What is the history of graphic typesetting design?

Book binding refers to the whole design process from book manuscript to book publication, and layout design is an important part of book binding. Layout design is an important means of visual communication of books and an important knowledge of book arrangement; In reality, format design is not only a skill, but also the harmony between technology and art. Format design theory is one of the basic qualities that modern designers must possess.

The oldest layout design is the first to promote the classical layout design represented by Gutenberg in Germany 500 years ago, which is characterized by symmetrical left and right pages around the mouth and strictly limiting the layout of words. There are uniform size standards for word spacing and line spacing, and the inside and outside white edges of the top foot are in a certain proportion, forming a protective frame. There are strict corresponding standards for the depth of text ink and the black-and-white relationship of pictures embedded in the core. Classical layout design has dominated Europe for hundreds of years in the history of book design, and it still has a big market today.

At the beginning of 20th century, with the appearance of modern civilization, grid design appeared in Western Europe. It uses the mathematical proportional relationship on the page to divide the center of the page into countless grids with uniform size through strict calculation, so as to carry out the layout design method of words and pictures. It pays attention to the sense of proportion, order, continuity, clarity, scientificity and seriousness. In the second half of the 1940s, the first printed matter with grid was published, which ran through the unified layout of the book and the rigorous text and picture design scheme of unpretentious theme expression, representing a new trend. With the help of grid, design application has developed in function, logic and aesthetics. However, with the process of design, it is gradually found that there are too many restrictions in grid design, and there is no room for free creation, which is easy to bring a sense of boredom to the layout. Therefore, many people of insight carry out research and strive to break the grid constraints and make the picture more rhythmic.

After the 1980s, the application of computer technology in the design industry made the format language get unprecedented development. At the end of 1990s, free-form design became popular all over the world and attracted more and more attention. Literally speaking, free layout design is a design without any restrictions, and it is a design method that is freely combined and arranged through the elements of the layout itself. It breaks the shackles of classical design and grid design, breaks the unified order advocated by layout design, and is an avant-garde format and style in contemporary times.

With the development of society and the continuous development of science and technology, people's requirements for the quality of life are getting higher and higher, and the higher experience of book reading has become the trend and direction of current social development. The history of book layout design will not stay on the established design, but will continue to develop at a high speed more quickly, concisely, simply, practically and effectively. More and more novel layout designs beyond the original concept will continue to emerge to meet the reading experience of different groups of people.