From carving on stones to high definition images… this is how graphic designing has changed in ages. No doubt, images are the best way to convey, you can pass on your message in minimalist words. But it is not as simple as it looks. It involves a lot of thinking and talent to bring that piece of emotion into graphic form. And nowadays, technology is also playing a crucial role in making image live and speaking up the message on its own.
Not only images, the pace at which animation technology is growing has amazed the end user. Gone are the days of the 2D animation, now this industry is leaning more towards 3 dimensional effects. Infact, now having a 3D television is not a big deal. It has become as common as like any conventional television.
And, when it comes to web, graphic designers are more keen towards paying attention to the detailing. And, why not? They have to impress end user and search engines as well. So maintaining a perfect balance between interactivity and compatibility is imperative. If we go back to the time when world wide web just came into existence, we get to know that only text based websites were successful. The reason is slow internet connection. To make things compatible with dial up modems, very light websites were designed. These websites did not have any media, layout or navigation. The sole aim of a website was to disseminate information.
A few years later, say in mid 90s… things started to evolve. We got to see dancing GIFs, animated text and bit structured content. Web designers started to use tables, navigation menu, page hit counters etc. However, even today you can see page hit counters on some websites.
Web designing took a completely turn around after the invention of flash in 1996. With the popularity of flash, interactivity of the UI came into existence. However, search engine spiders were not completely compatible with this technology, but it’s continuous use forced the SEs to alter their algorithms and accept flash made graphics, if created after following the guidelines.
With the beginning of 21st century, CSS brought a boom in the web designing industry. Things have become more interactive and less problematic. Maintaining CSS websites are much easier. Websites were made keeping a visual experience for the user in mind. Web designers started to give importance to the usability. Till now, things have come a long way since 1991. I clearly remember, how amazed we used to get after seeing hyperlinks attached to icons instead of just text.
After that web 2.0 was introduced. It was a complete make over for the websites. Interactivity had taken the center stage, content started to get importance. SEO, keywords, link building etc. were creating a buzz around. Today when I look back, it takes me some good to believe the way world wide web is evolving. Mobile web, responsive designs, micro-interactions etc, making things easier for the users. And, I am really curious to see, to what extent this technology will grow after 20 years.