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 sequential usage
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?it is sturdy like a block of wood
What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"?Sequential means one must go through the scroll to find a certain passage, but random access means one can go to any point to find information
What were the advantages of using the codex?It was more portable than the scroll and could be opened flat to any page, title could be written on the spine
What helped spread the use of the codex?Christianity was associated with the rise of the codex and adopted the formal for the early Bible.
What replaced papyrus? Describe the process used to create it?Parchment paper, 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 and flour and salt were added, and then 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?Ipad, kindle, nook
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 became scribes
What does "illumination" refer to? What was included in this ornamentation?refers to the borders, illustrations, and ornamentation added to each page of text
What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts?Natural quill pens
Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes?because they were so laborious
What is craftsmanship? Why is it important?
It means good quality and its important because they will last longer.

The Roman Alphabet | 7th century BC

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet?Latin
What were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering?formal was used for important manuscripts and official documents; informal was used for letters and routine types of writing
Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make?contribution to typeface
From where did serifs originate?when they wrote on the stones
When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop?off the baseline of typography
What is a ligature and why were they utilized?it made letters easier to distinguish
Post an example of the Roman alphabet in visual form.

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians?the adaptation of the phoenician letterforms, traveled to greece
How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor?much less suitable for Greek languages, several of the consonants were adapted as vowels, additional letters were added
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?
a lot of the letters are the exact same except for some letters with overall or slight changes
Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form. 
 

The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle?based on principle that one sign represents one spoken sound
Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?angular and straight, incised with a stylus
What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?its simplicity allowed it to be used in multiple languages, and it also allowed common people to learn how to write.
What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?disintegrated class divisions between royalty and the common people
Post an example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form.

Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? 
Persians, Greeks, Romans
Post 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
Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?
cuneiform  and influenced by the concept of expressing words in writing
What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?
Logograms are visual symbols representing ideas or objects; alphabetic variations came later as the language evolved into demotic
The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?
Hiero meaning sacred and glyphic meaning engraving or writing
What is a scribe?
could read and write instructions on the walls and papyrus for rituals which were performed to please the Gods and Godesses
Who else was trained to read and write? Why?
  Priests so they could be a scribe
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.
What is a substrate?
plant
What were the Books of the Dead?
were usually commissioned by the users themselves before death
How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?
  because few egyptions were capable of reading or writing it after that
 Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.
 

What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?
had the same inscription written on it in three different languages
What three languages are included on the stone?
egyption hieroglyphics, demotic, and 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? What was his breakthrough?
Jean Francois Champollion, breakthrough came when he was able to match up the hieroglyphic symbols with the greek version of the name egyption pharoah ramses
Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?
 We now know a great deal about the ancient egyptian hieroglyphics

Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?Nomadic, means they migrate a lot to follow their food.
Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?Cuneiform, the worlds first written language was created there.
What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?Agriculture
Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).


Why was Cuneiform created?To help keep track of these business transactions
What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface?Clay was used. First you wet the clay, form it into flat surfaces, and then use a wedge made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface, lay the clay tablets in the sun allowing them to dry and harden, creating a permanent record of the transaction.
What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? Pictographs
Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).


After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?Wedged-shaped language.
Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.




After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?The Akkadians adapted to the Sumerians way of life and used their language and culture.
What is a pictograph?pictures that represent language and communication.
Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?
It was the first written language in the world and a timeless record.

Visual Organization

Visual Organization

• not directing the audience through a design is misdirecting them!

Eye Movement- 

• The typical eye moves from left to right and top to bottom
• controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye.
• eye tends to gravitate towards areas of complexity
• light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area
• diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement

Optical Center- 

• spot where the viewers eye enters the page, optical center is slightly above center and just to the left
• it takes a compelling element to pull your eyes away from this spot

Z Pattern-

• our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page, in shape of a Z.
• effective page design maps a viewers route through the information
• designers objective is to lead viewer through important aspects of the page

Fonts- 

• use no more than 2 fonts on a page
• make sure that they compliment each other
• Avoid using all uppercase unless absolutely nessessary
• choose the right font, make sure font can work with the tone or theme
• don't overuse fancy or complicated fonts

Visual Hierarchy- 

• will establish focal points based on their importance to the message that's being communicated
• it is important to establish an order of elements, and a visual structure; to help the viewer absorb the information provided by the design
• *What do you want your viewer to look at first?

-All the elements must come together in the visual organization
 

The Grid-

• a way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows, and columns.
• Modernism- very simple clear design and message
• can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between texts and images
• a grid consists of a distinct set of alignment based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format

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?
   bison, horses, deer, human hands
How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
   water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and hematite(form of iron dioxide)
What is the most famous cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
   LascauxPost an example of cave painting(s) from this cave. 
 

Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
   The paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted from the tourists.Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.
In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?
   Caused by the red clay in the soil.
Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
  Discovered by Marceline Sanz de Sautuola and his daughter.  19000 years ago
What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?    Chauvet-Point arc.  1994 by 3 speleogists. (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?
   Paintings were created with techniques not seen in other sites, walls were scraped clear of debris
What is "speleology"?
   is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form and change over time
What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?

1. to tell a story or recount and event that already happened
2. as an instructional visual aid to help teach about hunting techniques
3. created for magical or religious reasons that if an image of a desired event were painted, it might come true.