or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Sell Back Your Copy
For a $1.75 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field (Design Briefs)
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field (Design Briefs) [Paperback]

Helen Armstrong (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

List Price: $24.95
Price: $16.05 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $8.90 (36%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Wednesday, February 1? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Paperback $16.05  
Unknown Binding --  

Book Description

Design Briefs March 11, 2009
The titles in our best-selling Design Brief series are highly praised by graphic design students, educators, and professionals worldwide as invaluable resources. Each beautifully designed, affordable volume offers a concise overview of a design fundamentalthe hows of design. But as most seasoned designers will tell you, a comprehensive education also requires an understanding of the whys of design practice. Graphic Design Theory presents groundbreaking, primary texts from the most important historical and contemporary designthinkers. From Aleksandr Rodchenko's "Who We Are: Manifesto of the Constructivist Group" to Kenya Hara's "Computer Technology and Design," this essential volume provides the necessary foundation for contemporary critical vocabulary and thought.

Graphic Design Theory is organized in three sections: "Creating the Field" traces the evolution of graphic design over the course of the early 1900s, including influential avant-garde ideas of futurism, constructivism, and the Bauhaus; "Building on Success" covers the mid- to late twentieth century and considers the International Style, modernism, and postmodernism; and "Mapping the Future" opens at the end of the last century and includes current discussions on legibility, social responsibility, and new media. Striking color images illustrate each of the movements discussed and demonstrate the ongoing relationship between theory and practice. A brief commentary prefaces each text, providing a cultural and historical framework through which the work can be evaluated. Authors include such influential designers as Herbert Bayer, Lszl Moholy-Nagy, Karl Gerstner, Katherine McCoy, Michael Rock, Lev Manovich, Ellen Lupton, and Lorraine Wild. Additional features include a timeline, glossary, and bibliography for further reading. A must-have survey for graduate and undergraduate courses in design history, theory, and contemporary issues, Graphic Design Theory invites designers and interested readers of all levels to plunge into the world of design discourse.

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Thinking with Type, 2nd revised and expanded edition: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students $15.36

Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field (Design Briefs) + Thinking with Type, 2nd revised and expanded edition: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students


Editorial Reviews

Review

"I heartily recommend this book for anyone seeking a friendly, concise overview of graphic design theory. The texts included are fresh and provocative. And the book design makes it a pleasure to read (particularly in comparison to the Looking Closer series). Each group of texts is followed by a section of vivid images called "Theory at Work" that explicates the ideas presented. I plan to reach for this book any time I need to stimulate my brain and/or my design." -- Hartleib --Share Brain, April 29, 2009

"An intro to design theory featuring essays from some of the industry's most important contemporary thinkers." --How Magazine

"Design and Reflexivity by Jan Van Toorn. Appears in the book Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field edited by Helen Armstrong, published by Princeton Architectural Press.The political in design is often looked at in a context of making a political statement but neglects the political process linked to design itself. The circumstances and intentions that lie behind the designer are assumed to be transparent, but in a market economy the profit will always be the underlying factor. In this sense Van Toorn argues that in order for design to function it accepts the established order as the basis of its actions. Social order legitimizes design and in turn it becomes necessary for design to legitimize the social order as well, creating a system that denies a critical look into the system itself (102). Acknowledge this realization, reality becomes a concept that is separated from design it becomes difficult for design to become much more that representations of the representations of the current system." - Michael Carbaugh --Michael Carbaugh

"This book offers a great primer on graphic design theory by collecting 24 essays from design luminaries like Jan Tschichold, Lorraine Wild, Paul Rand, El Lissitzky, Herbert Bayer, and more, culled from writings spanning more than a century on wide ranging topics from typography to the social responsibilities of a designer. " --Jason Santa Maria

Product Details

  • Paperback: 151 pages
  • Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (March 11, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1568987722
  • ISBN-13: 978-1568987729
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Helen Armstrong is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design and an affiliate faculty member of the Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies at Miami University. In addition to teaching, Armstrong also works as principal and creative director of her company, Strong Design. (helenarmstrongdesigner.com)

The titles in our best-selling Design Brief series are highly praised by graphic design students, educators, and professionals worldwide as invaluable resources. Each beautifully designed, affordable volume offers a concise overview of a design fundamental--the hows of design. But as most seasoned designers will tell you, a comprehensive education also requires an understanding of the whys of design practice. Graphic Design Theory presents groundbreaking, primary texts from the most important historical and contemporary design thinkers. From Aleksandr Rodchenko's "Who We Are: Manifesto of the Constructivist Group" to Kenya Hara's "Computer Technology and Design," this essential volume provides the necessary foundation for contemporary critical vocabulary and thought.

Graphic Design Theory is organized in three sections: "Creating the Field" traces the evolution of graphic design over the course of the early 1900s, including influential avant-garde ideas of futurism, constructivism, and the Bauhaus; "Building on Success" covers the mid- to late twentieth century and considers the International Style, modernism, and postmodernism; and "Mapping the Future" opens at the end of the last century and includes current discussions on legibility, social responsibility, and new media. Striking color images illustrate each of the movements discussed and demonstrate the ongoing relationship between theory and practice. A brief commentary prefaces each text, providing a cultural and historical framework through which the work can be evaluated. Authors include such influential designers as Herbert Bayer, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Karl Gerstner, Katherine McCoy, Michael Rock, Lev Manovich, Ellen Lupton, and Lorraine Wild. Additional features include a timeline, glossary, and bibliography for further reading. A must-have survey for graduate and undergraduate courses in design history, theory, and contemporary issues, Graphic Design Theory invites designers and interested readers of all levels to plunge into the world of design discourse.

 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars just what I always wanted, September 4, 2010
By 
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field (Design Briefs) (Paperback)
This book is perfect. I am using it as the required text for a senior-level course in theory. It's not too big, not too small, complete without redundancy and edited in such a way that discussions fairly jump from the text. Thank you, Helen Armstrong.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Friendly, informative, well-designed, April 29, 2009
This review is from: Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field (Design Briefs) (Paperback)

I heartily recommend this book for anyone seeking a friendly, concise overview of graphic design theory. The texts included are fresh and provocative. And the book design makes it a pleasure to read (particularly in comparison to the Looking Closer series). Each group of texts is followed by a section of vivid images called "Theory at Work" that explicates the ideas presented. I plan to reach for this book any time I need to stimulate my brain and/or my design.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for catching up on design theory, April 29, 2009
This review is from: Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field (Design Briefs) (Paperback)
This fresh collection provides design texts from a wide range of designers. Before I read this I felt a bit self-conscious about my lack of training in design history/thinking. Now I feel ready for any "design theory" conversation.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews


Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
design observer
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Graphic Design Theory, Mapping the Future, New York, New Wave, Creating the Field, New Typography, United States, Las Vegas, After Effects, Wolfgang Weingart, Designing Design, Pierre Bourdieu, Abbott Miller, Rem Koolhaas, Lars Muller, International Style, Designing Programmes, Josef Muller-Brockmann, Michel Foucault, The Crystal Goblet
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject