Graphic arts

Graphic arts is a term that was used for the art of printmaking and drawing. Today it means the skills of a graphic designer or print technician. Graphic arts as a trade can be traced back to the first instances of the stamped image or word. Graphic arts includes everything from printing to stamping to even lithography.

Traditional meaning

Graphic art is an artistic process of creating a design where one uses a medium (like rubber or plexiglas) and transfers the image to a material (like paper). One of the most common applications of graphic arts is printing. Industrial printing presses made graphic arts very popular because many forms of news (mainly the newspaper), could now easily have a lot of images and text in them without costing too much to produce.

Modern and digital era

Simple digital artpiece made in Paint 3D

Graphic arts were made much more widespread and accessible mainly via the invention of the computer. In fact, nearly all forms of modern news are digital. Digital graphic arts were looked up upon to, as digital media was basically permanent. Even if the original is gone, a copy sent in an email or other service may still be visible.

In the early 21st century, many programs were made to assist with the creation of graphic art. This allowed nearly everyone with access to a computer to start practising graphic arts and graphic design.

Other websites

• American Institute of Graphic Artists
• Online Design Degrees Archived 2008-01-01 at the Wayback Machine