Sex Appeal: The Art of Allure in Graphic and Advertising Design [Paperback]

Steven Heller (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

The secrets of sex as a tool in advertising and graphic design are unveiled in this frank exploration of the use of the erotic in mass media.

In this first book to seriously examine the use and/or abuse of sex and innuendo in the mass media, interviews with leading figures in mainstream marketing focus on sex and innuendo, from the so-called satiric pornography of Calvin Klein ads and the muscle men and women hawking Evian water, to the sensual allure used in graphic and advertising design in music, art, film, packaging, and publishing.

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: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press; 1 edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581150482
• ISBN-13: 978-1581150483
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Sex Sells It Sells Very Well!, September 1, 2000

By 

M. Erbschloe (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex Appeal: The Art of Allure in Graphic and Advertising Design (Paperback)

Heller has done a superb job exploring the emergence of super-sexy figures and the ultra-erotic images used in modern advertising.

The average grocery store-sold magazine of today has more sex in it than any male magazine sold during the 1960s or 1970s. Why? Because people love sex and they love sexual images.

The allure or sexual advertising has become a fixture in the weaving of personal and societal fantasy. And this is one of the reasons why sex is such an effective selling and marketing tool. Heller illuminates the forces behind the drive and explores the mystery behind why sex sells so well.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Uh, ok. Sure., August 10, 2003

By 

S. Jones "evildoer" (MPLS, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex Appeal: The Art of Allure in Graphic and Advertising Design (Paperback)

I think "a California reader" should just go back to reading Hustler and leave the design books to the "idiots".

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A BOOK FOR IDIOTS!, May 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sex Appeal: The Art of Allure in Graphic and Advertising Design (Paperback)

What a terrible disappoinment it was to read this book. The secrets of sex as a tool in advertising and design are talked about in this so-called exploration of erotic and exotic media. The want to be interviews with what they call leading figures in mainstream marketing tries to focus on sex and innuendo, but from a very bad point of view. They bring in pornography of Calvin Klein ads, graphic and advertising design from music, art, film, packaging, and publishing. SO WHAT! What are they really trying to get across, only an idiot will know. I thought this book was stupid, shallow and totally senseless. I DO NOT recommend it to anyone.