Graphic Design: A New History

The history of graphic design is a very underpublished subject for such a widely studied discipline. Now Stephen Eskilson provides a scholarly and accessible account of the field from Gutenberg to today. His approach is distinctive in that, for the first time, the subject is fully discussed in the light of prevailing political, social, military and economic conditions, nationalism, and gender.

Clearly designed and easy-to-follow, the book tells the story chronologically with key topics developed in more than one chapter by way of cultural comparison. It covers a host of different materials: book, journal, magazine and album covers; photographs, prints, posters, logos and websites. Featured designers include Albers, Benton, Brody, Earls, Glaser, Morris, Rodchenko, Sagmeister, Scher and Toulouse-Lautrec. Logo designers Bass, Chermayeff & Geismar and Rand receive substantial coverage. Pioneering typographers range from Garamond, Caslon and Morison to Hoefler, Licko and Carter.