The Codex and the Illuminated Manuscript | 1st century AD

Scroll.

Post an example of a scroll. 


What were the drawbacks of the scroll? The reader must read the text in the order it was written in.

Codex.

Post an example of a codex. 


What is a codex? A covered and bound collection of hand written pages.

"Codex" is derived from the Latin meaning "block of wood". Why? 

What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"? Random access means thats one can go to any point to find information and sequential access means that one must go through the scroll to find a certain passage.

What were the advantages of using the codex? Compactness, sturdiness and ease of reference and easier to organize in libraries because the title could be written on the spine.

What helped spread the use of the codex? The rise of Christianity.

What replaced papyrus? The parchment. Describe the process used to create it? A substrate made from animal skin such as sheep, goats, and cows. Hair and fat were removed and skin was smoothed out, hide was soaked in water, calcium, flour and salt were added, skin was stretched out, flattened and dried.

What is vellum? A finer qualities of parchment were made from skins of young calves.

Name several examples of current technology that utilizes the format of the codex? The Kindle and iPad.

What led to a period of cultural and economical deterioration ? The Dark Ages.

Illuminated
Manuscript

Post an example of an illuminated manuscript.


Who began creating books by hand, taking the creation to an art form? Monastic monks.

What does "illumination" refer to? The borders, illustrations and ornamentation added to each page of text.


What was included in this ornamentation? Initials of chapters or paragraphs, paintings in margins and borders and around text.

What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts? Natural guill pens.

Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes? Because the work was laborious.

What is craftsmanship? A person who practices or is highly skilled in a craft.

The Roman Alphabet l 7th Century BC

Post an example of the Roman alphabet in visual form. 

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet? They used a variant of the Greek alphabet.


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

Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make? The Romans refined several distinct styles of lettering which were used for different purposes. The contributions it made was that a rigid, formal script was used for important manuscripts and official documents, a quicker, informal style was used for letters and routine types of writing.

From where did serifs originate? With the craving of words into stone.

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

What is a ligature and why were they utilized?

The Greek Alphabet l 800 BC

Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form. 

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians? Because of the adaptation of the phoenician letterforms.

How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor? Several of the consonants were adapted as vowels.

Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet? It has given rise to many others alphabets including the Latin alphabet.

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

Phonetic Alphabet l 1050 BC

Post an example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form.

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle? That one sign represents one spoken sound.

Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them? The shape of the letters were angular and straight. The tool that was used to create them were incised with a stylus.

What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful? The Phoenician alphabet was successful because the system contrasted with other scripts at the time which used complex characters and were difficult to learn, and also because the trading culture of the phoenician merchants spread the use of the alphabet into parts of North Africa and Europe.

What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet? It was the 1st widespread script, its simplicity allowed it to be used in multiple languages but it also allowed common people to learn how to write.

Cuneiform and the Sumerians l 3,00 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? Nomadic. What does that mean? They were the first to arrive in that area.

Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization? Because its where cuneiform was created.

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

Early Cuneiform

Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).


Why was Cuneiform created? To help keep track of these business transactions.


What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Clay tablets. Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface? They would wet the clay first, then form it into flat surfaces, next they would use a wedge shaped stylus made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface, and then finally they would lay the clay tablets in the sun allowing them to dry and harden.

What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? Pictographs.

Evolved Cuneiform

Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).


After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?


Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.


After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language? They adopted the Sumerian culture and written language.

What is a pictograph? A pictorial or visual representation of an object.

Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture? Because they formed a new language.

Hieroglyphics and Egyptians l 3,000 BC

Inside an Ancient
Egyptian Temple

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? Persians, Greeks and Romans.
Post an example of the inside wall(s) of an Ancient Egyptian temple. 
What was discovered on the inside of the temples? Carved and painted images on every wall and surface.

Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language? Cuneiform.

What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements? Logographic are visual symbols representing ideas or objects and alphabetic are variations that came later as the language evolved into demotic.

The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words? Heiro and glyphic.
 
What is a scribe? A school to learn how to read and write.
 
Who else was trained to read and write? Military leaders. Why? So that they could communicate while in battle.

An hieroglyphic on papyrus.

Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.


What is papyrus and how was it made? A substrate made from reeds native to Egypt.

What is a substrate? The surface or material on or from which an organism lives, grows, or obtains its nourishment.

What were the Books of the Dead? Instructions and spells to help them find their way to the afterlife.

How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language? Those who could read and write hieroglyphics disappeared until no one knew how to decipher Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Rosetta Stone

Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.


What is the Rosetta Stone? A slab with inscriptions on it. Where was it discovered? By French soldiers who were building a fort in Egypt.

What three languages are included on the stone? Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic and Greek.

Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered? A chunk of the stone was missing.

Who finally deciphered the text? Jean Francois Champollion. What was his breakthrough? When he was able to match up the hieroglyphic symbols with the greek version of the name Egyptian Pharoah Ramses.

Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance? We now know a great deal about the Ancient Egyptians and Egyptians Hieroglyphics.
 

Assignment 14; Research & Inspiration

I like this movie poster because it uses emphasis on the words at the bottom left hand corner and in the top lower left hand corner on the picture.

I like this movie poster because it doesn't  really use a lot of images to get the point across of the movie. It has a simply background to it and i like it because it doesn't have a lot of images trying to get your attention at one time. I also like this because it emphasis the actor and the title of the movie.

I like this movie poster because it looks like a photo mosaic on the face. I also like that in the bottom left hand corner, it has the title small but you can still see what it says. 

Visual Organization

Not directing the audience through a design is misleading them!!

Eye movement: the typical eye moves left to right, top to bottom. Controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye. The eye tends to gravitate towards area of complexity first. In pictures of people, eyes is always attracted to that face and particularly the eyes. Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area. Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement. Optical center: the spot where the human eye tends to enter the page. Optical center is slightly above mathematical (or exact) center and just to the left. It takes a compelling element to pull your eye away from this spot. Z pattern: our visual patter makes a sweep of the page, generally, in the shape of a "Z".  Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.

Fonts: the first rule is, no more than 2 fonts on one composition (page). Make sure the fonts compliment each other. Number two, avoid all CAPS. It makes it seems like you're yelling and it can sometimes be confusing. Use caps only when you need them! The third is, choose the right font. Be very careful with what font you use. Make sure the font fits the tone/theme. For example, don't have a boring font if you're designing a fun, party invitation. Number four, do not overuse fancy or complicated fonts (scripts & decorative). Use these fonts as the head line not as the body. These fonts are hard to read when small. Pairing Fonts article: www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm

Visual Hierarchy: will establish focal point based on their importance to the message that's being communicated.

A crucial part of the design process is to establish an order of elements, a visual structure, to help the viewer absorb the information proved by a design.

To establish visual hierarchy answer these questions:

- What do I want me viewer to look at first?

- Second?

- Third?

 Etc...

The grid: a way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows, and columns.  Instituted by modernism! Can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images. A grid consists of a distinct set of aligned-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format. Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure...one that addresses the particular elements within the design. A gris is used to help clarify the message being communicated messages and unifying elements.

Cave Paintings l 35,00 years ago

What are cave paintings? Beautiful, detailed and colorful representations found on the inside of the cave walls and ceilings.

Name several common themes found in cave paintings? Large animals such as bison, horses,deer, tracings of human hands and abstract patterns.

How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)? Water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and a form of iron oxide.What is the most famous cave painting site? Lascaux, France.

Example of a
painting from
Lascaux.

When was it discovered and by whom? In 1940 by four teenage boys. Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave. 

Why did this cave have to be closed? Because the paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted from the tourists. 



What was done to satisfy public curiosity? The French government created Lascaux II, a man-made replica next to the original.

Example of a cave
painting from Altamira
cave.

Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave. 


In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue? Caused by the red clay in the soul.

Who discovered this site? By Marceline Sanz De Sautuola and his daughter Maria.


How old are the paintings confirmed to be? Nearly 19,000 years.

What is the oldest known cave painting site? Chauvet-Piont Arc.

Example of a
cave painting from
Chauvet-Piont Arc.

When was it discovered and by whom? In 1994 by three speleogists; Elette Brunell Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean- Mare Chauvet. Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave. 

What was different about the painting techniques at this site? Walls were scraped clear of debris and 3D effect was created by etching around the edges.

What is "speleology"? The study or exploration of caves.

What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings? To tell a story or recount an event that already happened, as an instructional visual aid to help teach about hunting techniques.