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Graphic Design History from Design Reviewed

Illustration: A Visual History, Abrams, 2008

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by Steven Heller (Author), Seymour Chwast (Author)

‘This lively visual history of the art of illustration, by the foremost historian of graphic design and a well-known illustrator, joins the authors’ previous “Graphic Style” as an indispensable resource for anyone interested in art, design and popular culture. Illustration has long been a significant popular art – and is often more visible, recognizable and memorable than ‘higher’ arts. Editorial and advertising illustration in all its many forms is integral to our understanding of news, views, literature and commerce – it has an impressive history and remains a vital influence on visual culture.This book is a rich chronicle, a celebration and survey of well over a century of illustration. Its innovative approach offers two complimentary ways of presenting the history of the art form: as style (from Victorian to Digital) and as form (ranging from political work to the erotic). It deftly reveals the visual aneurisms, quirks and tics that characterize drawn, painted and digitized illustrations in different styles and places leading illustrator in historical context’

Details

  • Format: Book
  • Year: 2008
  • Client/Publisher: HNA Books
  • Size: 230mm x 300mm

Linked Information

Illustration: A Visual History, Abrams, 2008
Illustration: A Visual History, Abrams, 2008
This lively visual history of the art of illustration, by the foremost historian of graphic design and a well-known illustrator, joins the authors' previous "Graphic Style" as an indispensable resource for anyone interested in art, design and popular culture
More graphic design artefacts
Typografia, ročník 66, 10, 1963. Cover by Bohuslav Blažej.
From the design archive:

Typografia, ročník 66, 10, 1963

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Bohuslav Blažej
  • Year: 1963
View Artefact
Visible Language, Vol 05, 02, Spring 1971
From the design archive:

Visible Language, Vol 05, 02, Spring 1971

  • Format: Magazine
  • Year: 1971
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Visible Language, Vol 09, 02, Spring 1975
From the design archive:

Visible Language, Vol 09, 02, Spring 1975

  • Format: Magazine
  • Year: 1975
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Architectural Design, October 1963. Cover design by Theo Crosby
From the design archive:

Architectural Design, October 1963

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Theo Crosby
  • Year: 1963
View Artefact

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More graphic design history articles
Scan 47 copy 2
  • Design Archive Feature

House Style – Why it important? by Alec Davis

House style can give identity to the diverse products or activities of a firm. It stimulates loyalty, helps to reduce costs, and has advertising value.

Members Content

The Swiss designer Adrian Frutiger (1928–2015) created some fantastic typefaces such as Univers, Avenir, and Frutiger, alongside posters, catalogue designs and architectural lettering. He began his career at Deberny & Peignot in Paris as a type designer and set up his own studio in 1960 in Paris focusing on typography and advertising design. Working alongside André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli, Frutiger designed many logo designs. Here is a selection of the designs which were featured in Der Druckspiegel, December 1961. I have also translated and rewritten the descriptions to provide more depth. When describing the work of Adrian Frutiger, Kurt Weidemann states, “We live in a time of increasing abstraction,” says Frutiger, in a time of visual, intellectual symbols. If a miller wants a company logo, then a windmill or watermill does not provide a sufficient symbol of his profession. Rather, its job is to crush grains between two masses. Finding a pictorial metaphor for this process might be more difficult, but also more expressive, more apt and timeless. Memorable shapes are simple. A mark that can be immediately drawn in the sand by a child is good. The accompanying typography must not compete with the brand; it must be brought into harmony with it, supporting its expressiveness.) - Der Druckspiegel, October, 1961 (Translated from German) Logo for the advertising agency Arma Publicité. The symbol is based on the letters A R and M. The logo has an emphasised flatness that corresponds to the essence of advertising thanks to its black and white contrast. The triangle shape is a symbol of advancement and dynamism. The embossed form is used in cases requiring discretion. Lettering for the title of a scientific journal. The letterforms are made of straight lines and circles in the spirit of the exact measurements and structures in science. Small and capital letters are mixed together as a deliberate move away from tradition. Business brand for the Brancher Frères paint factory. On the one hand, it is based on the letters B and F, and on the other hand, the silhouettes of the paint can, seen from the side and from above (square and circle). The logo is designed more to the colour than to the formal expression. Original colours: grey, green and blue. Lettering for a printing company. The close sequence of circular elements makes one think of printing cylinders and ink rollers. Logo for the Scripta pantograph milling machine. The arrangement of the arms and joints of the machine have resulted in this S-shape. Right angles were avoided to evoke mobility. The contrast of the strong arms to the fine white space indicates the solidity of a precision device. Company lettering and signs for the Hermann scientific bookstore. The basic element that provided the impetus was the construction plan for the new business facility. Monogram for Jacqueline Iribe, designer of modern decorative fabrics. Irish favourite motifs are rectangles and triangles; the symbol attempts to symbolize this style in the letterform. Original colours: cobalt blue for j, broken cobalt blue for i. Two designs for a sign for the Prache bookbindery. The speciality of this house is spiral and ring binding. The first draft is a name made up of wire, interlocking letters in a circle shape. The second draft follows the same principle but is only based on the P. The rectangle (book, sheet of paper) was included. Monogram for the French architect Georges Johannet. Its architecture is strictly based on geometric elements, in very finely coordinated spatial proportions. Ipreig is the official abbreviation for the Institut professionel de recherches et d'études des industries graphiques. With a view to serving professional progress, it seems justified to give the symbol of this institute the character of an experiment that could be renewed from time to time. (Design not executed).
  • Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content

Logos and Lettering by Adrian Frutiger, André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli

Working alongside André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli, Adrian Frutiger designed many logo designs. Here is a selection of the designs which were featured in Der Druckspiegel, December 1961. I have also translated and rewritten the descriptions to provide more depth.

Members Content

Norman Granz presents Kid Ory, Programme, 1959. Designed by Hans Michel + Günther Kieser. Art Director Horst Lippmann
  • Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content

Jazz Programmes designed by Hans Michel and Günther Kieser

After researching further into the work designed by their practice, I found ten programmes designed between 1958 and 1960. These programmes were designed for a variety of live jazz events in Germany and all followed the same format.
Hans Adolf Albitz und Ruth Albitz-Geiß, Subway boardings (3,80 × 2,50 m).
  • Design Archive Feature

Hans Adolf Albitz and Ruth Albitz-Geiß by Franz Hermann Wills, 1952

Among the young graphic artists of Berlin, who set to work after the war, Hans Adolf Albitz and Ruth Albitz-Geiß can claim special attention. In a short time, at a period when economic conditions were pretty unfavourable, they worked themselves so to the fore that their names came to mean something in Berlin publicity, and in western Germany their posters are known and appreciated, too.