After Class 2/6

1. Name of graphic style (or topic) studied this session:
Ancient writing styles - pictographs, ideographs, cuneiform, hieroglyphics

2. Describe specific qualities of this style (or if it’s a topic-highlights of that topic) that will help you identify it in the future.
Ancient writing styles were first made of pictographs and ideographs that represented a word or idea. For example, the word "fish" was a picture of a fish. Cave paintings in 8000 BC used this type of writing style. Hieroglyphs are the most recognizable forms of ancient writing. Cuneiform followed that in 3200 BC, a style of writing made with wedge-shaped strokes.

3. What is the most useful or meaningful thing you learned today?

I never thought of trying to use my own pictographs or ancient writing-inspired type/pictures in my designs. But it would be an interesting approach to take in an appropriate context to try to push myself to fit an idea or word in one image.

4. Question: How did some languages communicate without letters/words (like Phoenicians, who had no vowels)?