Pretty Ugly or Plain Ugly? The Impact of Digital Technologies on the Aesthetics of Print in Visual Communications

<p dir="ltr">This thesis examines the stylistic pendulum shifts of graphic design aesthetics brought about by the digital turns of the last forty years. It focuses on two major revolutions within technological evolution of visual communications; firstly, the invention of the Apple Macintosh Computer and the advent and widespread industry adoption of desktop publishing in the 1980’s and 1990’s; and secondly, the explosion of the Internet in the 2000’s and 2010’s. Each turn became an impetus that forced designers to move forward, and in the process, changed the face of design. The new visual languages created have often been perceived as ugly within the industry and have caused much debate. Is this simply because each new generation has a different aesthetic system to the ones that came before them or are there wider implications for visual communications? With each swing back and forth of the pendulum, the discipline evolves and progresses further. </p>