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Graphic Design History – Pre-Victorian Highlights

Total questions: 50

Worksheet time: 25mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which three elements define graphic design as discussed in class?

a)

Color, shape, motion

b)

Words and images, in two dimensions, reproducible

c)

Art, technology, culture

d)

Typography, layout, branding

2.

True or False: Graphic design must exist in three dimensions to be effective.

a)

True

b)

False

3.

Which artifact best exemplifies the core elements of graphic design?

a)

Sculpture

b)

Poster

c)

Website

d)

Film

4.

Which of the following is NOT one of the roles of designers mentioned in lecture?

a)

Organize information

b)

Preserve ideas

c)

Communicate meaning

d)

Eliminate ambiguity

5.

True or False: Persuasion and clarification are both goals of graphic design.

a)

True

b)

False

6.

One of the most effective ways to characterize a design is by its:

a)

Price

b)

Style

c)

Color palette

d)

Software used

7.

Graphic design history is best described as:

a)

A timeline of famous designers

b)

A record of trends

c)

Human communication problem-solving under constraint

d)

A study of aesthetics only

8.

Which constraint is associated with “Accuracy”?

a)

Culture

b)

Technology

c)

Economy

d)

Aesthetics

9.

Which constraint answers the question “Who pays?”

a)

Power

b)

Culture

c)

Economy

d)

Technology

10.

True or False: Design always serves someone and is never neutral.

a)

True

b)

False

11.

What modern metaphor was used to describe how designers learn from past solutions?

a)

Toolbox

b)

Timeline

c)

Swipe file / Pinterest board

d)

Mood ring

12.

In this lecture, students are asked to think like designers who:

a)

Are historians

b)

Have modern tools

c)

Live before modern tools

d)

Work digitally

13.

Without screens, printers, or the internet, the first design problem is:

a)

Decoration

b)

Branding

c)

Communication

d)

Marketing

14.

True or False: Memory alone is sufficient to preserve information over time.

a)

True

b)

False

15.

Leaving a trace is primarily about:

a)

Beauty

b)

Decoration

c)

Preserving information beyond memory

d)

Entertainment

16.

What is described as the origin of design?

a)

Typography

b)

Mark-making

c)

Photography

d)

Printing

17.

When does a mark stop being decoration?

a)

When it is symmetrical

b)

When it becomes expensive

c)

When it carries meaning

d)

When it is beautiful

18.

Who ultimately decides what a mark means?

a)

The designer only

b)

The toolmaker

c)

The audience / culture

d)

The printer

19.

True or False: Pictures can explain all ideas and sounds equally well.

a)

True

b)

False

20.

When pictures are no longer enough, what must replace them?

a)

More decoration

b)

Abstract symbols

c)

Letters and sounds

d)

Color

21.

Letters are described as:

a)

Neutral tools

b)

Natural forms

c)

Designed objects

d)

Accidental shapes

22.

True or False: The tools used to make letters influence their form.

a)

True

b)

False

23.

Roman capital letters primarily communicate:

a)

Playfulness

b)

Informality

c)

Authority and power

d)

Speed

24.

Why are Roman capitals still used today?

a)

They are trendy

b)

They are playful

c)

They signal authority

d)

They are easy to write

25.

Stone and chisel encouraged which letter qualities?

a)

Soft curves and thin strokes

b)

Sharp angles and straight lines

c)

Random shapes

d)

Decorative flourishes

26.

What dilemma arises when everything is copied by hand?

a)

Too much speed

b)

Lack of creativity

c)

Time, labor, and inconsistency

d)

Over-accessibility

27.

True or False: Expensive materials increase access to information.

a)

True

b)

False

28.

Which materials represent the historical progression of writing surfaces?

a)

Wood → plastic → glass

b)

Papyrus → parchment → paper

c)

Stone → metal → digital

d)

Ink → paint → toner

29.

Movable type allowed letters to be:

a)

Painted once

b)

Fixed permanently

c)

Reused and rearranged

d)

Decorative only

30.

What did printing add to the communication process?

a)

Slowness

b)

Uniqueness

c)

Speed, consistency, and scale

d)

Secrecy

31.

Gutenberg is remembered primarily because he:

a)

Invented printing

b)

Invented paper

c)

Synthesized existing technologies

d)

Created typography

32.

Which was NOT part of Gutenberg's synthesis?

a)

Movable metal type

b)

Oil-based ink

c)

Digital layout software

d)

The press

33.

True or False: Printed text is automatically readable.

a)

True

b)

False

34.

Why did early printed books imitate handwriting?

a)

Faster printing

b)

Lower cost

c)

Reader familiarity and comfort

d)

Decoration

35.

Typography becomes design when:

a)

Letters are decorative

b)

Different problems need different solutions

c)

Everything looks the same

d)

Speed is ignored

36.

Who designed for humanist readability?

a)

William Caxton

b)

Nicolas Jenson

c)

John Baskerville

d)

Fermin Didot

37.

Whose fonts exhibited technological advancement and high-gloss design?

a)

William Caxton

b)

Nicolas Jenson

c)

John Baskerville

d)

Fermin Didot

38.

Very thin strokes contrasted with very thick strokes are characteristics of which designer's font which he named after himself.

a)

William Caxton

b)

Nicolas Jenson

c)

John Baskerville

d)

Fermin Didot

39.

Whose font exhibits timelessness?

a)

William Caxton

b)

Nicolas Jenson

c)

John Baskerville

d)

Claude Garamond

40.

Who is primarily responsible for the standardization of type measurements?

a)

William Caxton

b)

Nicolas Jenson

c)

John Baskerville

d)

Fournier le Jeune

41.

Whose typeface was used on the Declaration of Independence?

a)

William Caslon

b)

Nicolas Jenson

c)

John Baskerville

d)

Fournier le Jeune

42.

Who is considered the first publisher?

a)

William Caslon

b)

Aldus Manutius

c)

John Baskerville

d)

Fournier le Jeune

43.

How does Aldus Manutius's work relate to mobile-first design today?

a)

Focus on color

b)

Emphasis on large scale

c)

Portability and layout

d)

Decorative excess

44.

True or False: Some typefaces feel timeless because they solve enduring communication problems.

a)

True

b)

False

45.

What major question does photography raise in design and media literacy?

a)

Is it beautiful?

b)

Is it expensive?

c)

Is it truthful?

d)

Is it fast?

46.

The progression of communication systems discussed follows which path?

a)

Letters → sounds → pictures

b)

Marks → symbols → pictographs → sounds → letters

c)

Pictures → decoration → letters

d)

Symbols → images → memory

47.

Martin Luther's Reformation owes most of its success to the development of the printing press.

a)

True

b)

False

48.

The book considered to be the first one published in America is...

a)

The Bible

b)

Webster's dictionary

c)

The Bay Psalm Book

d)

The Federalist Papers

49.

The printing method that most lends itself to expressive freedom is...

a)

Lithography

b)

Photography

c)

Typography

d)

Cartography

50.

Problems that arise from copying (not printing) include...

a)

Copying errors

b)

The time it takes to make the copy

c)

Labor and material costs

d)

Accessibility to the final product.