what are we looking at?
TRANSCRIPT
communication in the landscape The earliest European cave paintings are 32,000 years old. Some theories hold that they
may have been a way of communicating with others, while other theories ascribe them a
religious or ceremonial purpose.
Cave paintings from Lascaux, France 15000BC
petroglyphs are images incised in rock, usually by prehistoric, especially
Neolithic, peoples. They were an important form of pre-writing symbols, used
in communication from approximately 10,000 B.C.E. to modern times, depend-
ing on culture and location.
Early written symbols were based on pictographs (pictures which resemble
what they signify) and ideograms (symbols which represent ideas). They were
used by the ancient Chinese culture since around 5000 BC and began to develop
into logographic writing systems around 2000 BC. Pictographs are still in use
as the main medium of written communication in some non-literate cultures in
Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.
pictographs are pictures representing a word or idea, such as a hieroglyph. It is meant to convey an idea or part of speech through visual communication. They are found many times in cave dwellings and are now used in modern society as symbols to convey common places, directions or warnings.
A look at ancient pictograph writing shows how the same symbols are found throughout the world and many are still in use today.
The earliest verifiable form of communication through advertising was the “crier” or “barker”, who would announce
his masters wares for sale in the market square or at the gates of the city. When fixed locations for trade became more
common, the displaying of symbols or trade signs to draw the consumer began to be more commonplace. Examples
of carvings in stone and brick have been found in Greek, Roman and Egyptian cities dating from about 3000 BC onward.
This wall painting shows a baker distribut-ing his loaves of bread; clearly indicating what type of product could be purchased from the shop inside the building.
Graffiti has been found outside various temples of Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79 and buried their city
Trajan’s Column
C 113 BC
The square capitals in the inscription at the base of this monument are considered by many to embody the ulti-
mate resolution of Latin letterform evolution. The letters are perfect in function, conveying a sense of power per-
fectly. They evolved with the architecture of the time, the connection between these rounded letters and the arched
vaults and cupolas of their buildings are obvious. They have been studied by numerous type designers for almost
20 centuries—the prototype for many derivative typefaces including the famous Edward Johnston, Eric Gill and
Carol Twombly reinterpretations.
After the Dark Ages, the increase in trade, commerce and wealth encouraged
increasingly elaborate and artistic forms of trade signs. The use of carvings,
bright paint, ornamental iron and even gilding encouraged competition between
merchants to see who could create the most elaborate signs. In the early 1700’s
the very first sign regulations were put in place to protect the public from large
signs hanging too far into the narrow streets.
pub signs get the most attention from a historical perspective became a method of
advertising after King Richard II passed an Act in 1393 that required all alehouses to
post a sign. This was to identify themselves to the official ale tasters rather than to
promote their establishments to the public, but the practice caught on. The result was
signs that were highly creative and unusual, even by today’s standards.
The production of newspapers, flyers and catalogues
occurred during the mid 1800’s. This coincided with the
invention of gas lighting and electric bulbs creating a
new technology.
Mid-1800s New York City. Carpenters, printers, sign
painters, jobbers—the kind of workers who kept grow-
ing in the city at that time
Mishkin’s in New York has been around since 1890.
In 1929 an American car salesman ordered the first neon sign. This was made with the
newly invented neon tube, which could bend into countless shapes and came in many co-
lours. The success of neon lights soon spread across the continent and the rest of the world.
Almost immediately after its creation, neon lights were used by artists. The
first artist to use neon was Sonia Delauney in the 1920’s. The above picture is a
work by Bruce Nauman from 1984, One Hundred Live and Die. His neon fu-
sion with text emphasizes the limitations of words and the expressive qualities
of light and color.
The improvement of plastics before and after World War II expanded its
usage for advertising signs, making it easy to create both unique and
mass-produced products. Changable copy signs were another useful
advertising and marketing creation that has expanded into the use of
LED’s and programmable messages used widely today.