How Were Graphs and Charts Prepared in the 1950s?
Searches: graphs and charts 1950s gouache
graphs and charts 1950s paper
graphs and charts 1950s letraset
preparing graphs and charts in the 1950s
how graphs were prepared in the 1950s
hand-drwan graphs in the 1950s
office graphs before desktop printing
This is one of those things you never think about until it comes up -- I assume that prior to easy desktop publishing, any bar charts, zig-zag graphs, etc. used in an office environment would have had to be drawn by hand, but I don't know if there was a standardized method. Would they (as I imagine) have typically been drawn in pencil on a large sheet of graph paper, then filled in with gouache or watercolour paints? Would captions have been hand-lettered, or added in letraset? Were there standardized colour codes, like, say, blue for projected figures and red for actual figures, or was that all up to the person preparing the chart?
More specifically, here's my scenario -- the company is a small architectural firm, so they've got several draughtsmen on hand. Could they just tell one of the junior ones "our accountant's preparing some figures for a meeting tomorrow, would you mind turning them into a graph," or would that be ridiculously far outside his job description? My own office experience is that as the person who knows how to use both Excel and various graphic-design programs, I get called upon by everyone for everything, but it's possible someone specifically trained in architectural drawing would be assumed to be above that sort of thing. (My story pretty much requires that he *does* stay late to help with the graph, but I'm wondering if his boss should ask it as a special favour, or just as a matter of course.)
graphs and charts 1950s paper
graphs and charts 1950s letraset
preparing graphs and charts in the 1950s
how graphs were prepared in the 1950s
hand-drwan graphs in the 1950s
office graphs before desktop printing
This is one of those things you never think about until it comes up -- I assume that prior to easy desktop publishing, any bar charts, zig-zag graphs, etc. used in an office environment would have had to be drawn by hand, but I don't know if there was a standardized method. Would they (as I imagine) have typically been drawn in pencil on a large sheet of graph paper, then filled in with gouache or watercolour paints? Would captions have been hand-lettered, or added in letraset? Were there standardized colour codes, like, say, blue for projected figures and red for actual figures, or was that all up to the person preparing the chart?
More specifically, here's my scenario -- the company is a small architectural firm, so they've got several draughtsmen on hand. Could they just tell one of the junior ones "our accountant's preparing some figures for a meeting tomorrow, would you mind turning them into a graph," or would that be ridiculously far outside his job description? My own office experience is that as the person who knows how to use both Excel and various graphic-design programs, I get called upon by everyone for everything, but it's possible someone specifically trained in architectural drawing would be assumed to be above that sort of thing. (My story pretty much requires that he *does* stay late to help with the graph, but I'm wondering if his boss should ask it as a special favour, or just as a matter of course.)