Graphic Design: A Concise History, Second Edition (World of Art) [Paperback]

Richard Hollis (Author)

Book Description

Series: World of Art | Publication Date: June 2002

From its roots in the development of printing, graphic design has evolved as a means of identification, information, and promotion to become a profession and discipline in its own right.

This authoritative documentary history begins with the poster and goes on to chart the development of word and image in brochures and magazines, advertising, corporate identity, television, and electronic media, and the impact of technical innovations such as photography and the computer. For the revised edition, a new final chapter covers all the recent international developments in graphic design, including the role of the computer and the Internet in design innovation and globalization. In the last years of the twentieth century, at a time when "designer products" and the use of logos grew in importance, the role of graphic designers became more complex, subversive, and sometimes more political—witness Oliviero Toscani's notorious advertisements for Benetton. Digital technology cleared the way for an astonishing proliferation of new typefaces, and words began to take second place to typography in a whole range of magazines and books as designers asserted the primacy of their medium. Designers and companies discussed here include Neville Brody, David Carson, Design Writing Research, Edward Fella, Tibor Kalman, Jeffery Keedy, LettError, Pierre di Sciullo, Tomato, Gerard Unger, Cornel Windlin, and a host of others. Over 800 illustrations, 30 in color

Editorial Reviews

Review

[M]any reproductions not seen in other histories and the stories, briskly told, often add new insight to familiar tales. -- Communication Arts

About the Author

Richard Hollis is a freelance graphic designer, and has worked as a printer, art editor, production manager, teacher, and lecturer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; Second Edition edition (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500203474
• ISBN-13: 978-0500203477
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars follow the arrow, August 31, 2000

By 

dale - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graphic Design: A Concise History (World of Art) (Paperback)

insightful, full of samples (about 800 though largely black & white) a great guide to graphic styles, and the key movers & shakers in the history of graphic design right through from the 1890s to the 1990s.

a huge resource for such a little book, definately worth reading if not just to look at the pictures...

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference for Graphic Design history., March 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Graphic Design: A Concise History (World of Art) (Paperback)

This is an excellent guide to the history of graphic design. I really enjoyed reading
this insightful view of graphic design. It has lots of useful information on the history
of graphic design from early posters to the electronic age. I have found this as a good
book for my study as an art student. I would recomend this to anyone interested in
graphic design history or if you are thinking of the graphic arts industry.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive book, January 6, 2008

By 

Pavel Kocicka "catt" (Prague, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graphic Design: A Concise History, Second Edition (World of Art) (Paperback)

First: it is great book full of a lot of examples and connections. And I love it and I can recomend it for everyone who wants to know something about graphic design.
But sometimes it lost connection between graphic and polictic, which is important in 1920s and 1930s.