The first trailer for the documentary film ‘Graphic Means: A History of Graphic Design Production’ has just been released.

Up until about 30 years ago – when desktop computers debuted – the entire design process would be done by hand and analog machines. The graphic design and print industry used a variety of ways to get type and images onto film, plates and finally, to the printed page. Fortunately for us, technology has made the process of designing easier allowing us to concentrate on the creative side of it much better.

Director Briar Levit had amassed a vast collection of design production manuals (1960s, 70s, and 80s) over the years. As the stack grew, she fell in love with this period of design, and the skills and processes that went along with it. She possessed some vague knowledge about production before the Mac, but it was only based on the brief references her teachers made, or the little-used-tools that remained in various studios she worked in.

It occurred to me that if I knew so little, my graphic design students know even less! So with this, I set out to document the tools, processes, and people, of this brief moment in the design world.

This film runs through the transformative era from pre-digital production to the invention and spread of desktop computers and their use in graphic design. It explores the methods, tools and changing social roles that gave rise to the graphic design industry that we know and love today.

Here’s the film trailer, to know more about the film, visit Graphic Means.