Then is Now: Sampling from the Past for Today's Graphics (A Handbook for Contemporary Design) [Hardcover]

Cheryl Dangel Cullen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001

This unique and visually informative book examines how design elements, themes, and styles from different decades of the 20th century influence and play a part in contemporary design. Each section focuses on a specific era from the past 100 years, studies and presents the icons and design influences of that era, and evaluates the effectiveness of the elements in the work of today's top designers and design firms. Graphics, colors and icons continue to repeat themselves over time; the trends in modern design, which seem so original are drawn directly from years gone by. Each project featured examines the design concept, inspiration, and purpose of the design, discussing the special effects the designers are trying to achieve with an eye toward historical accuracy.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cheryl Dangel Cullen is a marketing consultant and public relations specialist. She is the author of Graphic Idea Resource: Photography and Best of Annual Report Design and writes frequently on the subject of graphic design for publications such as HOW magazine, Step-by-Step Graphics, Graphics Arts Monthly American Printer, Printing Impressions, and Package Printing & Converting.

Cullen writes from her home near Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she oversees operations for Cullen Communications, a public relations firm she founded in 1993. Cullen specializes in orchestrating public relations campaigns and advertising programs for a national client base.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Rockport Publishers (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564967662
• ISBN-13: 978-1564967664
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,256,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but Flawed, April 17, 2005

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A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Then is Now: Sampling from the Past for Today's Graphics (A Handbook for Contemporary Design) (Hardcover)

This handsomely produced book is intended for graphic designers looking to incorporate elements from the past century into their current work. Starting with 1900, it proceeds decade by decade to give an overview of the popular colors, typefaces, and graphics of the day, and how they have been used by designers in recent years. Each section starts with a spread outlining the major global headlines and developments in art, technology, etc. of that decade. Next is a spread called "color cues", in which Pantone guru Leatrice Eiseman shows the 10-15 colors that are evocative of that decade, and includes their modern Pantone system numbers. Next is a spread called "type tracker" which discusses the influences, characteristics, and specific fonts characteristic of that decade, and shows a sampling of Monotype fonts under the heading "Fonts you probably own that evoke the era." This is one of the weaker elements of the book, considering the importance of type, the writeups aren't particularly detailed, and by limiting the displayed selection to Monotype products, it feels rather incomplete. These introductory parts are followed by the meat of each section, "Contemporary Design Looks Back." This gathers many examples of how designers have used that decade's design in their own recent work, and is set up in the typical design book format, with credits for all involved in the work and a little blurb about each.

The book isn't really big enough to give each decade its proper due. Only the major trends are nodded to, and especially in the latter decades, things seem rather limited and muddled. For example, the '60s section concentrates almost exclusively on counterculture graphics and pop art. The '70s section is a mish mash of stuff, including two projects that use dolls that don't look like they have anything to do with the decade. More egregiously, there is a poster for Quantas that looks distinctly '60s, and most blatantly wrong of all, there is a poster mimicking the art of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. The blurb says, "The poster plays to the seventies penchant for what was dubbed 'spaghetti westerns'..." The problem is that (A) the American penchant for spaghetti westerns occurred in the late '60s, and (B) the films and graphics first appeared in the mid-60s in Italy! The "Dollars" trilogy cited in the copy were released in 1964, 1965, and 1966. Things don't improve in the useless final section, which lumps together the 1980s and 90s. The book's author clearly had no clue what to do here, and simply threw a bunch of mostly interactive work together. It would appear that without the passage of time to clarify the defining aspects of '80s visuals, she was adrift. This is a shame, because if you look hard enough the '80s do have a distinct look.

All in all, it's nice book to have sitting around the designer's library, but hardly essential. It's decent enough from 1900-1950, but thereafter, one is probably better off looking at period movie posters or book jackets or magazines to get a true sense of the decade. The concept for the book is a good one, and it'd be nice to see it tackled with a little more precision and at greater length some time in the future.