Podcasts

Principles of Design

Define principles of design?
Concepts used to arrange the structural elements of a composition.
What do the principles of design affect?
affects the expressive content, the message, or the work.
What is the principle of repetition?
repeating some aspect or element of the design throughout the entire document
Describe ways that the principle of repetition helps the composition/audience?Bold font, thick lining, certain bullet, color, design element, particular format, and spatial relationship.


What are ways that you can incorporate repetition into your designs? Bold font, thick lining, certain bullet, color, design element, particular format, and spatial relationship.
What should you avoid when working with repetition? Repeting to much that it gets annoying or overwhelming.


What is the principle of proportion/scale? The realative size and scale of various elements in a design.


What is the most universal standard of measure when judging size? The Human Body
How can the principle of proportion/scale be used as an attention getter? They are usually there to be unexpected or unusual.
What is the principle of balance? The distribution of heavy and light elements on the page.
Which kinds of elements/shapes visually weigh heavier/greater? Irregular shapes bear greater weight than regular shapes.


What is another name for symmetrical balance? Formal balance


Define symmetrical balance? This occurs when the weight of a compositon is evenly distributed around a central, vertical, or horizontal axis.
What is another name for asymmetrical balance? Informal Balance
Define asymmetrical balance? Occurs when the weight of a composition is not evenly distributed around the axis. 


What is the principle of emphasis? Stressing a particular area of focus rather than the maze of details of equal importance.


What happens to a design that has no focus? It can make the page jumbled and have no meaning.


What is a focal point and how is it created? Focal point is the area where the eye goes to first.


How many components of a composition can be a focal point? One
What ways can emphasis be created in a design? It may be the largest, brightest, darkest, or most complex.
What is the principle of unity? Wholenesscomposition.


What three ways can unity be obtained?
1. Put objects close to one another.


2. Make things similar (similar textures, colors, or shapes)




3. Direct vision of a line.


What is the principle of variety?


What ways can a designer add variety to a design?


Why is it important to find the right balance between unity and variety?

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?beautiful detailed and colorful representations found on the inside of cave walls and ceilings

Name several common themes found in cave paintings? large animals such as bison, horses, deer, tracings of human hands, and abstract patterns

How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)? Paints were made by water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, hematite a form of iron oxide. Brushes were made by sticks, small stones, leaves, and animal hair.

What is the most famous cave painting site? Lascaux, France When was it discovered and by whom? 1940 and by four teenage boys by accident.

Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.

Why did this cave have to be closed? Because the paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted by the tourists   What was done to satisfy public curiosity? The French government created Lascaux II, a man made replica next to the original. 

In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?Because of the red clay in the soil
Who discovered this site? Marceline Sanz de Sautuola and his daughter Maria How old are the paintings confirmed to be? Nearly 1900 years old

What is the oldest known cave painting site? Chauvet- Pont Arc When was it discovered and by whom? 1994 and by three speleologists: Eliette Brunell Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, Jean Marie Chauvet  Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
What was different about the painting techniques at this site? Walls were scraped clear of debris, 3D effect was created by etching around the edges, fossilized remains and items such as sticks and small stones which appear to be fashioned into paint brushes

What is "speleology"?

What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?

1. To tell a story or recount an event that already happened
2. Instructional visual aid to help teach about hunting techniques

Created for magical or religious reasons that if an image of a desired event were painted it might come true

Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean? The beginning of recorded history

Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization? The fertile ground due to the many bodies of water in the area

What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate? AgriculturePost an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).

Why was Cuneiform created? To keep track of business transactions
What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Clay Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface? Wet the clay; Form it into a flat surface; Use a wedge shaped stylus made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface; lay the tablet in the sun allowing them to dry and harden; created a permanent record of the transaction

What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).

 After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?Became more abstract number of characters kept growing.
Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform. 

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language? Instead of forcing their culture on the sumerians they adopted Sumerian culture and their written language

What is a pictograph? A pictorial or visual representation of an object.

Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture? They kept track of everything they did business wise.

Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? Persians, Greeks, and RomansPost an example of the inside wall(s) of an Ancient Egyptian temple.

What was discovered on the inside of the temples? Carved and painted images on every wall and surface all written in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language? Sumerian Cuneiform; influenced by the concept of expressing words in writing.

What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements? Logograms: Visual symbols representing ideas or objects, generally stylized and simplified and perfectly recognizable.
Alphabetic(Phonetic): came later as the language evolved into demotic used for document writing. 

The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words? Heiro: Sacred Glyphic: engraving or writing

What is a scribe? To learn how to read and write.
Who else was trained to read and write? Military Leaders Why? So they could communicate while in battle.


Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.

What is papyrus and how was it made? Substrate made from reeds (native to Egypt) ; Wet reeds are placed criss-cross over each other flattened and dried. Then rubbed with flat stones until the surface becomes smooth.

What is a substrate?

What were the Books of the Dead? instructions and spells to help them find their way to the afterlife. They were commissioned by the users themselves before death.

How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language? Those who could read and write hieroglyphics disappeared until no one knew how to decipher the ancient language.Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.

What is the Rosetta Stone? Had the same inscription written on it. Where was it discovered? Rosetta, Egypt

What three languages are included on the stone? Egyptian Hieroglyphics; Demotic; Greek

Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered? A chunk of the stone was missing and none of the three texts were complete.

Who finally deciphered the text? Jean Francois Champollion What was his breakthrough? He was able to match up the hieroglyphic symbols with the Greek version of the name Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses. The inscription referred to King Ptolemy V Epiphanies at the time of his coronation around 196 BC.

Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance? We now know a great deal about the ancient Egyptians and egyptian hieroglyphics. 

The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle? One sign represents one spoken sound.

Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them? Most of the shapes were angular and straight typically written right to left; Letters incised with a stylus

What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful? Its simplicity allowed it to be used in multiple languages. Disintegrated class division between royalty and the common people.

What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet? Social structures of the civilizations which came in contact with; first wide spread script

Post an example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form.

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians? Phoenicians regularly traveled to greece and established trade agreements with them.

How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor? Several consonants were adapted as vowels, as well as additional letters were included.

Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet? It has given rise to many other Alphabets including the latin alphabet

Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets? Several consonants were adapted as vowels, as well as additional letters were included.

Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form. 

The Roman Alphabet | 7th century BC

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet? Variant of the Greek alphabetWhat were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering? A rigid, formal script was used for important manuscripts and official documents. A quicker informal style was used for letters and routine types of writing.

Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make?  Institution of the baseline in typography and penmanship. This ensured that type was perfectly aligned in rows, and this greatly contributed to type aesthetics

From where did serifs originate? The carving of words into stone.

When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop? Stone men added little hooks to the tips of letters to prevent the chisel from slipping.

What is a ligature and why were they utilized?

Post an example of the Roman alphabet in visual form. 

The Codex and the Illuminated Manuscript | 1st century AD

Post an example of a scroll.

What were the drawbacks of the scroll? they only allowed for sequential usage; readers must read the text in the order it was written
Post an example of a codex.

What is a codex? covered and bound collection of hand written pages

"Codex" is derived from the Latin meaning "block of wood". Why?What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"?

• Random access: one can go to any point to find information   
• Sequential access: readers must read the text in the order it was written and go through to find a certain passage.

What were the advantages of using the codex?

• compactness, sturdiness, and ease of reference
• can be opened flat to any page
• easier to organize in libraries because the title could be written on the spine
• more portable

What helped spread the use of the codex? Christianity; the Bible

What replaced papyrus? Parchment Paper Describe the process used to create it?  substrate made from animal skin such as sheep, goats, and cows

• hair and fat removed and skin was smoothed out
• hide was soaked in water
• calcium, flour, and salt were added
• skin was stretched out, flattened and dried

What is vellum? finer qualities of parchment were made from skins of young calves

Name several examples of current technology that utilizes the format of the codex?

What led to a period of cultural and economical deterioration? the decline of the Roman Empire resulted in fewer books being created

Post an example of an illuminated manuscript.

Who began creating books by hand, taking the creation to an art form? Monastic monks

What does "illumination" refer to? the borders illustrations and ornamentation added to each page of text What was included in this ornamentation? elaborate illustrations; initials of chapters or paragraphs; paintings in margins, borders, and around text

What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts? natural quill pens(used for the highly intricate and detailed work)

Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes? the work was laborious

What is craftsmanship? Why is it important?  skill in an occupation or trade

The Gutenberg Press | 1450 AD

What is Johannes Gutenberg credited with? Inventing the technology of printing with moveable type.Post a photo of the Gutenberg Press.

How did the printing press work? Hand press. Ink was rolled over the raised surface of movable hand-set block letters held within a wooden form. Form was pressed against a sheet of paper.

What motivated Gutenberg to find a better way of creating books?Spending time with his father at the mint, and his love of reading.

Why did Gutenberg experiment with metal type versus wood type? Woodcuts were not durable; split in the press after repeated use. New blocks had to be carved for each new impression. Block was discarded as soon as slightly different impression was needed. Metal type (or movable type) could be reproduced more quickly once a single mold could be made.Post an example of movable type in a type case.
What is moveable type? The system of printing that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual letters and punctuation)

What is a matrix? Hard metal punch is hammered into a softer copper bar

What ink did Gutenberg develop that he used specifically for the printing press? Oil-based ink

What is paper made from? Substrate made from wood pulp. Where did paper originate? China

What is a "substrate"?  The material or substance on which an enzyme acts.

Who did Gutenberg seek to help with the invention of the press? John Fust Close to the end of the 5 years, what happened? Fust sued Gutenberg 
What was the first book he printed? BiblePost an example of this book.

How did the Gutenberg Press impact communication? Perfected script and made it easier to read; Books made more rapidly; current information could be shared locally and around the world; cost of books decreased allowing more people to buy them; demand grew and the population became more literate; people wanted books written in their own language and a greater variety of books; books began to flourish as well as industries such as paper making; economies became stronger; art and science began to flourish which led to the beginning of the Renaissance. 

Who introduced the printing press to England? William Caxton

What was the early form of newspapers? Newsletters

When was the first news weekly published? 1704 What was it called? The Boston Letter

What kind of press was built in the US in the mid 1800s? Cast IronPost an example of a 1930s printing press.

By the late 1930s, presses had increased in efficiency and were capable of 2,500 to 3,500 impressions per hour. What is meant by "impression"? Words being typed on the paperWhich printing process is the Gutenberg press an example of? Briefly describe the process. Relief printing: oldest method of printing; Intaglio: ; Porous; LithographyPost an example of an intaglio press.

What is intaglio printing and how is ink transferred? Image area is etched into the plate surface to hold the ink. Ink applied, then rubbed with a cloth to remove the excess Damp paper is placed on top. A press applies pressure to transfer the ink to the paper.Post an example of a screen (porous) printing press.

What is porous printing and how is ink transferred? Basic stencil process. Ink is forced through the open mesh areasPost an example of a lithography printing press.

What is lithography and how is ink transferred? Printing from a flat surface. Based on the concept that oil and water do not readily mixPost an example of a offset lithography printing press.

What variation of lithography is used by the commercial printing industry today? Offset Lithography

How do printing presses used today compare to the Gutenberg Press? They print images.

Describe four-color process printing using CMYK?

• C- Cyan
• M- Magenta
• Y- Yellow
• K- Black

The Linotype Machine | 1886 AD

• Who is credited with the invention of the typewriter?Christopher Sholes  
• What is a "stenographer"? someone skilled in the transcription of speech
• Post an example of Shole's typewriter.
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• Why did Sholes send a prototype of his typewriter to Clephane? He wanted a stenographers take on it
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• After the typewriter began production, why did Clephane pursue another machine? The typewriter only solved half of his problem and he pursued the invention of a machine for typesetting, one that would bridge the gab between the typewriter and the printed page.
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• Who spent a year redesigning Clephane's typesetting machine? Mergenthaler
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• What is meant by "typesetting"? Comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once.
• Post an example of Linotype Machine.
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• How does the Linotype Machine differ from the typewriter?The linotype machine allowed type to be set mechanically rather than by hand. It produced a solid line of type by casting hot lead into a series of molds that corresponded to individual letters. 
• How did this machine change the newspaper industry?Made it possible for a small number of operators to set type for more pages on a daily basis. 
• Post an example of a Linotype keyboard.
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• How did the keyboard of the Linotype Machine differ from keyboards that we use today? 90- character keyboard; there was no space bar therefore uppercase letters had separate keys from lowercase letters
• Post an example of a Linotype slug.
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• What is a slug? The assembled line of type is cast as a single piecePost an example of a person operating a Linotype Machine.
• Why is the Linotype Machine the greatest advanced in printing since movable type? Allowed faster typesetting and composition than by hand. 

Photography | 1839 - 1960s AD

• Until the 1880s, how were news stories illustrated?Engravings or woodcuts

• What is a camera obscura? A way to observe light; literally means "dark chamber"
• Post an example of a camera obscura.

• How did scholars and artists utilize the camera obscure? an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings onto a screen; used for the safe observation of solar eclipses and the phases of the moon. 
• From where did the photographic camera develop? the portable box 
• Who first used the term "photography"? Where was is derived from? Sir John Hershel; the Greek words for light and writing
• Post an the first photograph.  

• Who is credited with making the first successful photograph? Joseph Niepce
• Post an example of a Daguerreotype image.
• Who invented the Daguerreotype process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process? Louis Daguerre; 
• Advantages: image could be made permanent, exposure time was reduced to 30 mins. 
• Disadvantages: expensive, the image could not be duplicated, there was a growing need for duplicate images. 
• Post an example of a Calotype image.

• Who invented the Calotype process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process? William Fox Talbot
• Advantages: quality was inferior to the striking images produced by the Daguerreotype; "The Pencil of Nature."; unlimited amount of duplicates could be made
• Disadvantages:
• Post an example of a Wet Collodion Process image.

• Who invented the Wet Collodion process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
• Advantages: glass plates were used for the negative; reduced exposure time; cost was significantly less than the previous processes; produced a much sharper image. 
• Disadvantages: plates had to be exposed and developed immediately while the plates were still wet; dark rooms had to be portable. 
• Post an example of a Dry Plate Process image.

• Who invented the Dry Plate process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process? Richard Maddox
• Advantages: used gelatin instead of glass. 
• Disadvantages: still to complicated for ordinary users
• Who is George Eastman? What company did he establish?He made photography accessible to all; Eastman Kodak Company
• Post an example of The Kodak Camera from 1888.

• In 1888, he produced a camera that use his flexible roll film. How did he make this camera/photography accessible to the public? the camera owner could send in the camera with a minimal processing fee.  
• What is Edwin Land best known for? What company did he establish? patenting polarizes light filters and his invention of instant photography; The Polaroid Corporation 
• Post a photo of the first Polaroid camera.

• How long did the first Polaroid camera take to produce a photo? 60 seconds
• What was Eadweard Muybridge known for? (paving the way for motion picture photography) Known for his work using multiple cameras to capture motion. 
• Post a photo of the Zoopraxiscope.
• What is the Zoopraxiscope? device used to project a series of images in successive phases of motion
• Post a photo of Muybridge's horse in motion.

• How did Muybridge settle the debate and photograph a horse in motion? He used a series of large cameras placed in a line, each being triggered by a thread as a horse passed by. 
• In 1880s, the development of the motion picture camera allowed this? individual images to be captured and stored on a single film reel. 
• Post a photo of a motion picture projector.

• What is a motion picture projector? shine a light through the film and magnify the "moving picture" onto a screen for an audience. 

  Early Computers | 1930s - 1980s AD

  

  

  
  

  • What is an abacus? device able to perform simple math calculations 
  • In 1936,  Zuse invented this type of computer? free programable 
  • Post a photo of the 1944 Mark Computer.
  • In 1944, Aiken and Hopper designed the Mark Series of computers to be used for what? By the US Navy for gunnery and ballistic calculations
  • Post a photo of the UNIVAC Computer.

  
  

  

  • In 1951, Eckert and Mauchly designed the first commercial computer for whom? Census Bureau 
  • What does UNIVAC stand for? Universal Automatic Computer   
  • In 1953, IBM enters the scene. What does IBM stand for?International Business Machines 
  • What is FORTRAN? The IBM mathematical formula translating system 
  • Post a photo of the first mouse.

  

  
  

  • In 1964, how did Engelbart change the way computers worked? Making them a more user-friendly tool 
  • What is the significance of ARPnet? The first internet 
  • In 1971, Intel introduced this? The first single chip microprocessor
  • Post a photo of it.

  

  
  

  • In the same year, IBM introduced this? The first "memory disk," commonly known as the floppy disk
  • Post a photo of one.

  

  
  

  • In 1973, Metcalf and Xerox created this? Ethernet computer network 
  • During the next several years, the first consumer computers were marketed. Label each and post photos of the...
  • Altair

  

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  • Apple I

  
  
  

  

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• • Apple II 

  
  

  

• TRS-80 

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• Commodore PET

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• In 1981, Bill Gates and Microsoft introduced this package? MS-DOS Computer that packages with the IBM PC
• Post a photo of the Lisa computer.
• In 1983, who introduced the Lisa computer? Xerox Corporation 
• What is GUI? Graphical User Interface 
• Post a photo of the computer mentioned below.
• In 1984, a more affordable home computer was introduced. Name the computer and the company that marketed it?Apple Macintosh Computer
• The commercial only ran one time. When? The 1984 Super Bowl 
• In response to the Apple GUI, Gates and Microsoft introduced this? Windows Operating System 
• Two men are known for their development of the Apple I computer. Who are they? Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack 
• When was the internet that we know, world wide web, developed and introduced? 
• Over the years, Apple has included "easter eggs" within their software. What is an "easter egg"?
• Search for easter eggs in Photoshop and Illustrator. List a few in this post ... and try to find them in the applications.
• Where do you think computers will take us in the next 10 years?  I think they will take us way past what we think is incredible now