slide:ology

500

bce

Public Speaking

The Greeks pioneer the study and practice

of oratory and logography. Centuries later,

Ars Oratoria (the art of public speaking) is a

mark of professional competence in Rome,

especially among politicians and lawyers.

1350

ce

Bar Graphs

Bishop Nicole Oresme creates a “Proto-Bar

Graph” for plotting variables in a coordinate

system. Thankfully, he lacks distracting,

modern textures.

3000

bce

Egyptian Murals

Large, pictographic murals communicate

complex ideas to crowds of thousands.

Hieroglyphic symbols—functioning as both

representative images and phonetic

components—augment larger images to

blend visual and verbal communication.

950

ce

Stained Glass Windows

Before the printing press, the Roman

Catholic Church conveyed stories of saints

and biblical characters to a mostly

illiterate public through the colorful medium

of stained glass. The messages stick.

15000

bce

Cave Paintings

The 2,000 images found in the caves at

Lascaux, France narrate stories through

character, sequence, and motion. The oldest

evidence the world has of visual storytelling,

the paintings demonstrate early reliance on

using images to convey meaning.

1845

ce

Comic Strips

Swiss artist Rudolphe Töpffer develops the

forerunner to today’s modern comic strips:

he tells complete stories using frames that

contain both images and text.

xiv

Brief History of Visual Aids

Overhead Projector

Police begin using overhead pr ...