Graphic Design is the visual representation via typeface, shapes, art, lines & spacial presentation (among many other things) to communicate a message to viewers. For as long as commerce has been around in the modern world, visual representations of a brand have been at the forefront of marketing. Because of this, we can associate iconic brands with as little as a logo, often with no typeface at all.
Whether it's a logo on a business card or a fully designed brand identity across multiple platforms, Graphic Design is integrated into almost everything we see and do today in society. Through the decades there has been distinctive design periods that have shaped the graphic arts world to what it is today.
The Art-Deco movement of the 1920's - 1930's focused on geometric designs with an emphasis on luxury.
The 1940's - 1950's ushered in a sense of stronger functionality over aesthetics.
By the time the 60's hit, the designs followed suit with bold, bright and often humorous takes on advertising, appealing to the masses.
This period featured psychedelic art, distorted typography and often overtly contrasted colors.
Post-Modernism arrived in the 1970's and still has a heavy impact on graphic design today with a rejection of the so called "rules" of design. Today Graphic Design is a mixed bag of all forms and completely subjective, as are most art-based mediums.
My influence is heavily inspired by the Bauhaus movement which focuses on functionality and simplicity. The goal of the Bauhaus movement was to unify art movements into a modern approach via design, architecture and the material world. The Mid-Century Modern movement, beginning in the mid 1940's through the 1970's, showed the world another approach to interior design that is still wildly popular today. Focused on streamlined designs that allow functionality with minimalism, MCM is one of the most impactful design periods of our time.
Elements of each of these design movements continue to inspire my work as a graphic designer today.