The history of graphic design dates back to even farther than we can remember. From Egyptian hieroglyphics to Chinese woodblock printing, graphic design has continued to change over the years. Yet it has helped document design over the years and through it express history and or historical events. Graphic design can interpret the social, cultural, and political aspects of society from various timeframes. The most interesting timeframes of graphic design throughout history to me is the Aestheticism(1870-1914), the Arts and Crafts Movement (1880-1910), the Surrealism (1924-1955), and the 1960’s  Psychedelic Language. These four periods are different, yet have underlying similarities that I will dive into.

Aestheticism

Aestheticism was a late nineteenth century European art movement that focused on the doctrine that “art exists for the sake of its beauty alone, and that it need serve no political, didactic, or other purpose” (Britannica). It began around the year 1818 but is recognized to of lasted between 1870 and 1914. This area of graphic design interests me a lot because during this time, art is seen purely for its beauty. This to me is what I naturally think of when I think of art’s purpose. To dig deeper into the aesthetic movement and see some work from some designers during the movement, check out this video. Overall, I find this movement very pure, as the goal of the movement was to remove art from all commerce and industries. Although art does serve many other purposes than beauty, I love the simplicity and pureness of just creating art for beauty and aesthetic. However, the dark side of this movement was the search and acceptance of ideal beauty.

The Arts and Crafts Movement

The Arts and Crafts Movement was the first full scale art movement ranging from 1880 to 1910. This English aesthetic movement “represented the beginning of a new appreciation of the decorative arts throughout Europe” (Britannica). During this time, the goal was to recapture the art forms of the past. The Arts and Crafts Movement is a complete one-eighty from Aestheticism. Rather than for ideal beauty, art is meant to show the beauty of the past. I found this area of graphic design super intriguing because I love that the art from this timeframe tells a story and keeps history alive. I included this fascinating video about the movement which highlights the architecture during the time and today. Despite the industrialization during the nineteenth century, the arts and crafts movement pushed for use and appreciation of older arts.

Surrealism

Surrealism was a movement in the visual arts and literature that focused on psychology based images. It was meant to create shock and surprise. Surrealism began during World War one and two, spanning between the years 1924 to 1955. “The movement represented a reaction against what its members saw as the destruction wrought by the “rationalism” that had guided European culture and politics in the past and that had culminated in the horrors of World War I” (Britiannica). This movement seems the most different from the rest I covered. Beauty in the art isn’t even a factor when being created, rather the art is being made to make a statement. It is meant to shock its viewers, and not in a good way. To see how some of the art was created during the Surrealism movement, check out this video. I would say that this might be the least interesting movement to me as far as beauty, however I appreciate the boldness and seriousness of the art. It is definitely the most complex out of the four. I think that it is super important to our history and every piece tells a story.

Psychedelic Language

The Psychedelic Movement took place in the mid nineteen sixties and had an effect on a wide range of arts. Not only did the psychedelic language influence the music, but also many aspects of the culture of the time. “This included style of dress, language and the way people spoke, art, literature and philosophy” (Visual Arts Department). Despite the super cool arts that were produced during this time, the movement tends to have a bad rep. This is due to the fact that the art style was influenced by hallucinatory drugs. Often the art has intense and abstract colors and swirls, which is what makes it so amazing. “The name “psychedelic” refers to drugs that were popular with the youth culture of the time. Posters for rock concerts tried to visually express the feeling of tripping out” (Visual Arts Department). Personally, I think this is what makes the art style so cool. Obviously drugs are not good, but the art style the Psychedelic language creates brings you into another world. Here is a video that explores the psychedelic popular culture. Overall, this is my favorite art style of the areas of design.

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring these four periods of graphic design. It allowed me to see how art has evolved over the years, depending on what was going on in those time periods. I can easily say that the Psychedelic Movement was my favorite period of graphic design. This is heavily because of the vibrant art and crazy music that was produced during the time. Aestheticism would definitely be a second favorite for me. My biggest takeaway from doing this post is that we are highly influenced by what is going on in the culture of our world around us and all of this is displayed in art, music, and literature. What is even better is this is all embedded in our history through these different art forms. I can truly appreciate all forms of art and what they have to express and display.