Course Description
Students will identify and understand the graphic style movements of the 20th century. They will analyze primary documents at the UGA Special Collections Libraries and discuss them relative to principles of design, theories of graphic communication, propaganda, and terms of the social/political/economic contexts in which they were made.
Athena Title
Graphic Communication History
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ARGD 3070, ARGD 3070E
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The goal of the course is to develop a supportive learning community in which we can investigate and understand the primary global graphic style movements of the 20th century. We will use primary (i.e., original) documents and digital archives plus a textbook to learn about graphic design styles and typography relative to principles of design, theories of communication, and in terms of the social/political/economic contexts in which they were made. We will ask who made these documents and why? We will ask why some things are saved and others are not and who is being left out. We will add to the field of graphic design history by contributing entries to a class Instagram and to the People’s Graphic Design Archive. The class will explore persuasive communication and propaganda under capitalism and fascism and how groups such as women, Black Americans, and people with disabilities have used design as part of the effort to gain civil rights and equal protection under the law. Through the study of graphic design history, students will develop a sophisticated visual vocabulary and historical understanding of style that will inform their work and lives today.
Topical Outline
1. Arts and Crafts Movement 2. Art Nouveau 3. Plakatstil 4. Futurism and Dada 5. Constructivism 6. Art Deco 7. The Bauhaus 8. Propaganda and the War Years 9. Mid-Century Modernism and International Typographic Style 10. Pop Art and Psychedelia 11. Post-Modernism and the Digital Age 12. The Grunge Movement 13. Graphic Design in the 21st Century
Syllabus