Graphic Design Time Line: A Century of Design Milestones

SYNOPSIS

This spirited, canny volume is the first to present, in chronological order, the milestones of graphic design history. Starting with the dawn of modern graphic design the final decade of the nineteenth century author Steven Heller sifts through the developments of the last 110 years, and serves up a compendium of events that have shaped both graphic design and the larger world.

By studying the two-page spreads devoted to each year of the last century, readers can track major, as well as off-beat, occurrences in graphic design, advertising, technology, popular culture, art, politic sand see how, historically, change in any one area affected the others.

Enhanced by hundreds of period illustrations, Graphic Design Timeline is also a perfect desk reference, putting the major and minor developments of the field at every reader's fingertips. Those pursuing serious research, as well as those who are merely curious, will discover when influential designers were born (or died), the time frames of important twentieth century art movements, the dates of catchy advertising campaigns, the points at which technological revolutions occurred, and the exact instant that their favorite junk food was invented.

As Steven Heller observes, "who can argue with the contention that, seen in the context of the past and the future, minor inventions or events can prove to be the precursors of major developments in history? This book aspires to be more than a record, it should be a stimulus for further discovery.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Steven Heller is editor of the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design and the chair of the MFA design department at the School of Visual Arts. He is the author or editor of more than seventy books on graphic design, and he is a contributor or contributing editor to nearly 25 magazines, including Print, U&lc, Eye Magazine, Communications Arts, ID magazine, Graphics, Design Issues, and Mother Jones. Since 1986 he has been senior art director of the New York Times, which he first joined as an art director in 1974. From 1967-1973, he served as art director for numerous publications, including Interview magazine, The New York Free Press, Rock Magazine, Screw magazine, Mobster Times, Evergreen Review, and the Irish Arts Center. He was awarded three design grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, in 1986,1988, and 1990. In 1996, he received a Special Educators Award from The Art Director's Club of New York. He has been the curator of ten design exhibitions, including "The Art of Satire" at the Pratt Graphics Center and "Art Against War" at the Parsons School of Design. Since 1986, he has directed "Modernism & Eclecticism: A History of American Graphic Design," an annual symposium at the School of Visual Arts. He lives in New York.

FROM THE CRITICS

Booknews

Describes developments in graphic design over 110 years. Material is presented in two-page spreads devoted to each year, covering major as well as off-beat occurrences in graphic design, advertising, technology, popular culture, art, and politics. Includes b&w photos and illustrations on every page. Heller is art director of the and co-chair of the MFA design program at the School of Visual Arts. Pettit is a graphic designer and consultant. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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