Podcast Printing Press

What is Johannes Gutenberg credited with?
the printing press
How did the printing press work?

What motivated Gutenberg to find a better way of creating books?

Why did Gutenberg experiment with metal type versus wood type?
Post an example of movable type in a type case.
What is moveable type?

What is a matrix?

What ink did Gutenberg develop that he used specifically for the printing press?

What is paper made from? Where did paper originate?

What is a "substrate"?

Who did Gutenberg seek to help with the invention of the press? Close to the end of the 5 years, what happened? 
What was the first book he printed?Post an example of this book.

How did the Gutenberg Press impact communication?

Who introduced the printing press to England?

What was the early form of newspapers?

When was the first news weekly published? What was it called?

What kind of press was built in the US in the mid 1800s?
 
Post an example of a 1930s printing press.
 
By the late 1930s, presses had increased in efficiency and were capable of 2,500 to 3,500 impressions per hour. 


What is meant by "impression"?
 
Which printing process is the Gutenberg press an example of? Briefly describe the process?
 
Post an example of an intaglio press.
 
What is intaglio printing and how is ink transferred?
 
Post an example of a screen (porous) printing press.
 
What is porous printing and how is ink transferred?
 
Post an example of a lithography printing press.
 
What is lithography and how is ink transferred?
 
Post an example of a offset lithography printing press.
 
What variation of lithography is used by the commercial printing industry today?

How do printing presses used today compare to the Gutenberg Press?

Describe four-color process printing using CMYK?

"The Codex and the Illuminated Manuscript | 1st century AD"

What were the drawbacks of the scroll?
allowed only for reader to read in order written

What is a codex?
covered and bound written books
"Codex" is derived from the Latin meaning "block of wood". Why?
sturdiness, compactness and portable like a block of wood
What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"?
sequential access- you have to look through the scroll to find the information
random access-you can go to any point in the codex and find the information
What were the advantages of using the codex?
you can open it flat, more portable than the scroll, easier to organize
What helped spread the use of the codex?
Christianity
What replaced papyrus? Describe the process used to create it?
parchment, hair and other unwanted bits of the animal were removed
and the skin was smoothed, the hide was dipped in water
calcium, flour, and salt were added, then the skin was stretched and dried
What is vellum?

Name several examples of current technology that utilizes the format of the codex?
Kindle, Ipad, Itouch, computers
What led to a period of cultural and economical deterioration?
decline of the roman empire
  Who began creating books by hand, taking the creation to an art form?
Monks turned scribes created the books
What does "illumination" refer to? What was included in this ornamentation?
the borders and illustrations on the page. Chapters, paintings around the text,
What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts?
quill pen
Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes?
very labor intensive
What is craftsmanship? Why is it important?
an artist who os skilled in their medium

"The Roman Alphabet | 7th century BC"

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet?

• a form of the Greek alphabet

What were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering?

• rigid for formal
• quick and informal for everyday writing

Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make?

• serifs increased legibility
• baseline ensured type aesthetics

From where did serifs originate?

• stonemasons so the chisel wouldn't slip

When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop?

• late roman era 

What is a ligature and why were they utilized?

• type aligned in rows

Post an example of the Roman alphabet in visual form.

"The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC"

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians?

• regularly traded with the greeks

How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor?

• many consonants were made into vowels
• more letters in alphabet

Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet?

• many other languages are stemmed from Greek

Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?

• Both use the swirly letters for important dates, but modern English restricts it for only important events
• Written Greek is dying out, whereas English is thriving
• Both have been very popular for each time period
• Both appeal to everyone, not just the wealthy

Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form

"The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC"

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle?

• one sign represents one sound 
• names of letter start with consonants
• consonants were what the letters represented

Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?

• anular and straight
• stylus

What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?

• maritime success of merchants that spread the Phoenician
• had a large effect on other cultures
• difficult and hard to learn 

What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?

• used in court and legal matters
• allowed common people to read and write

"Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC"

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?

• They were the first to record events

Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?

• It is an extremely fertile area and sustained many civilizations

What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?

• Agriculture
  

Why was Cuneiform created?

• Business Transactions

What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface?

• Clay
• They take the wet clay and use a wedge shaped tool to "write" on the clay. After, they put it in the sun to harden

What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? 

• Pictographs

Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).
After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?

• wedge-shaped language

Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.
After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?

• The Akkadians adopted Sumerian culture and cuneiform

What is a pictograph?

• the use of simple pictures as a way of written communication or record

Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?

• They were the first with a written language and business transaction records

Assignment #15

Song: Lighthouse by The Hush Sound
     This is a really interesting song that I think is both modern and reminiscent of another time, because it talks about a ghost haunting a lighthouse, which is the modern part, and sirens luring ships off course to their doom.

For the paper, I am thinking a beige paper with some watermarks, definitely a well-worn paper.

I am thinking using a lighthouse with my initial cap to tie in the lyrics. The border will have a 1900s sea/ship feel to it.

Visual Organization

Fonts

• no more than 2 fonts total in a composition
• make sure fonts complement each other
• use principle of contrast- subtle vs. decorative
• avoid uppercase-use sparsely 
• choose the right font-fits theme and tone of design
• do not overuse fancy or overcomplicated fonts
• www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm great reference about pairing fonts

Visual Hierarchy

• will est. focal points based on their importance to the message that is being communicated
• est. an order of elements to help the viewer absorb the information conveyed by the design
• to est. this hierarchy
• what do I want my viewers to see first? Second? and so on

The Grid

• way of organizing content on a page, using any combo of margins, guide lines, rows and columns
• instituted by modernism
• can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and est. relationships between text and images and images
• grids vary for each assignment, piece, ect. which organizes the principles and elements