a more friendly tone to her opinion which is different to her formal style of writing. 

Further into her book, Davis begins to show her opinion: ‘it quickly became apparent that interactive media held the potential for bigger and better things’. It seems that Davis, along with many people, feel that technology will push design forward, and it has. However, there are many designers that choose to use traditional techniques to get a bespoke outcome. 

'A book has physical qualities that enable or constrain various kinds of thought. It is linear as is the information on the internet' shows how Davis is comparing traditional books to using the internet. As a source, it doesn't mention the role of print media a lot, it is based around the internet and creative software, however it is a creditable source because it touches on a lot of relevant information.  

Image Analysis Exercise - Study Task 1

I was given two images to compare and contrast, making sure I mentioned these key subjects:


Society - Social values at the time

Culture - Characteristics and knowledge of the time

Technology - Relevant to the production of the image and why it was produced

Politics - Political context and images politics

History - Does the image claim to be history or is it biased?

Image 1

The Uncle Sam Range, 1876, Advertising Image by Schumacher & Ettlinger, New York

Image 2

Empire Marketing Board - 'East African Transport Old Style' and 'East African Transport New Style' by Adrian Allinson, from the 'Colonial Progress Brings Home Prosperity' series of posters, 1930 - 1931.

Immediately I can tell that both of these compositions are communicating a message due to the illustrative styles and copy. The first image is older and includes serif and sans-serif type, where as the second image uses a bolder, sans-serif type. I think this is because during the late 1800s, a serif font was fashionable and more official. Although these pieces were created at different times in history, in my opinion, they're both based on the same subject. 

The older image is very illustrative and shows a wealthy household sitting at the table as if they're about to eat. I tried analysing the details to see if I could uncover any clues as to what the advertisement was for. On the scroll that the 'world' is reading at the table states 'Ireland - Potatoes - Fried, Baked, Mashed...' along with other countries and the foods that originate from there. This gave me a clue as to what the advertisement is for. Everyone sat around the table is dressed smartly and formally, which is what you'd expect at the time if you were wealthy, along with the decor. In the left corner of the composition is a boy, playing the role of the servant and getting the food. This made me think more about slavery and when Britain and America went over and introduced slavery to get tropical food. In comparison, the second images' location is in Africa, in the wild. This is because of the lack of technology. However, 'New Style' shows the beginning of industrialisation due to the bridges and better transport. There is a clear sense of African culture in 'Old Style' but 'New Style' has a white male standing over the Africans working away. This suggests colonialism which relates to the first image.

Britain and America both went over to Africa and used the continents rich foods to import back home and sell. This suggests why, in the first image, the scroll states the food and its origins. Looking closer at the first image, there is a clock stating dates. After researching into America during the period, these dates relate to the declaration of independence ending. There's also a canvas with the 'Declaration of Independence' written at the top but there are no names below it. This is why Britain is at the table, smiling, along with other continents.

I believe image two is portraying the benefit that Britain had on Africa. 'Old Style' has African men, women and children carrying traditional equipment by hand. In 'New Style', only men are working under the supervision of the British man. The image suggests that Britain is making the life of the Africans better by providing them with equipment and stopping the women and children from having to work. There are positive connotations towards the image but I know that the British made life worse for the tribesmen and introduced slavery and racism. 

Both of the images portray the amount of power and wealth America and Britain have. Both images were produced after slavery was abolished and I still think that both the images are propoganda to portray that what Britain and America did was a positive move, without mentioning all of the terror and pain they caused the Africans. 

Style of Content 1.0 - Study Task 2

We were given the subject of Modernism to research but we could only use the library to source the information.

Using the library resources was helpful as it allowed me to get to know how the library worked and see where the different subjects were. The system allowed us to type in key words such as 'Modernism' and it states where it is and how many of them are available. 

In my group, we each got a book about Modernism and analysed how useful the source was. We then discussed which ones were the best:


Introducing Modernism, Chris Rodrigues and Chris Garratt. Published by Totem Books (February 28, 2001).

We thought the illustrations in the book made it more friendly and less daunting to read. I think the authors wrote the book for people who already had a brief understanding of what modernism is. Using the index and the contents helped to quickly navigate around the book which was really useful but unfortunately it didn't explain what Modernism was. 

Modern Art, 1851-1929, Richard R Brettell. Published in 1999

We thought the information in this book was yet again too formal and wasn't specific enough for an audience that didn't know anything about graphic design. We used the index and contents to find the section on Modernism but it was based on the art movement, instead of the philosophical movement. 

Another good tool for finding books to use as research is Google Books. This allows you to view digital versions of the book. If you want to find specific words/subjects in the book, you can search it and the word will be highlighted. This will be extremely useful however not all of the books are free.