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Wayfinding - Olympics/Montreal Olympic Games Organising Committee. Art Direction - Georges Halle/Pierre Yves Berthier. Design - Pierre Fontaine/Raymond Bellemare 1976 Scanned from Graphic Elements of the World Vol 3, Kashiwa Art Publishing, 1984

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Navigating Public Spaces and the Principles of Good Design

Just like people, cities are complex systems. Planners and designers play a key role in making them function smoothly through well-designed signage systems and visual identities. These elements must not clutter the environment but instead serve to inform, direct, and warn the public effectively.  

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More graphic design articles

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spoorboekje 1985-1986, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, 1985 Designed by Tel Design
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Network Maps and Timetable Design: Navigating the Complex Cityscape

Notes on transit and network map design, including the iconic London Underground map by Harry Beck, the importance of visual clarity, and the role of accessible design in timetable design.

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Postmodernism - Wet Magazine, Vol 4 Issue 2, 1979. Designed by April Greiman
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A New Visual Language: From New Wave to Postmodernism in Graphic Design

A 1,500 essay on the transformative era of graphic design from the 1970s to the 1990s. Moving beyond the constraints of modernism, designers like Wolfgang Weingart and April Greiman redefined visual communication through bold experimentation with type, colour, and early computer graphics. This essay highlights how postmodernism and New Wave design introduced complexity, individuality, and digital innovation in to graphic design.

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Idea-014-1955.-Cover-design-by-Yoshio-Hayakawa--768x768
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Yoshio Hayakawa. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1917 – 2009

Yoshio Hayakawa is one of Japan’s most influential post-war poster designers. His work represents a fusion of traditional Japanese art and European modernism often using soft, poetic brushstrokes and refined colour palettes and capturing the elegance of Japanese aesthetics while integrating the clean lines and bold visual language of Western design.

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50 years Bauhaus, German exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1968
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Bauhaus Principles Today

The Bauhaus approach to design emphasised simplicity, functionality, and the integration of modern technologies and materials. A century later, many of the principles taught at the school remain fundamental to contemporary design practices.

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Idea 81, 1967. Cover design by Yusaku Kamekura
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Yūsaku Kamekura. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1915 – 1997

Yūsaku Kamekura had a long list of clients and as well as cover designs, he worked across logo and brand design, packaging, book design, and other printed matter, but he is particularly known for his poster design. His clients included Nikon, Tokyo 1964 Olympics, Meiji and TDK.

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Idea 46, 1961. Cover design by Hiroshi Ohchi.
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Hiroshi Ohchi. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1908 – 1974

Hiroshi Ohchi was a prominent Japanese designer, known for his playful and imaginative illustrated poster and packaging designs. He often combined bright colours with simple geometric forms and illustrated people and humanistic elements.

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Kazumasa Nagai. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1929
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Kazumasa Nagai. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1929

Kazumasa Nagai  (永井 一正) was born in 1929 in Osaka and is one of Japan's most acclaimed graphic designers. He designed iconic corporate logos for major companies such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan Railways, Nissin, and TEPCO and designed 100s of posters.
The Birth of a Style. The Influence of the Basel Educational Model on Swiss Graphic Design, Triest Verlag, 2024 
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The Birth of a Style The Influence of the Basel Educational Model on Swiss Graphic Design

Founded in 2015, Triest Verlag für Architektur, Design und Typografie have published notable works on graphic design history, including biographies of Othmar Motter, studies on Eugen Gomringer’s typography and poetry, Ernst Keller’s teachings. Thier latest book The Birth of a Style, focuses on the influence of the Basel Educational Model on the evolution of Swiss graphic design into the renowned international style.