The field of graphic design was irreversibly impacted by the transition from the manual to the digital age. This article reveals the benefits and drawbacks of this transformation.
Anyone who has ever worked with his or her hands knows the enjoyment of that experience. Whether it be from cooking and sewing, to woodworking or plumbing, there is satisfaction about ‘carving out’ a living with one’s own manual skills and dexterity.
That is probably the most, and maybe, the only positive thing that can be said about having been a NY graphic designer, BC. Knowing the history of, and difference between the way things were done then and how they are done now is both fascinating and invaluable. It is unfortunate that too many schools teaching digital graphic design do not require their students to learn about that technology and develop some level of manual skills.
Physically, having known the smell and toxicity of rubber cement fumes results in a greater appreciation for the health and safety benefits of not having to use it to create paste-ups and mechanicals. At one design studio, both the rubber cement and rubber cement thinner supplies were kept in a fireproof safe at night because of their volatility.
Everyone knows how much a paper cut hurts, but one does not know the meaning of manual pain until one has removed ones own finger print or drawn blood when using an X-acto™ knife, razor blade or matte knife to cut a piece of 1/16” dense, cold pressed Bainbridge™ board, ¼” foam core board, or the act of doing surgery on a sheet of type because one letter, no bigger than the size you are now reading, had to be replaced.
Before the computer, the process of setting type was laborious. First type has to be written by a copywriter; then read by a proof reader, then it was given to the art director who then gave it to a graphic designer to be specified for typesetting—the process was called ‘type spec’ing’— it was done for the ‘type setter’ who would create the type galleys without the opportunity of having any direct contact with the person who had ‘spec’ed’ the type. The spec’ing had to be very accurate and the instructions very clear. There is an entire language of symbols used for type spec'ing for typesetting. Here is an article about typesetting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typesetting
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