History of Graphic Design - Modern Graphic Design

Modern Graphic Design

Perhaps it would be possible to consider William Morris the father of modern graphics. In the second half of the 19th century his Kelmscott Press produced many graphic designs, and created a collectors market for this kind of art. In Oxford he associated with artists like Burne-Jones, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Together they formed the Pre-Raphaelites group, and their ideas influenced the modern graphic design considerably.

• This fabric design called Peacock and Dragon, which is the work of William Morris (1878) is an example of decorative graphic design. Such designs was revived during the 1960s with the emergence of the hippie movement.

• This Morris Tulip and Willow design (1873) is another example of decorative graphics. By using a diagonal blue, with only some suggestion of orange the artist tries to create a harmonious color scheme that could be used effectively in the design of a poster or other graphic design media.

• This is the first page of The Nature of Gothic by John Ruskin which was published by Kelmscott Press of William Morris. The decorative design was the revival of the Gothic style in graphic design.

• This book of poetry, called Rubaiyat, by the famous Persian poet Omar Khayyam, is an example of early modern graphic design cooperation. The graphic composition of calligraphy and its decorative design are by Morris and the painting is by Burne-Jones.