Graphic Design
How the Industrial Revolution Impacted Graphic Design
Many inventions during the Industrial Revolution impacted the growth of graphic design and typography.
The Industrial Revolution, which took place between 1760 and 1840, had positive economic, social, and political effects that allowed us to get to where we are today, but it also had a negative impact on the physical and spiritual life of the average person.
There weren’t standardized work weeks or work-life balance for employees who were often working 13-hour days only to be making outrageously low wages. It negatively impacted the amount of free time that people had as well as their connection with their “local traditions, nature, aesthetic experience, and spiritual values” (Meggs and Purvis).
A Shift
The Industrial Revolution allowed for an increase in printed material because mechanical theory and metal parts were applied to the printing press and there was a demand for it. It generated a shift in the economic and social role of typographic communication and the dissemination of information expanded from books and broadsheets to advertising, posters, and jobbing printers.
Meggs and Purvis state, “The growing body of scientific knowledge was applied to manufacturing processes and materials…
