Writing systems

Although the concept of visual communication through computer skills and an Art Director is relatively a new idea, information through pictures however, dates back multiple centuries.

The earliest known art is identified as prehistoric cave wall paintings that are likely for ritual or social meaning. Further down the evolution process came many different writing systems.

The earliest and probably the most well-known is the Egyptian system called hieroglyphics. The Egyptians evolved this system around 1500 BC, and the Egyptians used pictographs to represent both words and sounds. They are also the first to create papyrus, a form of paper that was used as manuscripts, according to Rossini.

Shortly after, the Chinese created a system that is called logogram. Although less graphical then hieroglyphics, at one point logogram contained more than 40,000 separate characters; however, now the language has been reduced to approximately 1,000 characters.

Later, around 800 BC, the Greeks created their own system of communication, which contained the Phoenician system. They converted five consonants to vowel sounds. Our word “alphabet” derives from the two Greek words, alpha and beta.

The Roman system borrowed the alphabet from the Greeks and created their own. The Romans also adopted some of the Greek origins, including their philosophy, religion and literature. They then stripped the Grecian alphabet to 21 letters and created what is the closest to what English is today (Ryan).

Pre-existing art has influenced many different movements over the past centuries including our language. Art is built on the past and its influences and successes.