Hieroglyphics and Egyptians |3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt?


Persians, Greeks, & Romans!


Inside of ancient Egyptian walls inside temples:

What was discovered on the inside of the temples?


Carved, painted images on every wall and surface.


Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians inspired and influenced by which written language?


Cuneiform, expressing words in writing.


What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?


Logographic elements are visual symbols representing ideas or objects & alphabetic elements are stylized, recognizable, and simple.


The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?


Hiero which means sacred and glyphic which means engraving or writing.


What is a scribe?


A way of communication, records.


Who else was trained to read and write? Why?


Military leaders so they could communicate during battle.


Examples of hieroglyphics on papyrus:

What is papyrus and how is it made?


Papyrus is substrate made from reeds native to Egypt. To make papyrus you put wet reed criss-cross over each other, flattened and dried. Then rub with with flat stones until the surface becomes smooth.


What is a substrate?


A substance!


What were the Book of the Dead?


Instructions and spells to help them find their way to the after life, usually written by the users themselves before death.


How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?


Hieroglyphics were still used under Persians rule, but by the time Greeks & Romans took over most Egyptians couldn't read or write it.


Examples of Rosetta Stone:

What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?


Rosetta Stone is a stone that has three hand written languages on it. It was discovered in Rosetta by French soldiers.


What three languages are included on the stone?


Egyptian hieroglyphics, Greek, & Demotic.


Why couldn't the text on the stone be deciphered?


Because a chunk of stone was missing and none of the three texts were complete.


Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?


Jean Francois Champollion, his breakthrough came when he matched up the hieroglyphic symbols with the Greek version of the name Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses. 


Why does the interpretation of Rosetta Stone have such a significance? 


Because of the Rosetta Stone we now know a lot about the Egyptians and the hieroglyphics!!

Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were on of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does this mean?

Nomadic, this means they move around, they don't have a permanent home. 


Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?


Because its where the cuneiform was formed, the worlds first written language.


What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?


Agriculture!!


Examples of Sumerian Pictographs:

Why was Cuneiform created?


To keep track of all business transactions.


What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process.


Wet clay, form it into flat services,  use a wedge shaped stylus made from reed to make impressions into clay surfaces, lay clay tablets in the sun & allow them to dry. 


What did Cuneiform begin as a series of?


A series of pictographs. 


Examples of Akkadian Cuneiform:

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?


The Akkadians adopted it!!


What is pictography?


Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture? 

Assignment 14 research and inspiration

I like this poster because of the use of color & the white text.  

I love how this picture uses a big white object in the center to pull the reader in. Oh and the way he/she used the blue and yellow together looks very clean/fresh. 

 In this poster I like the use of typography and how its contained in a shape. The colors used are simple and they make the piece flow really well!

 This poster is one of my favorites. I like how it uses lots of colors in one spot. It helps the reader focus on something but the small black line leads you down to the hand. 

 The colors utilized in this poster are great. It's kinda crazy how you focus on the glasses even with all the crazy colors. I can tell I read this poster in a "z" shape. I began looking at never hide, then went to the glasses, and then the earring. 

 This is just like color and hand poster. It starts and one point and pulls the reader down. 

 I like how this poster has an image as a background and uses white text over it. 

 This poster is so simple, but it says so much! I love the use of black, white, and red. 

Visual organization

Not directing the audience through a design is misleading them!!


Eye movement: the typical eye moves left to right, top to bottom. Controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye. The eye tends to gravitate towards area of complexity first. In pictures of people, eyes is always attracted to that face and particularly the eyes. Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area. Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement. Optical center: the spot where the human eye tends to enter the page. Optical center is slightly above mathematical (or exact) center and just to the left. It takes a compelling element to pull your eye away from this spot. Z pattern: our visual patter makes a sweep of the page, generally, in the shape of a "Z".  Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.


Fonts: the first rule is, no more than 2 fonts on one composition (page). Make sure the fonts compliment each other. Number two, avoid all CAPS. It makes it seems like you're yelling and it can sometimes be confusing. Use caps only when you need them! The third is, choose the right font. Be very careful with what font you use. Make sure the font fits the tone/theme. For example, don't have a boring font if you're designing a fun, party invitation. Number four, do not overuse fancy or complicated fonts (scripts & decorative). Use these fonts as the head line not as the body. These fonts are hard to read when small. Pairing Fonts article: www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm

Visual Hierarchy: will establish focal point based on their importance to the message that's being communicated.

A crucial part of the design process is to establish an order of elements, a visual structure, to help the viewer absorb the information proved by a design.

To establish visual hierarchy answer these questions:
- What do I want me viewer to look at first?
- Second?
- Third?
 Etc...


The grid: a way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows, and columns.  Instituted by modernism! Can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images. A grid consists of a distinct set of aligned-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format. Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure...one that addresses the particular elements within the design. A gris is used to help clarify the message being communicated messages and unifying elements.

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?


Beautiful detailed  and colorful representations found on the inside of cave walls and ceilings. 


Name several common themes found in cave paintings. 

• Large animals
• Tracing of hands
• abstract paintings

How were these painting created (tools & pigments )?

The paint was made from: water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, & hematite (a form of iron oxide). Brushes were made by putting together sticks, small stones, leaves, & animal hair.

What is the most famous cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom? 

 Lascaux, France! It was discovered in 1940 by 4 teenage boys. 


Examples:

   














Why did the cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity? 


The cave have to be closed because the wall paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted form tourist. To please the public the government made a replica called the Lascaux 2.


In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?


The cave paintings mostly have a red hue because the soil is made up of red clay. 


Examples:

Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?


The cave was discovered by Marceline Sanz De Sauiuola and his daughter Maria. These pantings are confirmed to be 19,000 years old!


What is the oldest know cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom? 


The oldest cave painting site is in Chauvet-Point Arcl in south France. It was discovered by 3 speleogists in 1994. 


Examples:

What was different about the painting techniques at this site?

• Walls were swept clean from debris.
• 3D effect was created by etching around the edges. 

What is "speleology"?

What three reasons to archeologist and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?

1. to tell a story or recount an event that happened.