Signature art used on web forums
In the 1990s, Internet speeds increased, and Internet browsers capable of
viewing images were released, the first being
Mosaic. Websites began to use the
GIF format to display small graphics, such as banners, advertisements and
navigation buttons, on web pages. Modern
web
browsers can now display
JPEG,
PNG and increasingly,
SVG images in addition to GIFs on web pages. SVG, and to some extent
VML, support in some modern web browsers have made it possible to display
vector graphics that are clear at any size.
Plugins expand the web browser functions to display animated, interactive
and 3-D graphics contained within file formats such as
SWF and
X3D.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Modern web graphics can be made with software such as
Adobe Photoshop, the
GIMP, or
Corel Paint Shop Pro. Users of
Microsoft Windows have
MS Paint, which many find to be lacking in features.
Numerous platforms and websites have been created to cater to web graphics
artists and to host their communities. A growing number of people use create
internet forum signatures�generally appearing after a user's post�and other
digital artwork, such as photo manipulations and large graphics.
Use
Graphics are
visual elements often used to point readers and viewers to particular
information. They are also used to supplement text in an effort to aid readers
in their understanding of a particular concept or make the concept more clear or
interesting.
Popular
magazines, such as
TIME,
Wired and
Newsweek,
usually contain graphic material in abundance to attract readers, unlike the
majority of
scholarly journals. In computing, they are used to create a graphical
interface for the user; and graphics are one of the five key elements of
multimedia
technology. Graphics are among the primary ways of advertising the sale of goods
or services.
Business
Graphics are commonly used in
business
and economics
to create financial charts and tables. The term Business Graphics came
into use in the late 1970s, when personal computers became capable of drawing
graphs and charts instead of using a tabular format. Business Graphics can be
used to highlight changes over a period of time.
Advertising
Advertising is one of the most profitable uses of graphics; artists often do
advertising work or take advertising potential into account when creating art,
to increase the chances of selling the artwork.
Political
The use of graphics for overtly political purposes�cartoons, graffiti, poster
art, flag design, etc�is a centuries old practice which thrives today in every
part of the world. The
Northern Irish murals are one such example.
Education
Graphics are heavily used in
textbooks, especially those concerning subjects such as
geography,
science and
mathematics, in order to illustrate theories and concepts, such as the
human
anatomy. Diagrams are also used to label photographs and pictures.
Educational animation is an important emerging field of graphics. Animated
graphics have obvious advantages over static graphics when explaining subject
matter that changes over time.
The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary uses graphics and technical
illustrations to make reading material more interesting and easier to
understand. In an
encyclopedia, graphics are used to illustrate concepts and show examples of
the particular topic being discussed.
In order for a graphic to function effectively as an educational aid, the
learner must be able to interpret it successfully. This interpretative capacity
is one aspect of
graphicacy.
Film and animation
Computer graphics are often used in the majority of new feature films,
especially those with a large budget. Films that heavily use computer graphics
include
Lord of the Rings trilogy, the
Harry
Potter films,
Spider-Man and
War of the Worlds.
Graphics education
The majority of schools, colleges and universities around the world educate
students on the subject of graphics and art.
The subject is taught in a broad variety of ways, each course teaching its
own distinctive balance of craft skills and intellectual response to the
client's needs.
Some graphics courses prioritize traditional craft skills�drawing,
printmaking and typography�over modern craft skills. Other courses may place an
emphasis on teaching digital craft skills. Still other courses may downplay the
crafts entirely, concentrating on training students to generate novel
intellectual responses that engage with the brief. Despite these apparent
differences in training and curriculum, the staff and students on any of these
courses will generally consider themselves to be graphic designers.
The typical
pedagogy of a graphic design (or graphic communication, visual
communication, graphic arts or any number of
synonymous course titles) will be broadly based on the teaching models
developed in the
Bauhaus school in Germany or
VKhUTEMAS in Soviet Russia. The teaching model will tend to expose students
to a variety of craft skills (currently everything from drawing to motion
capture), combined with an effort to engage the student with the world of
visual culture.
Famous graphic designers
Aldus Manutius designed the first
Italic
type style which is often used in
desktop publishing and
graphic design.
April
Greiman is known for her influential
poster design.
Paul Rand
is well known as a design pioneer for designing many popular corporate logos,
including the logo for
IBM, NeXT and
UPS.
William Caslon, during the mid-18th century, designed many typefaces,
including ITC Founder's Caslon, ITC Founder's Caslon Ornaments,
Caslon Graphique, ITC Caslon No. 224, Caslon Old Face and
Big Caslon.
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