Hi David,
Thank you for your message.
What I was trying to point to was the problem of backward-looking identification of precedents and the difference between that and the evidence of actual emergence of a discipline. This is sometimes marked by the first use of a particular term, but in many cases, the development is decades later. Another example is the differences in such timelines for HCI shown in e.g. Brad A. Myers. "A Brief History of Human Computer Interaction Technology." ACM interactions. Vol. 5, no. 2, March, 1998. pp. 44-54. From the 1940s and the start of emergence of HCI as an academic field in the early to mid-1980s with the ACM special interest group and later in the 1990s with departments, schools and institutes (e.g. 1995 for HCII at CMU). This is a gap of about 50 years and similar to the gap (if Shaw is correct) for Graphic Design.
To go back to Paul Shaw's literature review of graphic design, which like Carma Gorman, I also regard as the best literature analysis of academic history and terminology for graphic design fields I've seen so far.
Paul identified the emergence of Visual Communication in the late 1960s with its increasing adoption in the 70s, 80s and 90s (i.e towards the end of the 20th century) This fits with my own memories in the UK and Australia.
http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2014/06/graphic-design-a-brief-terminological-history/
If you can point me to a better literature review, I'd love to read it.
Best wishes,
Terry
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Sless
Sent: Monday, 20 April 2015 9:20 AM
To: phd-design
Subject: Re: Design Studies and Design History
> On 20 Apr 2015, at 10:25 am, Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> The case of the development of the 'Visual Communication' field.
>
> This development is in close living memory. We can remember how it emerged from Graphic Design as a way of extending the ambit of graphic design beyond print media.
>
> If you were to ask the data of start of Visual Communication as an academic field you can date it pretty precisely towards the end of the 20th century.
>
> Yet, Visual Communication now claims its origins to go back all the way to cave drawings.
Terry,
Having been involved in this field for a long time (Since the 1960s), I can point to many important and useful precedents which predate the the widespread use of the term. Many contemporary researchers and teachers use of the term recognise this. Equally, there are many who, like you, think it is a recent invention who ignore this rich past and end up making fools of themselves and wasting our reading time.
When you say
> We can remember how it emerged from Graphic Design as a way of extending the ambit of graphic design beyond print media.term.
I don’t know who this ‘We’ is! My memory is quite different, and as an aside, the extension of graphic design beyond print media occurred long before the end of the 20th century.
I can point towards some of the bibliography and texts that make this clear, as could others in the field, but I cannot see the point in this context. You seem to just make assertions.
> If you were to ask the date of start of Visual Communication as an academic field you can date it pretty precisely towards the end of the 20th century.
So, I will end with and assertion of my own.
Even a modicum of historically grounded knowledge would suggest that you are wrong.
David
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|