Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design

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Book Title: Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design
Author: Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press; 2nd edition (July 1, 2004)
Paperback: 400 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1581153562
ISBN-13: 978-1581153569

Book Description
The book that turned designers on to reading is back, chock full of new stories about the graphic icons and idols of today’s design culture. As witty and to the point as ever, the more than 125 thought pieces, 30 of them brand new, offer a vast taste of the aesthetic, political, historical, and personal issues that move today’s global design community and fans, from the ubiquitous (shooting targets, the swastika, anti war posters) to the whimsical (Dwiggins jackets, Japanese matchboxes, the interior design of the Dr. Strangelove set).

This revised and expanded edition of Design Literacy reflects recent trends in graphic design such as the impact of graphic design on popular visual communication, aesthetic changes in type and typography in the digital age, reflection and analysis on designs most cherished and curious artefacts, and the nexus between graphic design and wired culture. The essays range from the late 19th century to the present and are organized into eight thematic categories, persuasion, media, language, identity, information, iconography, style, and commerce which follow a loose chronological order.

Book Review
Each lesson could act as the starting point of a rousing argument or lengthy conversation. . . . Any modestly-priced paperback that can cover so much ground is welcome in the library. The reader may not always agree with the views of the authors, or with the histories they construct, but will come away feeling, indeed, very literate –Communication Arts, March/April, 1998

Highly readable and informative, usually focusing on one object and providing some interesting insights into the object’s creation and impact. Students of graphic design history will find appealing analysis and critical points of view to consider. Design Literacy will appeal to both the general reader, whose curiosity may be piqued by recognizing some of our most famous icons, and professionals/practitioners, whose knowledge and sensitivity to design may be heightened by these thoughtful essays. –Choice, March, 1998

In their new book, Design Literacy, Steven Heller and Karen Pomeroy write that the whiff of Charles Manson makes the letters “kissing cousins of the swastika tattoo carved into Manson’s forehead or the words helter-skelter that were drawn in blood on the walls of Sharon Tate’s home”
–New York Times, January 8, 1998

Readers come to understand what elements must coalesce to make certain ads, posters, packages, logos, and book covers take on a life of their own. The book delves into the origins of the swastika, what principles are key to effective propaganda, and what made Joe Camel so controversial.
–Signs of the Times, July 1998

About the Author
Steven Heller is author or editor of more than eighty books on graphic design, including The Education of a Graphic Designer, The Education of an Illustrator, The Education of an E Designer, The Education of a Design Entrepreneur, Looking Closer 4, 3, 2, and Looking Closer, all published by Allworth Press.

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