Graphic Design: A New History

by Stephen J. Eskilson

This exciting new history of graphic design explores its evolution from the late 19th century to the present day. Organized chronologically, the book illuminates the dynamic relationship between design and manufacturing as well as the roles of technology, social change, and commercial forces on the course of design history. The layout of each chapter reflects the unique style of the period it describes, and some 450 illustrations throughout the volume provide a visual record of more than one hundred years of creative achievement in the field.

Under the influence of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th century, a new era began for design arts. Fueled by popular Art Nouveau advertising, the work of graphic designers became central in the growing consumer goods economy. This book traces the emergence of varied modernist design styles in the early 20th century and then examines the wartime politicization of regional styles through American government patronage and revolutionary Soviet ideas. Richly contextualized chapters chronicle the history of the Bauhaus and the rise of the International Style, followed by the postmodern movement of the 1970s and '80s. After highlighting recent developments in graphic design around the globe, the author discusses the impact of inexpensive, powerful design software and the challenges facing designers now.

Genres: Design, Art, History, Nonfiction, Art Design, Reference, Art History

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel that it is probably best to pick and choose the areas that interest you rather than reading it cover-to-cover.

The layout was very stale, funny since its supposed to be a book on graphic design. He fails to explain the relevance of many of his examples and few of them have the photo and description on the same page so you can see what he's talking about. Other examples he provides contain too much unnecessary detail that you can clearly see in the graphics.


It is definitely a nice reference to have around though. No complaints there.



Lorraine Wild's in-depth review VIA Design Observer

[Liz De Coster · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive and surprisingly readable look at the history of graphic design (loosely defined as printing press to present). The book is a richly illustrated, which makes it a bit unwieldy, and I think the chapters on recent graphic design (post-Internet) are a bit on the weak side as they lack the depth and perspective of the earlier sections. Still an interesting and thorough look at graphic design and its intersections with art, politics, commerce, etc.

[Rebecca Schmidt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read every word! Wish I didn't

[Mairi Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class and only used half of it so I’m hesitant to leave a star rating but the part I read was informative and used great examples.

The class wasn’t great but that is not a reflection on this book haha.

[Davey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually wish history books were written like this -- lively. Awesome examples of designs.

[VIA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still reading this, but I wanted to comment on how political Graphic Design is. Not just in symbolism, but in the people who designed, the audiences, and the buyers.

William Morris was allied with Communism because he saw industrialization as a threat to English arts and Crafts. Aubrey Beardsley, a key Art Nouveau artist and friend of Oscar Wilde, was beloved for his "erotic" art style until his association with Oscar Wilde reframed the nature of his art to his audiences- and his buyers. He was fired from his job designing covers for the Yellow book, and his career was annihilated.

[Sally Kintz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book, but do not love it. It covers the Western world well, but really does not talk about the world as a whole - graphic design is everywhere. I use this as a textbook in class and supplement it with design from around the world and ask my students to also find other examples of good design from other countries.

[Nicole Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting text on western graphic design full of full color images.

[Yokusun Basi]

Graphic Design: A New History by Stephen J. Eskilson (2012)

[Jiwon Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book, but some parts were not as interesting.

[Line · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I've never read a book on the history of graphic design before, so I have nothing to compare to.

However, I have read several art history books, and know that they can be quite dry. This wasn't. I didn't read the whole book cover to cover, but rather jumped around, and I enjoyed it. I liked how it grouped the different design/designers by style rather than just following a strict timeline, and I also liked that there seemed to be equal parts text and images, so you could actually see and understand better what the author was talking about. Sometimes you have to flip back and forth between the pages to see the text and the accompanying example, but that didn't really bother me.

[HeyT · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing I liked about this book is that instead of doing a strictly timeline approach to graphic design history it chooses to group things by stylistic movements. Some chapters were awkward in how movements were paired off strictly by timeline relationships. Another downside was that a large portion of the graphics were not on the same page as the text that elaborated them was causing the reader to flip back and forth repeatedly. Overall, it was an interesting read about the movements that shaped what we see in graphic design today.

[alex ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3/5) I sure learned a lot reading this, but even for a textbook, this was painfully boring to get through. Sometimes a bit...odd with how it approached diversity in design & slacked on introducing diverse designers in the curriculum, especially during the design periods that had notable designers that weren't white cis men. The book itself is well-made, and the quality of the pictures is pretty good. It wasn't a complete waste of time, and worked well for the class I read it for, but I definitely cannot see a hobbyist or a self-taught designer wanting to pick this up.

[Leighwoosey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything that Meggs' Meggs' History of Graphic Design wasn't interesting enough to mention. This book is thankfully keener to situate graphic design socially and historically, and provides fresh insights as a result.

[Mike Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great to revisit the history of design. Really points out the effect Japanese wood cuts had and are still having. Easy to make connections between advancements in technology and their effect on design. I highly reccommend it.

[sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and helpful.

[Mike Worthington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Informative and detailed.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read this book for my class. He is actually my professor too. Great historian, great teacher.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of (if not THE) best GD reference books I've come across over the years

[Ananda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating read that includes socio-political context and critical insight. Thoroughly enjoyable.

[Caitlyn G]

read this for my history of graphic design class, they had tobey mcguire's spider-man opening credits, pretty lit

[Cassell Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book about design, it was poorly designed. And that irks me.

[N S P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, humbling, and so informative. One of those textbooks you'd keep forever.