Graphic design and printing has over the years established a solid place in the community especially as far as marketing and communication are concerned. This we all know. What we don’t is how the two come into existence. Let’s find out shall we?

Evolution of printing: The whole thing was first seen on textiles before it made its way to the paper. A lucky guess would be that it started with the Chinese given their tradition. And that is about right; it began in Asia in the 3rd century. Woodblock painting is where the idea sprung from. In Africa, and more so in Egypt in the ages of the Pharaohs, this kind of printing was also in existence. It however went under only to resurface as block printing in the 15th century.

A closer look at the history and traces of art can be found in Mesopotamian where civilization is thought to have begun back in 3000BC. The block printing moved to mobile objects in the beginning of the 15th century

Evolution of graphic design: Graphic design can be described as a more advanced form of printing since there is included some more detail. It is of more visual appeal and can be created anywhere; from walls to works of clay to even computer screens.

Graphic design has an inevitable place in the advertisement, website and publication sector. It is estimated that the evolution of graphic designs took place in the southern France. Here, one can easily witness the graphic designs of animals in the Chauvet Cave. They are believed to be created by the primitive people over 30,000 B.C. and similar forms of designs can be observed in Lascaux Cave of France also. They were estimated to be drawn over 14,000 B.C., further one can easily observe the designs of primitive hunters at a place called Bhimbetka rock shelters in India and to one’s surprise they are over 7,000 B.C. old.

History reveals that the evolutions of writing and graphic art took place together. It is estimated that the evolution of both took place in between 3000-4000 B.C. Besides writing, the graphic art was used to create various kinds of books also. Few of the unique books include Lindisfarne Gospels (c. 710), Ada Gospels (in group of manuscripts- late 8th century), Book of Kells (c. 800), and Book of Durrow (7th century).

In the past, the graphic design techniques were also used to create Miniatures, Maps, Calligraphy, playing cards, etc. In the present age they are widely used for rebranding (sprite, KFC, etc), signage (Olympic Games, World Wildlife Fund, etc) and for logos and trademarks (MSN, Google, Apple, etc).