This week, we looked into the rise of machines in design, exploring how technology began to influence creative processes. We looked at Paula Scher and her innovative approaches, including the method of paste-up, which demonstrated how traditional techniques could be combined with emerging digital tools. Tim Berners’ contributions were also discussed, highlighting how the development of the web opened up new possibilities for design, communication, and accessibility.
Paula Scher is a graphic designer celebrated for her bold, typographic-focused work and innovative approach to layout and branding. She frequently experiments with scale, colour, and text to create striking visuals that communicate messages clearly and dynamically. Her work bridges traditional graphic design methods with modern concepts, demonstrating how creativity can adapt to evolving tools, media, and cultural contexts. Scher’s influence shows how typography and composition can become central storytelling tools in design.
The method of paste-up was a fundamental technique in pre-digital design, involving physically cutting, arranging, and assembling elements like text, images, and graphics onto boards to create layouts. This hands-on process demanded precision, planning, and careful attention to detail. Paste-up not only laid the foundation for later digital design methods but also highlighted the importance of craftsmanship and spatial thinking in translating concepts into tangible visual presentations.
Tim Berner is renowned as the inventor of the World Wide Web, a development that transformed communication, information sharing, and design. His innovations introduced designers to interactive, digital spaces, requiring fresh approaches to layout, usability, and accessibility. By enabling web-based design, Berners expanded the possibilities for creative expression, interactivity, and responsive visual storytelling, shaping the way design adapts to a connected, global audience.
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This week’s class explored how the rise of machines and digital tools transformed design, highlighting the shift from traditional methods to modern, technology-driven approaches. We looked at how designers like Paula Scher pushed the boundaries of typography and layout, how the paste-up method laid the groundwork for precision and composition, and how Tim Berners-Lee’s invention of the World Wide Web opened entirely new possibilities for interactive and digital design. Overall, the class emphasised the evolving relationship between creativity and technology, showing how design adapts to and is shaped by new tools and platforms.
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