The evolution of text visualization: from the civilization of inscriptions to the civilization of universal advertising

The article provides a detailed excursion into the history of communicative culture, the features of which can be explored with the help of such open and mysterious source as inscriptions. Starting from the huge array of inscriptions of the Indus civilization, humanity, on the one hand, broadcast valuable information for itself, and, on the other, tried to hide the essence of the message behind the graphics of the inscription, making it accessible only to the initiated. The authors trace the development of the communicative culture using examples of geoglyphs, engravings, state symbols, advertising, banners, graffiti, monumental art, etc. Each new period has not only brought a different content to the art of inscriptions but also actively expanded its tools for transformation making it consonant with the demands of the changed information field.

At the same time, the widest range of meanings of such inscriptions, which can reflect political, social, spiritual ideas comes down to two main functions which inscriptions have carried for thousands of years: signaling and magical ones. They are also typical of modern inscriptions, regardless of their personal or public manifestation, socio-political or economic purpose, the tool and the surface used to make an inscription. This gives a reason to see in the communicative culture of the 21st century successor to the ancient “Inscription Civilization” which was transformed. The destruction of its earlier fragments is enlightening in a sense that it might have resulted from the inability and unwillingness of people to understand the form and content of the messages hidden behind the intricate graphics of the inscriptions.

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