A Century of Graphic Design

Book excerpt: The twentieth century was a landmark era in graphic design, the art that combines words with graphic images on posters, book and magazine covers, record jackets, billboards, and other print advertising and publicity media. This visually magnificent and factually informative volume tells the story of graphic design, then gives separate illustrated thumbnail biographies of more than 100 of the most influential and internationally known designers of the past 100 years. From the century's early decades we find artists' profiles and reproductions from the studios of Peter Behrens, Alexander Rodchenko, the Bauhaus, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, a sampling of Art Deco, and much more. Examples of Mid-Century Modern include Lester Beall, Yusaku Kamekura, and jazz record covers from various sources. The Pop and Alternative Art eras gave us psychedelic graphics, militant socialist posters from Cuba, and the dramatic typographic designs of Herb Lubalin. Design in the Digital Era has included work by David Carson, Javier Mariscal, Eiko Ishioka, and many others. All illustrations are perfectly reproduced on high quality paper. The text was written by Jeremy Aynsley, an internationally recognized authority in the art of graphic design. Approximately 450 brilliant full-color photos and illustrations.