Until the late 20th century, the graphic-design medium had been based on hand-craft processes: layouts being made by hand so as to visualize an idea; type was specified and ordered from a typesetter; and type proofs and photostats of images were placed in position on heavy paper or board for photographic reproduction and platemaking. During the 1980s and early ’90s, however, rapid changes in digital computer hardware and software utterly altered graphic design.

Software for Apple’s 1984 Macintosh computer, such as the MacPaint programme developed by computer programmer Bill Atkinson and graphic designer Susan Kare, had a revolutionary human interface. Tool icons controlled by a mouse or graphics tablet enabled designers and artists to use computer graphics in a new, intuitive manner. The Postscript™ page-description language from Adobe Systems, Inc., enabled pages of type and graphics to be placed into graphic designs on-screen. By the mid-1990s, the transition of graphic design from a drafting-table action to an on-screen computer action was fundamentally complete.

Digital computers placed typesetting tools into the hands of individual designers, and so a time of experimentation occurred in the creation of new and unusual fonts and page layouts. Type and graphics were layered, fragmented, and disfigured; type columns were overlapped and run at very long or short line lengths, and the sizes, weights, and fonts were sometimes changed within single headlines, columns, and words. Much of this research occurred in design education at art schools and universities. American designer David Carson, art director of Beach Culture magazine in 1989-91, Surfer in 1991-92, and Ray Gun magazine in 1992-96, caught the imagination of a youthful audience by taking this kind of experimental approach into graphic design.

Rapid advances in onscreen software also enabled designers to make elements transparent; to stretch, scale, and bend them; to layer type and graphics in space; and to link imagery into complex montages. For example, in a United States postage stamp from 1998, designers Ethel Kessler and Greg Berger digitally montaged John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Frederick Law Olmsted with an image of New York’s Central Park, a site plan, and botanical art to commemorate the landscape architect. Interwoven, these images show a rich expression of Olmsted’s life and work.

The electronic revolution in graphic design was shortly followed by general public access to the internet. A completely new operation of graphic design activity blossomed in the mid-1990s when internet business became a growth sector of the world-wide economy, causing organisations and businesses to quickly establish Web sites. Designing a web-site involves layout of screens of information rather than of pages, but approaches to the use of type, images, and colour are similar to those used for print. Web design, however, requires a myriad of new things to consider, including designing for navigation around the web-site and for using hypertext links to see additional information. An example of strong web design is the Herman Miller for the Home Web site, designed by BBK Studio in 1998. These designers created a strong visual identity, effective navigation, and informational clarity. Attributes that contributed to the effectiveness of this website included a consistent colour palette, an informative use of pictures of products, and a scrolling montage of products.

Because of the global appeal and reach of the Internet, the graphic-design business is becoming increasingly global in scope. Moreover, the merging of motion graphics, animation, video feeds, and music into website design has caused the merging of traditional print and broadcast media. As kinetic media expand from motion pictures and basic television to scores of cable-television channels, video games, and animated Web sites, motion graphics are becoming an increasingly important area of graphic design.

In the 21st century, graphic design is far-reaching; it is the main component of the complex print and electronic information systems. It permeates contemporary society, bringing information, product identification, entertainment, and persuasive messages. The ongoing advancing of technology has changed dramatically the way graphic design is created and distributed to a mass audience. However, the essential role of the graphic designer, giving expressive form and clarity of content to communicative messages, remains the same.

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