Old School Printing

Last Friday I went to the Melbourne printing Museum where we were shown around a great collection of printing machines. Michael (the owner of the museum) explained the history of printing, from it's beginnings in Moveable Type (1450) through to digital printing (2000) I loved his passion for his collection, it's important to be shown these things as in the near future not many people will be around to share their historic wisdom.

Some of the Key Periods in the history of Printing:
1450-1950 Moveable Type
1450-1900 Hand Printing Press
1850-Now Machine Printing Press
1890-1980 Mechanical Typesetting
1900-Now Offset Photo Litho Printing
1970-2000 Computer Typsetting
1990-Now Full Page Computer Layout
2000-Now Digital Printing 

He also explained the two types of printing press; Platen and roller press. 

The older of the two is the Platen Press; there are no rollers in this type of press 

The second and more modern press, the roller press. The ink is rolled between two rollers, the paper is placed at the top and then manually rolled over the typeset. 
The type is held in place by 'furniture' (the black bars)


The process Michael taught us, involved picking out individual letter 'moulds', then casting the words with hot metal. The words were then placed onto the roller press and held in place by 'furniture'. The ink was placed onto the rollers and mechanically rolled to spread even. We then manually placed one sheet of paper at a time and manually rolled the paper through the press.

Some more photos of the museum:

Andy Warhol - Pop Art (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987)

I find Andy Warhols works of art inspiring and interesting. He explored a new way of mass production of artworks with his screen prints. His works focused on consumerism; the coke bottle, Campbells soup and famous faces. With bright, bold and striking colours.

Bauhaus

Bauhaus was a German Art movement that existed from 1919-1933. It was founded in Weimar by German architect Walter Gropius. 

The Bauhaus was a school of not only design, but architecture and engineering. They taught designers, artists, and engineers to think like each other. The curriculum involved the students to do a 'first year' in all of the above subjects so they weren't narrowed into any one area.

Bauhaus designers were fed up with the flowing and detailed Art Nouveau style of the years before. Their idea was to break away from this in their design by designing with strong geometric shapes, lines and bold colour. It was simplistic. 

Teachers of the Bauhaus:

Kandinsky, Schmidt, Van Der Rohe, Gropius, Meyer. 

 Bauhaus Bike

 Bauhaus Poster

 Bauhaus Furniture

 School of Bauhaus building

Bauhaus Font

Carol Jerrems - Photographic Artist

Carol Jerrems (1949–1980) was an Australian photographer who produced the image Vale Street. She documented the counter-culture spirit of Melbourne in the 1970s. Jerrems was born on 14 March 1949 at Ivanhoe, Melbourne and died in Melbourne.  (Source Wikipedia)

After visiting the Carol Jerrems Photographic Exhibition, this photo really stuck in my mind. Titled 'Judy Morris'. I love the positioning of the subject between the shadows revealing an unsure facial expression. And the high contrast black and white. 

Like this photo, much of Jerrems work has a low key, photo journalistic style. Her subject matter shows the everyday person going about their everyday business. -A style which has been copied by photographers to this day. She focuses on women's liberation, youth on the streets and the indigenous population. It's a focus that we don't often see or pay attention too. Her photos are not glamoured, she captures the world in it's raw state. 

Some of my favorites from the exhibition:

Like it says - straight to the point. 

I love the innocence captured in this girls face, when I first looked at the photo I didn't realize she was naked as my focus was on her innocent expression.

I love the classiness of this image. In contrast to today where it's not a classy act for a woman to smoke.

The Genius of Design Q & A

Who is William Morris?

William Morris was an English textile designer. He was an influential artist who was part of the Arts and Crafts movement. Morris was against the expense made on peoples jobs by the industrial revolution. He believed in the quality of hand made products over the mass produced ones. Morris spent his time creating hand made textiles. He came across the problem of cost. The price of his unique pieces was far more expensive than that of the mass produced pieces. 

What is the Art and crafts movement and why did it come into existence during the Industrial Revolution?

(1860-1910) The Arts and Crafts movement was an international design movement which was against the industrialization. People of this movement believed that arts and crafts held a uniqueness that could not be accomplished with products that were mass produced. 

When was the Industrial Revolution and why is it significant to design?

(1760-1840) The Industrial Revolution allowed for the mass production of products. This meant that products were cheaper, the cost of labour was cheaper and designs could be produced in large quantities. 

What is meant by the division of labour?

The division of labour refers to a 'production line' one person does each step in a production process. 

What is meant by the American system?

The American System is a system that involves standardized, uniform design that is mass produced. It involves usually unskilled workers operating the machinery to make a product.

What impact did  J Wedgwood have on design?

J Wedgwood exploited the new machine made production methods of the industrial revolution.

Why did the Model T Ford fail?

The Model T Ford was designed to be mass produced. The process of it's manufacture meant that the design could not be altered. But the consumer wanted more in regards to upgrades, colour, shape, performance. The manufacturing process needed to be changed in order for the car to meet the needs of the consumer.

What does mass customization mean?

Mass customization replaces mass production. With new technology giving designers more accessibility to create new and improved designs at a smaller cost. It means that we will no longer have another 'Model T' failure situation.