Hierarchy & Grid --[Louis.02]

IMHO, visual hierarchy and grid system evolved just as our desire for control and thirst for information escalates. In this post, I’ll use examples of the most published book in every language to evaluate how and why visual hierarchy evolved.

 
calligraphy scripted Bible

The lecture suggested that humans are living to take pleasure in orderly things,this was once the purpose of letterpress.
The standardised letter forms resonated with each curve, repeated rhythm flow through every stroke. The unified lines, weighting and spacing all gave us great pleasure having eliminated randomness in handwriting. 

Predictability and control are beautiful goals for hierarchy and grid, they were also the dream goals that bible copying monks strived to achieve.
They studied heavily on the techniques of calligraphy, the art of decorative layouts to bring forth the sense of order in visual hierarchy.


 Gutenberg's Bible. Letterpressed Bible later illuminated(hand decorated)

With the invention of movable type printing, Gutenberg's bible reached that same goal while satisfied wide distribution of information,
and for 300 following years, letterpress served our desire of control and thirst for information.

  
Digital infographics of Bible Timeline & Interactive Bible Event Map

Today, the refined, controlled, dictated forms of lettering is the norm of digital age, letterpress is no longer the appointed carrier of visual hierarchy,
once the dream of calligraphy enthusiast monks, have on its completion, brought closure of its pursuit.

We have new desires to satisfy and new media channels to distribute information.
The glowing surfaces of tablet readers and mobile phones meant that information has to be rearranged for ease of access while maintaining legibility, on the go.



    

With the emergence of digital technologies, visual hierarchy and grid evolved and became more dynamic to fulfil our expectation of order & control, and more adaptable for new distribution channels of information to quench our thirst.




Louis


http://izaacta.blogspot.com/2010/04/improve-your-preaching-with-pretty.html
http://designingthenews.com/visualisations-and-infographics/
http://designphiladelphia.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/penn-in-hand-selected-manuscripts/
http://welovetypography.com/tag/manuscript/
http://hannahcorbett.blogspot.com/2010/12/when-and-how-was-first-book-in-europe.html
Johannes Gutenberg: the inventor of printing CFA 686.1/1
Letterpress: the Allure of the Handmade CFA 686.224/67
Thinking with Type CFA 686.22/55