Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide

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Johanna Drucker

Emily McVarish

Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2012, 2009, English

Nonfiction, Graphic Design

ISBN: 9780132410755

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Rick Poynor

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I reviewed this book for Design Observer when it appeared in 2008, in a long dialogue with a colleague, and expressed some misgivings. It’s an important intervention in the history of graphic design, however, that places much more emphasis on the social factors and forces that shape the practice, and on the conditions of production, than had been seen in earlier histories. Aimed primarily at student readers—it’s well illustrated, but has a textbook feel—this critical guide is also an essential read for anyone who seeks a more rounded understanding of how graphic design has operated in post-industrial societies.

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