I read that the term “graphic design” was coined in 1922. What was it called before that? Graphic arts? Just curious what the name of the profession was for someone who worked in typography, graphic layout, etc.
Thanks!
Commercial artist.
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William Gaines of Mad magazine was born. Coincidence? I think not.
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I don’t think it really existed. There were sign painters, illustrators, craftsmen, printers, type designers and people who had a knack for making things look good. I don’t think there was anything like a named profession that specialized in 2-dimensional design. Instead, it was something that various people did in addition to other things. Printing technology was awfully limited back then and layouts were limited by what was possible with the existing technology and by the tradesmen and printers who were trained on the job in using the tools.
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Well I was a sign painter in the 70’s and 80’s and my instructor was around in the 30 and he never mentioned anything about titles like graphic designer or desktop publisher. He used to call everyone a craftsman or artist. Now I’m a web designer and the variations and titles are in the hundreds. UX Designer, UI Designer, Application Designer, Desktop Publisher, so go figure. It’s all about the same thing making content look good and getting attention.
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The term graphic designing was discovered in 1922 and before 1922 graphic designers were known as commercial artists.
Graphic design was called as “Commercial artist” before 1992.
Not until 1992? How did you come up with that date? A typo maybe?
I first enrolled in my university’s graphic design program in 1976.
At the time, I remember some so-called vocational or trade schools having commercial art programs. I don’t recall any of the several university programs I checked into using the term — without exception, they all used the words graphic design.
According to Britannica.com, “In 1922 typographer William A. Dwiggins coined the term graphic design to identify the emerging field.” This is the date @amitbassi and the original poster mentioned as well. When graphic design became the most popular term to describe the field, I don’t know.
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It was called “making a living” prior to 1936, and still “making a living” after that, with not a slight hint of sneer and disdain when spoken.
1936 is the year when Toyota ran a logo contest, reputed to be the world’s very first design crowdsourcing.
Thank you Just-B correcting me and providing more relevant information.