The first part of this book i decided to read was the chapter on the industrial revolution. I thought this would serve me well contextually, since for my designer bio app i chose to study Josef Muller Brockmann.
Meggs introduces the idea that the revolution wasn’t just about machinery, but about information and how the way it functioned had to completely transform. Suddenly, there were mass audiences, faster production, more public signage, transport systems, printed manuals and advertisements. Design could no longer be about individual talent/craftsmanship, but efficiency and systematic consistency. This made me see JMB’s later grid based approach less as a personal, stylised choice and more as a logical response to problems that had literally existed since the beginning of industrialisation.
This is something specific i was hoping to learn more about after researching the International Typographic Style. The first main problem of industrialisation was the visual chaos which followed. Cities filled up quickly with posters, adverts, transport info and signage, but there was no shared ‘rules’ yet as such. All of the big firms, (and basically every company producing information at the time) were competing for attention. Posters were getting too crowded, typefaces never aligned and information was incredibly dense. This is how early mass communication led to many failures, and designers began to see the issues.
Meggs explains that designers gradually reduced decoration due to these reasons. Things like decorative borders, excessive illustration and complex letters were stripped back. This was also when certain typefaces became favourable, as people realised certain ones were easier to read, and more attention grabbing too.
There is some really interesting posters in the book, which show just how decorative these ‘informative’ posters used to be.
images from the book showing how stylised posters were
These were some of the first systems where clear communication became ESSENTIAL. I actually couldn’t believe how terrible they really used to look, and its so inspiring to see how far designers have come, and also how incredibly important designers are to society.
Early Railway timetables, 1840s
Handbill for an excursion train, 1876
in reference to a modern day railway timetable where not only can you filter to a specific day, but the layout (despite holding a lot of information), is not overwhelming.