EDLD 5366- Assignment 1.2 Investigating Ancient Work & Principles of Design

Assignment 1.2

In this assignment, you will investigate ancient manuscripts and books that give your insight into the history of graphic communication and how the principles of design were used in these early manuscripts.  You will write a 50-100 word reflection and post to your blog site that addresses the following:

1. Describe your first impression of these ancient works in respect to design
2. Identify examples of each of the four principles of design
3. What techniques did the authors/artists employ to help us understand the importance of those manuscripts/books?

For assignment 1.2, I explored the Ethiopic Bible (http://www.bl.uk/collections/treasures/ethiopic/ethiopic_broadband.). I was impressed by the ancient work of this book, especially because of the elegant written script, which was surrounded by decorative boarders, and many illustrations portrayed in bold colors. In regards to contrast the Ethiopic Bible contained bold colors such as: red, yellow, charcoal, white chalk, and indigo. The main text was written in black ink, while the titles were written in red ink. The width of the pen nib dictated the size of the script used. In the principle of repetition, the book repeated visual elements of design throughout the piece. The bold colored illustrations added visual interest to the text. Each section was consistent with the way it was laid out, which enhanced the design and clarified the information. Alignment, was well presented throughout the Ethiopic Bible as well, each element that was illustrated was aligned with another element (such as an illustration or text). Even the decorative boards and texts columns were aligned and were well organized with each other. Most of the text, if not all was left aligned or justified (2 columns), while the illustrations were mostly center aligned. In the final principle of proximity, the information that is presented in this book is organized into related groups. For example, the miniatures (illustrations) are grouped together before the gospel text. Therefore this proximity of the miniatures with the text keeps the structure of the book organized and also clarifies meaning.  It is evident that the author/artist employed the four basic principles of design to help us understand the importance of the manuscripts/books. It is interesting how even during the 17^th century, the period when this Ethiopic Bible was made, that the four principles of design, which we are learning about in our 21^st century university class, were already being implemented.