Media for
Communication Artists
Evans & Thomas, Chapter 7
Melanie Yanney, Week 9
Objectives
 Discuss the different media options available to graphic
designers
 Explain how graphic communication and media are
interrelated
 Explain how media can affect the delivery and
perception of graphic content
 Develop a historical awareness of the evolution of
graphic communication and media
 Explain how technological advancements have affected
media development
 Discuss how new and traditional media are combined in
graphic communication
Page 219
2
What is media?
“A medium is the delivery means or channel for communicating a
written, verbal, or visual message” (220). The plural term is media.
Print Media
Electronic Media
 Magazines
 Television
 Books
 Radio
 Billboards
 Film
 Newspapers
 The Web
 Annual Reports
 Brochures
 Newsletters
3
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
The Evolution of Media
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
4
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Cave Drawings
Prehistoric people painted pictorial
representations of animals, humans,
and symbolic shapes on the walls of
caves thereby giving visual form to
verbal content, a process called
graphic communication. (220)
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
5
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Hieroglyphics
Crude images evolved into simplified
pictorial representations called
symbols or hieroglyphics. The type of
media used was paint on papyrus, a
type of paper. (220)
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
6
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
People later developed their own
written language using pictograms
called cuneiform, which evolved into
more abstract, linear symbols. The
type of media used was inscriptions on
clay, stone, metal, and other hard
materials. (220)
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
7
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Alphabet
Later, the cuneiform script was
reduced to a collection of 22
characters, a precursor to today’s
alphabet. (222)
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
8
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Early forms of today’s media took
shape during the Middle Ages when
bibles and psalm books were handassembled for the wealthy class. These
illuminated manuscripts were penned
with a feather quill onto vellum, a thin
sheet of calf or sheep skin. (222)
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
9
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Movable Type
Johannes Gutenberg invented movable
type and the printing press during the
Renaissance, which allowed for mass
production of the printed word.
Printing was the most common form of
media through the industrial revolution
through newspapers, books, handbills,
and posters. (223)
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
10
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Lithography
During that period, visual
communication began to evolve by
integrating graphic and fine arts into
communication pieces. Lithography
allowed artists to reproduce colored
imagery by printing from inked stones.
(223)
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
11
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Motion Pictures &
Animation
At the end of the nineteenth century,
mass media shifted to electronic media
thanks to the invention of motion
pictures. Early animated forms
progressed to sound animation and
use of Technicolor. (224)
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
12
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Radio
Radio also came into common use in
the early 1900s particularly as a news
and advertising medium. Its popularity
began to replace newspapers and
other print media. (224)
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
13
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Television
Television began to replace radio as
the broadcast media of choice in the
1930s and proved to be one of the
most important advances in media
technology. Color television was
introduced in the mid 1950s. (225226)
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
14
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Computer
Animation
Electronic media and computers
allowed for graphic communicators to
incorporate computer animation into
their designs. (227)
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
15
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
New Media
The digital revolution moved people
into the age of computers at the end
of the twentieth century. New media
forms blended graphic design with
audio and cinematic media, pushing
beyond the two-dimensional realm.
New media options include interactive
media, the Web, and multimedia.
(228)
Let’s take a closer look at each.
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
16
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
Interactive
Interactive media allows users to
control their media experience.
Hypertext and hyperlinks were one of
the earliest forms of interactivity. Prior
to wide accessibility of the Internet,
interactive programs were available on
diskette. Technology evolved by
allowing more digital information to be
stored on interactive technologies like
computers and mobile phones,
including animation, illustration,
photography, sound, text, and video.
(228)
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
17
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Radio
The Web
The Internet was developed in the
1960s by the US government to
facilitate communication in the event
of a nuclear attack. In 1982, it was
made accessible to research labs and
educational institutions. Then in the
1990s, it became available to schools
and businesses. 30 million people were
online in 1997, and today the Internet
has over one billion users. Web
designers must think cross-culturally
in this new global marketplace. (229)
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
18
Cave
Drawings
Hieroglyphics
Pictograms
(cuneiform)
Alphabet
Illuminated
Manuscripts
Movable Type
Lithography
Motion Pictures
& Animation
Multimedia
Multimedia technology blends
animation, audio, and video with text,
imagery, and interactivity. Common
multimedia technologies include Web
sites, video, and computer games.
Interactive technologies that are
limited to text and imagery only are
not regarded as multimedia. (230)
Radio
Television
Computer
Animation
New Media
19
Elements, Principles, and New Media
The principles of design also apply to multimedia, the Web,
and interactive media. Elements like balance, typography,
unity, color, and compelling imagery are just as important
in Web sites as they are in traditional media. (231)
One unique factor designers must consider in new media is
time. Content must be easily accessible, streamlined, and
simple to navigate. (231) Other design considerations
include:
 Motion
 Web Site Design
20
Motion
 Computer technology allows designers to give type
movement through animation to support the message
 Individual frames are less important than the complete
composition over a period of time
 Motion design requires plenty of planning through
storyboards to develop the piece
 Audio/video productions involve even more planning
through use of outlines, scripts, hiring actors and
illustrators, and development of music and sound effects
Pages 231-232
21
Web Site Design
 Web sites exist for many reasons
 Information source
 Entertainment
 Promotion of services, products, organizations, events
 E-Commerce
 Web designers begin with an information architecture
identifying how users will be guided through the site
 Then a site map is established to show where type and
images fall in a way that unifies individual pages as a
cohesive whole
 Finally, designers create style sheets to ensure that type
and layouts will look the same across all types of browsers,
screen resolutions, and platforms like mobile devices
Pages 233-235
22
The Right Media Choices
“The best media campaigns use a combination of media to
deliver a message” (236)
New Media
Traditional Media
 Targets a youthful
demographic
 Newspapers and
broadcast media reach a
wide range of people
 Takes a grassroots
approach to marketing
 Provides source for
entertainment and
information
 Magazines and books
narrowcast specialized
information to smaller
audiences
 Facilitates e-commerce
Page 236
23
Chapter 7 Activity
Identify a Web site that incorporates
multimedia, and answer the following questions:
1. What multimedia technology (animation, audio, video, games, etc.)
is incorporated into the site?
2. How does the interactive design help communicate the intended
message? (Why did the designers go to all of this trouble?)
3. Who is the intended audience? How can you tell?
Examples:

http://www.kraftbrands.com/a1

http://hipstamatic.com/

http://www.wbaltv.com/
24
Reference
Evans, P., & Thomas, M. A. (2008). Exploring the Elements
of Design (2 ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage
Learning.
25
Image Sources

Cave Drawings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_painting

Hieroglyphics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_hieroglyphs

Cuneiform: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform

Alphabet: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KomiUdmurt_latin_alphabet_(1931).jpg

Illuminated Manuscript: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminated_manuscript

Movable Type: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg

Lithography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toulouse-Lautrec

Motion Pictures & Animation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie

Radio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio

Television: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television

Computer Animation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_animation

New Media: http://www.bestbuy.com/

Interactive: http://usedipad123.com/ipad-games

The Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web

Multimedia: http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/01/19/the-6-iphone-home-pagessince-the-original-launched-in-2007/
26