The Industrial Revolution from 1760-1840 in England led to technological advancements that increased productivity and mass production. This made graphic communications more important and accessible. Photography was invented during this time. Advancements in printing presses and typography allowed for faster printing and the mass production of materials like newspapers. Chromolithography was developed in the 1860s, allowing for colorful prints without constraints of traditional printing. Photography also advanced, being used for things like reporting on the American Civil War. Overall, these technological changes transformed graphic design and communications.

1. Graphic Design and
The Industrial
Revolution

3. England
1760 –
1840
 Extreme
social/econom
ic change.
 Steam engine
perfected =
greater
productivity.
 Technological improvement - mass
production - increased availability & lower
costs.

4. • Graphic communications – more important & accessible.
• Photography was invented.
• Fast expansion of jobbing printers, advertising & posters.
• Advancements in font types & sizes – problems for printing.
• 1800 – Charles Stanhope invented the printing press which
reduced required manual force and could print a sheet double
the conventional size.
• John Walter II & Friedrich Koening created 2 double-cylinder
steam powered press – used to print The Times.
• 1815 – William Cowper & Ambrose Applegath developed the
4 cylinder steam-powdered press.

5. Mechanization of
Typography
• Mid 19th century – presses could mass produce up to
25000 copies per hour – but each letter had to be set by
hand = limited newspapers.
• Advancements in technology – machine set typography
printed on machine made paper.
The first steam-powered
cylinder press, 1814. Koenig’s invention
caused the speed of printing to
skyrocket, while its price dropped
considerably.

6. Photography
• Joseph Niepce – Frenchman
who produced the 1st
photographic image.
• He coated a pewter sheet with
light-sensitive asphalt which
hardens when exposed to light.
• He then contact printed a
drawing, which had been oiled
to make it transparent, to the
pewter, washed it with lavender
oil and then etched it with acid.
This was called „sun
engraving.‟

7. • After a long process of experimenting and collaboration
with Louis Jacques Daguerre – perfected process in 1839.
• About the same time in England – William Henry Fox
Talbot produced a process that formed the basis for
photography.
• In the late 1840s Talbot developed a new process called
“calotype” – increased light sensitivity of paper.
• In 1888 – American dry-plate manufacturer, George
Eastman introduced the Kodak camera.
• Photography was used as a research tool.
• 1880-1890 – photomechanical reproduction replaced
skilled craftsmen, process reduced printing time.
• Moving images became a possibility.

8. Photography as
Reportage
• 1st occurrence of
reportage photography
– American Civil War.
• Mathew Brady –
photographed the war.

9. Victorian
Era
1849 – Queen Victoria’s husband conceived the idea of a
grand exhibition with hundreds of exhibitors from all
industrial nations – known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition.

10. Chromolithography
• Lithography = a method of printing using an etching
stone on a completely smooth surface.
• Chromolithography = method for making colour
prints.
• By 1860 its popularity had grown immensely.
• Without traditions & constraints of the letter
press, designers could invent any letter form and utilize
an unlimited palette of vibrant colours that they could

11. • Circuses and carnivals first to use these new methods
for their posters.
• Chromolithography was then moved onto labels &
packages.
• By 1897, chromolithography became obsolete.

12. Battle of the
Signboards
• Mid 19th century – letterpress poster &
broadsheet were challenged by more visual &
pictorial posters.
• Lithography allowed for a more illustrative
approach to public communication.
• Large woodblocks were printed in sections –
then assembled by poster hangers.
• In France – letterpresses and lithographers
combined their skills to create colourful
lithographic illustrations – pasted onto large

13. Images for Children
• Pre-Victorian Era – children were treated like
adults.
• Victorians began to treat them more tenderly with
the development of toybooks – colourful picture
books for preschool children.
• Walter Crane (1845-1915)
• Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886)
• Kate Greenaway (1846-1901)

15. Rise of American
Editorial & Advertising
Design
• James & John Harper
launched a printing firm in
New York (1817.)
• The firm opened the era of
the pictorial magazine with
Harper’s New Monthly
Magazine.

16. Victorian Typography
• In the Victorian Era, the taste for ornate
elaboration was a major influence.
• Outlandish and fantasy lettering was very
popular – many trademarks in the era reflect the
Victorian love of ornamental complexity.
• Even today, Victorian design conventions are
still found, particularly in commercial promotion.

18. The End.