Looking Closer 5: Critical Writings on Graphic Design (Bk. 5) [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2007

The final installment in this acclaimed series offers astute and controversial discussions on contemporary graphic design from 2001 to 2005.  This collection of essays takes stock of the quality and profundity of graphic design writing published in professional and general interest design magazines, as well as on blogs and Internet journals.

Prominent contributors include Milton Glaser, Maud Lavin, Ellen Lupton, Victor Margolin, Mr. Keedy, David Jury, Alice Twemlow, Steven Heller, Jessica Helfand, William Drenttel, Michael Bierut, Michael Dooley, Nick Curry, Emily King, and more.

Among the important themes discussed: design as popular culture, design as art, politics, aesthetics, social responsibility, typography, the future of design, and more. Students, graphic designers beginning their careers, and veterans seeking fresh perspective will savor this anthology gathered from some of today’s top graphic design writers and practitioners, as well as commentators from outside the profession. From the series that helped launch the design criticism movement and was the first to anthologize graphic design criticism from key sources, this volume promises to be the most provocative of all!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven Heller is the co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program and co-founder of the MFA in Design Criticism and MFA in Interaction Design programs at the School of Visual Arts, New York. For thirty- three years he was an art director at the New York Times, and currently writes the “Visuals” column for the New York Times Book Review. He is editor of the AIGA VOICE: Online Journal of Design and contributing editor to Print, EYE, Baseline, and ID magazines. He contributes to Design Observer and writes the DAILY HELLER blog for Print magazine. He is the author or editor of over 130 books on design and popular culture, including Design Literacy, Design Disasters, Born Modern: The Life and Design of Alvin Lustig, and Vintage Type and Graphics. He is the recipient of the 1999 AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement. Heller lives in New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press (January 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581154712
• ISBN-13: 978-1581154719
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.6 x 9.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Looking Closer series suffers a tired exit, September 3, 2008

By 

Michelle "Thoughtful" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking Closer 5: Critical Writings on Graphic Design (Bk. 5) (Paperback)

At this point, the essays are simply filling space. It's a shame such an important, groundbreaking series has had to encounter such an undignified exit. Most valuably this edition reflects the ineffectual ambivalence of a profession in the throws of a significant identity crisis. Hopefully the outcome is massive evolution and a telling survival of the fittest.