Medium Morphology Changes: Understanding New Media

Author: (USA) Roger Fleder
Translator: Ming Anxiang
Editor-in-Chief: Liu Jinan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
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Medium form changes are not what most people expect, nor are they particularly easy to predict. Even for investors and inventors who drive technological and social change, visualizing the future is a tricky problem. However, despite the turmoil caused by change, humans seem to have a unique ability to quickly absorb new ideas, products, and services, as long as they find these things align with their personal and cultural definitions of reality. It appears that no one is fully prepared for change or can accurately predict the outcomes, but we can all begin to observe the possible forms of the future by learning to recognize the historical evolution and mechanisms of change. This chapter introduces several frameworks for assessing change and evaluating new media technologies. It also lays the foundation for understanding the process of medium form change, upon which subsequent chapters will be built.
The adoption of new technologies in American culture in the face of change is so rapid that historical perspectives are often lost in the process. For example, recently, while visiting a newspaper, I saw a young graphic artist drawing an explanatory diagram on an Apple Macintosh computer. When I casually mentioned news graphics, he occasionally paused to consider what I had just said before turning his attention back to his computer screen. Finally, he released the mouse he was using to draw and looked at me seriously. "You know," he said, "I can't even imagine how you could create news graphics without a computer." His opinion shows how quickly new technologies and concepts have become commonplace in people's minds. In 1984, when I was establishing the Wright-Richardson Graphics Network, only a few graphic artists in newspapers I spoke with could imagine using computers for drawing. When I showed them this new tool, most openly expressed skepticism, and some even showed resistance. Despite the initial resistance, within less than a decade, computers had replaced mechanical drawing tools in almost every art department worldwide. Today, more information graphics—maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, etc.—are printed in more newspapers and magazines than ever before, far beyond what could have been imagined before the introduction of computer graphics systems, and in many cases, it was even impossible. They have brought fundamental changes in the content, timeliness, form, and quality of graphics, as well as fundamental changes in the role and status of news graphic artists. Before the widespread use of computers and laser printers, graphic artists relied on tools that had changed little in over a century. Every word in a graphic had to be handwritten or typeset and carefully pasted into place. If texture and color were added, the graphic artist had to manually prepare photographic overlays before sending it to print. Even a single graphic could take an entire day from conception to completion.
The impact of personal computers
Personal computers have not significantly reduced the time graphic artists need to create initial drafts of graphics. The skills and talents required to use them are no less than those needed for traditional drawing tools. Their greatest contribution lies in eliminating time-consuming and labor-intensive production steps, often allowing for rapid editing and updates just minutes before the deadline.