GLOSSARY
TERMS OF DESIGN AS APPLIED TO PRINTING
Assyrian (Art)—The Assyrian Empire lay in Southwestern Asia between the Tigris and the Euphrates, now part of Turkey in Asia. Its art was largely expressed in the treatment of flat surfaces, using enameled bricks, painted stuccoes, figured bronzes, etc. Bricks were the only building material. The period dates from 4000-3000 B.C. to about 500 B.C.
Attraction—The force exercised upon the eye by a mass through its tone, color, size, or shape.
Axis—A line dividing a surface for purpose of comparison or construction.
Balance—An apparent state of rest between the various attractions in a design. To balance the elements of a design is to arrange them so that they are set at rest with one another.
Byzantine (Art)—The art of Eastern Christendom, from the time when Byzantium (now Constantinople) became the capital in 330 A.D. until the taking of the city by the Turks in 1453 and even later. Byzantine art embodied Asiatic luxury in splendor and in profusion of color and gilding. Its forms of design were purely geometrical and conventional, with no use of the human figure.
Celtic (Art)—Particularly active in the fourth century among the people of what are now the British Isles. It was influenced by Central Asia and Persia, and is thus somewhat oriental.
Chinese (Art)—Characterized by the use of fantastic forms and brilliant color. Best exemplified in porcelains, lacquers, and carvings in wood and semi-precious stones. The source of inspiration of the Japanese who have commercialized and cheapened it in everything save wood-block cutting and printing.