Design Humor: The Art of Graphic Wit

by Steven Heller

From the first satiric cave drawings to the quirky humor of Push Pin studios, Design Humor explores what makes wit and humor such important tools in graphic design. Compiling some of the most clever, ironic, and acerbic pieces from annuals, exhibitions, and designer's drawers, this entertaining sourcebook demonstrates how to communicate effectively through visual puns, type play, and ironic images. It features dozens of classic examples of comical type creations such as Goudy Stout as well as the exuberant playfulness of postmodern design. Full of captivating historical and philosophical references from such "humor experts" as Groucho Marx, Max Eastman, and Mark Twain, Design Humor is an invaluable resource for designers and design students, as well as a treasured collection of design wit for the enthusiast!

Genres: Design

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

About the author

Steven Heller writes a monthly column on graphic design books for The New York Times Book Review and is co-chair of MFA Design at the School of Visual Arts. He has written more than 100 books on graphic design, illustration and political art, including Paul Rand, Merz to Emigre and Beyond: Avant Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century, Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design Second Edition, Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age, Graphic Design History, Citizen Designer, Seymour Chwast: The Left Handed Designer, The Push Pin Graphic: Twenty Five Years of Design and Illustration, Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits, The Anatomy of Design: Uncovering the Influences and Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design. He edits VOICE: The AIGA Online Journal of Graphic Design, and writes for Baseline, Design Observer, Eye, Grafik, I.D., Metropolis, Print, and Step. Steven is the recipient of the Art Directors Club Special Educators Award, the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement, and the School of Visual Arts' Masters Series Award.

Reviews

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este é um livro bastante inusual. Ele versa sobre o design através do humor ou o humor através do design. Para isso, lança mão de ferramentas de humor gráfico usadas geralmente para caricaturas, cartuns e charges para pensar o design gráfico. Assim se dá uma mistura saudável de técnicas e ferramentas que vêm das áreas do design e do desenho de humorístico de imprensa. Acabei chegando neste livro porque fui dar uma olhada na seção de quadrinhos da Biblioteca Universitária da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Contudo, uma coisa que me deixou cabreiro foi um livro com tanta preocupação na comunicação visual e editorial ter uma produção gráfica tão ruim. A impressão parece ter sido feita no xerox da universidade e o papel era fino que nem papel maneiga, podendo-se ver a impressão do outro lado. Aqui vale o velho ditado "casa de ferreiro, espeto de pau".

[Mike Bularz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a decent achievement in it's own niche, this text's branching of graphic art and design into humorous juxtaposition and visual pun is not really that amazing to me, but that's me.
If you were to read this better than I did, casually, mostly on the toilet, you'd be able to pick up on the subtle insight you get of taking something like the typical facets of graphic design and the basic concepts of the studies of humor, you'd reach that level where, say, you are reading some of the quote "plates" between chapters about humor, pause, and gain new insight about what humor and design mean to the humanist.
What I've been fortunate to learn from this quickie, basic structure book was tidbits about how people interpret image and typographically based cues, especially ironic or pun-based ones that are typical of graphic art humor. What is best said in this book is in the different viewpoints interviewed and quoted about humor, and it's importance to people.
Through my own forays into humor philosophy and light psych (of it) I've come to have an intermediate level understanding on the importance of this interesting trait of humanity and possibly some other animals: through humor we release everyday built up tension by seeing things as ironic and contradictory, especially in formal everyday situations. It is our ability to laugh, or to better say "laugh", to see aspects of the world in a novel way that relieves hard set resentment and aggrevation by seeing the ridicule in the serious, the sober.
If you can walk away from reading this with as much as I did, hit me up for lunch, thanks.

[Jiwon Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great quotes included. As a non-designer, it was easy to read and understand concepts meant to be communicated with great examples. Definitely had a few chuckles :) But most importantly, this book reminded me that information is more than just facts and that "play" is important. Also, I loved learning that the origin of the word "humor" meant fluid. Aiming for humor now feels like a quenchable thirst, no pun intended.