The Roman Alphabet | 7th century BC

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet?
The Roman's used a variant of the Greek alphabet as the basis for their uppercase alphabet.
What were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering?
A rigid, formal script was used for important manuscripts and official documents. A quicker, informal style was used for letters and routine types of writing.
Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make?
It refined the art of handwriting, the institution of the baseline in typography and penmanship, Romans ensured that type was perfectly aligned in rows (which greatly contributed to type aesthetics).
From where did serifs originate?
Serifs originated with the carving of words into stone in ancient Italy. Stones man added little hooks to the tips of letters to prevent the chisel from slipping.
When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop?

What is a ligature and why were they utilized?
A ligature is a thing used for typing or binding something tightly.
Post an example of the Roman alphabet in visual form. 

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians?
Phoenicians regularly traveled to Greece and established trade agreements with them.
How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor?
The arrangement of the Phoenician alphabet was much less suitable for Greek languages. Several of the consonants were adapted as vowels. As well, additional letters were included.
Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet? It has given rise to many other alphabets in Europe and the Middle East, including the Latin alphabet.
Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?
The English alphabet was adapted from the Greek alphabet. They both have consonants and each letter represents a character.
Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form. 

The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle?
It is based on the principle that one sign represents one spoken sound.
Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?
Most of the shapes are angular and straight because the letters were incised with a stylus. The alphabet was typically written right to left.
What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?
The system contrasted with other scripts at the time, such as cuneiform or hieroglyphics, which used complex characters and were difficult to learn. The trading culture of the phoenician merchants spread the use of the alphabet into parts of North Africa and Europe.
What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?
The long term effects on social structures of the civilizations which came in contact with it. It was the first widespread script. It's simplicity allowed it to be used in multiple languages. It also allowed common people to learn how to write.
Post an example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form.

Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? 
Persians, Greeks, and Romans
Post an example of the inside wall(s) of an Ancient Egyptian temple.
What was discovered on the inside of the temples?

Carved and painted images on every wall and surface
Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?
Sumerian cuneiform
What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?
Logograms are visual symbols representing ideas or objects that are generally stylized & simplified and perfectly recognizable. Alphabetic, or phonetic, are variations that came later as the language evolved into demotic (document writing).
The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?
"Hiero" meaning sacred, and "glyphic" meaning engraving or writing.
What is a scribe? 
A school where students learned how to read and write.
Who else was trained to read and write? Why?
Military leaders were trained as scribes so they could communicate while in battle.
Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.
What is papyrus and how was it made?

Papyrus is a substrate made from reeds native to Egypt. Wet reeds are place criss-cross over each other, flattened, and dried. Then, they are rubbed with flat stones until surface becomes smooth.
What is a substrate?
A substance that undergoes a process
What were the Books of the Dead?
Books written by scribes that contained instructions and spells to help pharaohs and other important egyptians find their way to the afterlife.
How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?
By the time the Greeks and Romans ruled Egypt, few Egyptians were capable of reading or writing hieroglyphics.
Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.
What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?

A slab with inscriptions on it. It was found in Rosetta.
What three languages are included on the stone?
Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek.
Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?
A chunk of the stone was missing and none of the three texts were complete.
Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?
Jean Francois Champollion breakthrough came when he was able to match up the hieroglyphic symbols with the Greek version of the name Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses. He discovered that the inscription referred to King Ptolemy V epiphanies at the time of his coronation around 196 BC.
Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?
We now know a great deal about the ancient Egyptians and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Assignment 14: Research & Inspiration

Research:
Documentary Photography: A popular form of photography used to capture significant and historical events, as opposed to the beauty of nature or fantasy (Wikipedia).
Educational requirements: Bachelor's Degree and/or First Professional Degree


Inspiration:
neat
black and white pictures, solid color background, bold black/white letters
interesting
simple


Brainstorming:
-What kind of message am I trying to communicate? Look into documentary photography
-Who is my audience? My class
-What am I trying to tell the audience? To get interested in documentary photography
-What kind of visuals will work for this audience? Black and white pictures, color, big pictures/font
-Job title on top of document
-Solid color background
-Job description in bottom right corner
-Picture of someone taking a picture with camera sticking out in middle
-Smaller pictures around


Inspiration Pieces:

Most documentary posters
are black and white to help
tell the story, so I like that
color is used and I can still
see the story through the
eyes of the man in the
picture. Also, putting the
white title on a red
background helped draw
my attention to the main
point of this poster.

The picture takes
up almost the whole
poster, so it is the
optical center. The
picture on the poster
gets my attention
before I even notice
the words.

I like the simple text
and that the picture
is the main portion
of the poster. The
black and white
effect helps make
the picture appear
more interesting and
dramatic.

Visual Organization

Not directing the audience through a design is misdirecting them! 

Eye Movement:

- The typical eye moves left to right and top to bottom.

- Controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye.

- The eye tends to gravitate towards areas of complexity first. In pictures of people, the eye is always attracted to the face and particularly the eye.

- Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area.

- Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement.

- Optical Center:

     - The spot where the human eye tends to enter a page. Optical center is slightly above mathematical (or exact) center and just the the left.

     - It takes a compelling element to pull your eyes away from this spot.

- Z Pattern:

     - Our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page, generally, in the shape of a "Z."
     - Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.


Font Guidelines:
1. Use no more than 2 fonts within a page. Make sure that those two fonts complement each other.
2. Avoid all uppercase letters unless it is necessary. Usually only in headlines.
3. Choose the right font.
4. Do not overuse fancy and complicated fonts.
http://www.typography.com/email/2010_032010_03/index.htm


Visual Hierarchy
- Visual hierarchy will establish focal points based on their importance to the message that's being communicated. An order of visual importance.
- A crucial part of the design process is to establish an order of elements, a visual structure, to help the viewer absorb the information provided by a design.
- To establish a visual hierarchy, ask yourself the following:
     1. What do I want my viewer to look at first?
     2. What do I want my viewer to look at second?
     3. What do I want my viewer to look at third?
     4. What do I want my viewer to look at fourth?


The Grid
- A way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows and columns
- It was originally instituted by Modernism because everything is much simpler.
- It can assist the audience by breaking information into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images.
- A grid consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format.
- Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure...one that addresses the particular elements within the design.
- A grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated and to unify the elements.

Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?
The Sumerians were one of the earliest nomadic civilizations who migrated to Sumer, which is now known as southern Iraq. Because they are nomadic, it means that they constantly moved places.
Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?
It is where cuneiform, the world's first written language, was created.
What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?
Because of the regions climate, the Sumerians were able to practice year round agriculture.
Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).
Why was Cuneiform created?

Cuneiform was created to help keep track of the business transactions.
What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface?
The Sumerians chose to write on clay tablets. They would wet the clay, then form it into flat surfaces. They would use a wedge shaped stylus made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface. Then, they would lay the clay tablets in the sun allowing them to dry and harden, creating a permanant record of the transaction.
What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? 
Cuneiform began as a series of pictographs, a pictorial or representation of an object.
Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).
After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?

The pictographs became more abstract and the number of characters continued to grow,so cuneiform evolved into a wedge shaped language.
Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.
After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?

The Akkadians adopted the Sumerian culture and their written language
What is a pictograph?
A pictorial or visual representation of an object
Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?
It was a new form of communication, so it allowed Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?
Beautiful, detailed, and colorful representations found on the inside of cave walls and ceilings.
Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
Large animals, such as bison, horses, deer; tracings of human hands; and abstract patterns.
How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
Paints were made from mixing water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and hematite (a form of iron oxide). Brushes were made by putting together sticks, small stones, leaves, and animal hair.
What is the most famous cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
Lascaux, France. It was discovered in 1940 by four teenage boys, who found it accidentally. 












Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
In 1963, it closed because the paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted from the tourists. To satisfy public interest, the french government created Lascaux II, a man-made replica next to the original.
Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.

In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?
Most of the paintings have a red hue caused by the red clay in the soil.
Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
Marceline Sanz de Sautuola and his daughter, Maria discovered it because he owned the land where the cave was found. The paintings are 19,000 years old.
What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
Chauvet-Point Arc is the oldest known cave painting site. It was discovered in 1994 by three speleogists (Eliette Brunell Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean-Marie Chauvet).

What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
The walls were scraped clear of debris and a 3D effect was created by etching around the edges. They also found fossilized remains and items such as sticks and small stones which appear to have been fashioned into paint brushes.
What is "speleology"?
The study or exploration of caves
What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?

1. To tell a story or recount an event that already happened

2. Used as an instructional visual aid to help teach about hunting techniques

3. Created for magical or religious reasons that if an image of a desired event were painted, it might come true