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History of Graphic Design > Chapter 2 > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Alphabet

A

A set of visual symbols or characters used to represent the elementary sounds of a spoken language
(derived from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, “Alpha” and “Beta”

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2
Q

Minoan Civilization

A
  • The Minoan Civilization ranks behind only Egypt and Mesopotamia in its early level of advancement in the ancient western world.
  • Minoan and Cretan picture symbols were in use as early as 2800 bce
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3
Q

Crete

A

The Mediterranean Island where the Minoan Civilization developed.

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4
Q

Phaistos Disk

A
  • Unearthed on Crete in 1908
  • A flat terra-cotta disk 16.5 centimeters (6 inches) in diameter
  • Has pictographic and seemingly alphabetic forms imprinted on both sides in spiral bands
  • one of the most interesting and perplexing relics of the Minoan Civilization
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5
Q

Principal of Moveable type

A

-Type-like stamps are used to impress each character carefully into a substrate.
- Each character is created as a separate stamp, allowing it to be moved and arranged to create complete words, sentences, or paragraphs as multiple lines of type

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6
Q

Substrate

A
  • A material on which letterforms and images are inscribed.
  • Includes papyrus, parchment, wax, stone, wood, etc.
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7
Q

North Semitic writing

A

Early alphabetic writings created by the Northwest Semitic peoples of the western Mediterranean region

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8
Q

Phoenicia

A

A culture on the western shores of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now Lebanon and parts of Syria and Israel

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9
Q

Phoenicians

A

Seafaring merchants of the Mediterranean Sea who developed an early alphabetic writing system, The Phoenician alphabet, which was quickly absorbed by other areas in the region

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10
Q

Sui Generis

A
  • A writing script developed in Byblos, the oldest Phoenician city-state, around 2000 bce
  • The script used pictographic signs influenced by cuneiform and hieroglyphics but devoid of any remaining pictorial meaning.
  • A major step forward toward the development of an alphabet
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11
Q

Byblos

A

The oldest Phoenician city-state, where sui generis was developed

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12
Q

Sinaitic Script

A

an achrophonic adaptation of hieroglyphics designed by Egyptian turquoise miners in the Sinai desert

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13
Q

achrophonic

A

a pictorial symbol or hieroglyph used to stand for the initial sound of the depicted object

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14
Q

Ras Shamra Script

A
  • A true Semitic alphabetical script found on clay tablets inscribed around 1500 bce.
  • It used thirty cuneiform-like characters to represent elementary consonant sounds
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15
Q

Alphabetical order

A

the sequence in which the letters of an alphabetic script are memorized

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16
Q

Phoenician alphabet

A
  • North Semitic writing
  • an early alphabetic system of 22 characters written from left to right
  • in use by 1500 bce
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17
Q

Aramaic Alphabet

A
  • first used by tribes from Aram
  • A major early derivation from the North Semitic script
  • the predecessor of the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets, which developed further into Hebrew and Arabic writing, written right to left
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18
Q

Square Hebrew alphabet

A
  • Developed from the Aramaic alphabet and possibly influenced by Old Hebrew
  • Evolved into modern Hebrew
  • which consists of 22 consonantal letters, four letters to indicate long vowels, and five letters for use at the end of a word.
  • dots and dashes also indicate vowels
19
Q

Arabic writing

A
  • developed from the Aramaic alphabet with curving calligraphic gestures
  • includes 22 original sounds of the Semitic Alphabet supplemented by 6 characters added to the end, 3 characters are also used as long vowels
  • diacritical marks are added for short vowels and to distinguish consonant sounds
20
Q

Kufic

A
  • From the famous Muslim academy at Kufah in Mesopotamia
  • A bold inscriptional Arabic lettering with extended think characters
  • widely used on coins, manuscripts, and inscriptions on metal and stone
21
Q

Naskhi

A
  • a more cursive Arabic lettering
  • ideal for writing on papyrus
  • evolved into the modern Arabic scripts
22
Q

Qur’an or Koran

A

the Muslim holy book written in the Arabic alphabet. (Allah (god) and Muhammad)

23
Q

calligraphy

A

an early form of art of fine writing using brush strokes

24
Q

Greek alphabet

A
  • Evolved from the Phoenician, or North Semitic, alphabet
  • The Greeks changed 5 consonants to vowels and employed applied geometric structure to the uneven Phoenician characters.
  • Through a standardized system of horizontal, vertical, curved, and diagonal stokes, the Greeks achieved visual order and balance.
25
Q

Votive Stele

A

An upright slab with an inscribed dedication or sculptured surface used as a monument or commemorative tablet on the facade of a building

26
Q

Boustrophedon

A
  • from the Greek “to plow a field with an ox”
  • a writing method developed by the Greeks in which every other line reads in the opposite direction
27
Q

uncials

A
  • a more rounded writing style developed by the Greeks
  • could be written more quickly because its rounded letters were formed with fewer strokes
28
Q

Latin alphabet

A
  • modified from the Greek alphabet by the Etruscans
  • later adopted by the Romans
  • Originally containing only 21 letters, after the letter G was designed by Spurius Carvilius (c. 250 bce) to replace the Greek letter Z
29
Q

Etruscans

A

a people whose civilization on the Italian peninsula reached its height during the 6th century bce

30
Q

Capitalis Monumentalis

A
  • “Monumental capitals” of the Latin alphabet
  • Created for Roman architectural inscriptions celebrating military leaders and their victories
  • Drawn in thick and thin strokes with organically unified straight and curved lines
31
Q

Serifs

A

small lines extending from the ends of the major strokes of a letterform

32
Q

Capitalis quadrata

A
  • “square capitals’
  • written slowly and carefully with a flat pan held at an angle, with stately proportions and clear legibility
  • A style widely used from the 2nd century ce until the 5th century
33
Q

capitalis rustica

A
  • “rustic capitals”
  • A condensed letterform style written quickly with a flat-nibbed pen held at almost a vertical position
  • Enabled the writer to include half again as many letters on the page as was possible with square capitals
  • a style used during the same period as square capitals (2nd century ce till 5th century)
34
Q

Vellum

A

the finest parchment, made from the smooth skins of newborn calves

35
Q

Codex

A
  • The codex book format began to supplant the scroll in Rome and Greece around the time of Christ
  • Parchment gathered in signatures of 2, 4, or 8 sheets. They were folded, stitched, and combined into codices with pages like a modern book
  • advantages in comparison to scrolls: opening a codex was much quicker than unrolling a scroll, both sides of the parchment could be used (saved storage and material costs) and the durability and permanence of the codex was appealing
36
Q

Scroll

A

a roll of parchment, papyrus, or other substrate used for writing a document, called a rotulus

37
Q

Signature

A

gatherings of 2, 4 , or 8 sheets that could be folded, stitched, and combined into codices with pages like a modern book

38
Q

Hangul

A
  • the Korean alphabet
  • 14 consonants and 10 vowels
  • letters are combined within an imaginary rectangle to form syllabic blocks
  • these syllables are made by combining at least 1 consonant and 1 vowel
39
Q

Cadmus of Miletus

A
  • allegedly designed some of the Greek letters
  • is thought to have been the first to bring the alphabet to Greece
40
Q

Squrius Carvilius

A

designed the letter G and added it to the Latin alphabet to replace the Greek latter Z (zeta)

41
Q

Ptolemy V of Alexandria

A
  • ruled c. 205 - 181 bce
  • King Eumenes of Pergamum and Ptolemy were engaged in a fierce library-building rivalry
  • Ptolemy placed an embargo on papyrus shipments to prevent Eumenes from continuing his rapid production of scrolls
42
Q

King Eumenes II if Pergamum

A
  • ruled 197 - 160 bce
  • library building rivalry with Ptolemy
  • Subject to the embargo of papyrus shipments
43
Q

Sejong

A
  • 1397-1450 ce
  • Korean monarch who introduced Hangul, the Korean alphabet, by royal decree in 1446

History of Graphic Design (24 decks)

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