A Trip through the History of Graphic Design: Renaissance (Module 3)

Initially, it was difficult to tie the posts of this field journal together. It's a daunting task to try to tie together a history that covers from prehistory to the present day. However, I keep finding myself drawn to parallels with the present, and it seems this might be my uniting thread within this blog.

In recently covered chapters, the number of individuals indicated by name seemed to increase exponentially. This was not surprising, considering the subject matter at hand was the increase in the availability of printed information. The recognition of the work of individual printers also created the important need for trademarks to distinguish the work of each printer, however, trademarks were only briefly discussed within part II. Which was similar to the treatment of cylinder seals (for early identification of documents) in chapter one.

The origins of my interest in trademarks, was actually erroneous. I presumed their prevalence increased as a result of written history identifying individuals, but archeologists indicate that this thinking was flawed. Archeologists theorize even cave paintings had markings that were meant to specific individual artist ("U.S. Trademark History Timeline", n.d.), though any names are obviously lost in history.

A cave drawing of a bison

A close-up of the same cave showing a marking indicating authorship

(found to the right of the bison's front feet)

It was also interesting how markings for ownership appeared in surprising places. Indentations that seemed like they were just part of the design in early ceramic work, may have actually been used as markings to indicate the designer/maker. Additionally, some markings on Roman buildings that I assumed were simply inscriptions about the rulers of the time, also included information regarding the builder ("U.S. Trademark History Timeline", n.d.). The way these marks of ownership blend into the design actually reminds me of many current trends in trademarks. In today's trademark bombarded world, common words are often trademark. While we as consumers maybe aware of the trademarks of well known companies, I sometimes require that tiny TM symbol in order to realize that a word or phrase is a trademark. Once again, trademarks hide in plain sight.

Ancient stamped pottery indicating ownership

Roman inscription indicating the builder

My naivety regarding the subject was further revealed upon looking into information regarding the advent of trademark laws. My interest in the subject was only piqued when looking at the textbook images from the late fifteenth century (Meggs & Purvis, 2012, p. 99). However, trademark law actually predates those images. Such laws included the Bakers Marking Law (1266), by 1373 one group of designers (bottle makers) were actually required to make their bottles identified with a trademark. Finally, the printers' trademarks in the text did not even precede the initial legal battle regarding trademarks (1452), where a widow argued for the use of her deceased husband's trademark (U.S. Trademark History Timeline, n.d).

Trademarks are so common place, I rarely find myself thinking about them in terms of authorship and intellectual property. However, the design of the Renaissance trademarks (Meggs & Purvis, 2012 p. 99) reminded me of how each of us frequently uses a mark to indicate authorship or agreement, our initials. To emphasize the connection between the initials of today and the trademarks of the past, I engage in a brief exercise. While taking 2D Design in Spring of 2012, we had an early assignment requiring us to create a monogram. I decided to combine elements of my original design with some of the stylistic elements from the trademarks presented in the text.

Similar to the monogram created for the class project

Altered version of the monogram

I followed the pattern of the negative space from the Renaissance designs, along with the inclusion of an orb and cross design (Meggs & Purvis, 2012, p. 99). However, I kept the diagonal and ribbon-like lines from my design, as well as more curved initials. Ultimately, the exercise made the rationale for using simple initials and monograms very clear. The simple initials are faster to create. Perhaps this is why the trademarks that appeared during the emergence of printing, were more complex than earlier hand drawn marks of ownership. Per Marina's comment regarding the complexity of cylinder seals, I feel my statement deserves further consideration. There is a parallel between the relief trademarks and cylinder seals, both were created to use over and over. So, this indicates to me that the complexity of symbol of authorship may be related to the ability of the symbol to be reused without having to draw/carve it again.

Lastly, as mentioned earlier, the book glosses over trademarks and seals, but even today these are important aspects to our society. Not just the actual letters or words of the trademark, but the design itself. The anecdote of the University of California's attempt to change its logo illustrates this point. The UC Regents attempted to unveil a more modern design as an everyday logo, but the strong backlash from students and alumni over the redesign led to the suspension of its use. The opponents felt the new logo did not embody the "prestige and elegance"(Nguyen, 2013) of the older seal. This reveals a simple lesson in the power of trademarks and logos.