Looking Closer 4: Critical Writings on Graphic Design (Bk. 4) [Paperback]

Michael Beirut (Editor), William Drenttel (Editor), Steven Heller (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Looking Closer | Publication Date: August 1, 2002

The most stimulating installment yet in the acclaimed Looking Closer series! This enthralling collection of essays assembles some of the most intriguing critical commentary published in professional and general interest design magazines from 1997 to 2000. Over thirty contributors, including Rick Poynor, Kathy McCoy, Lorraine Wild, Veronique Vienne, Jessica Helfand, and others discuss such important contemporary themes as the rise and fall of the dot.coms and its influence on salary expectations, the ongoing controversy over the First Things First Manifesto, the call for greater responsibility in the design profession, and the antibranding protests that ignited demonstrations during recent World Trade Organization meetings.



From current events to design principles, and aesthetics to ethics, graphic designers everywhere will savor this anthology of fresh perspective.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Since the acclaimed Looking Closer series began, the design industry has faced some of its biggest controversies and challenges. Hot-button topics such as branding and the role of designers as possible agents of corporate greed have brought about calls for greater responsibility in the profession. Meanwhile, our culture has become increasingly visual and the profile of graphic design has skyrocketed. This increased awareness has helped shape the critical vocabulary of the profession and provoked incisive essays in professional and general interest magazines in recent years. Now some of the most significant critical commentary published from 1997 to 2000 is available in a single volume, Looking Closer 4, edited by Michael Bierut, William Drenttel, and Steven Heller.

From the Author

The design issues addressed today have changed as much as the industry itself. "After a period of charged professional and academic acticity from the early to mid-nineties, now comes the inevitable cooling off period," Heller observes. "Now that postmodernism, deconstruction, and grunge are history, the next new thing has yet to emerge, and graphic design's evolution has resulted in a new sobriety."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press; 1st edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581152353
• ISBN-13: 978-1581152357
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, October 9, 2008

By 

J. Bopp - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking Closer 4: Critical Writings on Graphic Design (Bk. 4) (Paperback)

This book is an insightful collection of essays and manifestos which respond to First Things First 2000. The editors have done a marvelous job of including numerous viewpoints and introducing some new players to the field of critical writing on graphic design. It makes a great addition to the Looking Closer series and would be good reading for any serious graphic designer.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating new perspectives, May 14, 2008

By 

Timothy Putt "Consumer" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Looking Closer 4: Critical Writings on Graphic Design (Bk. 4) (Paperback)

I read this book for a class. It has some fascinating insight into the world of graphic design. The compilation of essays is pertinent just as much today as they were when originally written(over the past 10-12 years).