Print & Design History

Print history.
Print and design history is something that has fascinated me continuously throughout my design education. I have been fortunate enough to have the ability to visit many historical places that had huge influences on design. I have been to museums where paper is made from rags, and have gone home to try and create my own paper. I have learned from professionals how to insert a real, tangible watermark. I have seen massive printing presses creating newspapers for cities where the oldest universities in the world are. Maybe these parts of my past are my reason for appreciating old design and how time-consuming it really was.
I really enjoyed the documentary our Process and Materials class watched; seeing the reality of Gutenburg’s life is amazing to me whenever I see it, and to know that people all over the world appreciate this form of design renews my hope for the future of design.
I love that classes such as the one that we are currently taking are still taught in universities around the world. I feel that at some point or another, designers find their niche; I feel that now more than any other time, designers must have a niche, and be better at that one thing than anyone else, while at the same time being the best at every other designerly category. This is a lot to put on us as students, who already feel like waiting for the end of the semester is an eternity. I feel that it is, however, the only way to really succeed in our area of study. I love paper, and book design, and design that people can touch and really feel connected to. I feel that this love has really been completely influenced by learning about the history of print, and the world of design that has come out of that.