This timescape traces the history of graphic design through most of the 20th Century. It defies a devotion to chronological clarity, and allows each reader to navigate through changing events in time, where change is the only constant. It acknowledges the linear quality of time while not separating happenings from their context. Items mark the place in time where they occurred. Those items in, or close to the center, denote the strength of their influence not just on design, but on our culture as well.

Originally it was a Visual Communication Design project between Professor Douglas Wadden and graduate student Julie Mader-Meersman. The Timeline owes credit to other students who have augmented its contents and form throughout the years. Most recently, students Thomas Osborne and Dan Carpenter have helped shape its newest revisions.

The timeline is viewed as a PDF and can be downloaded here. Because this resource is intended for online use only, students are unable to print or change its contents. Clicking this link will open a new window in your browser.