100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design

by Steven Heller, Veronique Vienne

New in the "100 Ideas That Changed..." series, this book demonstrates how ideas influenced and defined graphic design, and how those ideas have manifested themselves in objects of design. The 100 entries, arranged broadly in chronological order, range from technical (overprinting, rub-on designs, split fountain); to stylistic (swashes on caps, loud typography, and white space); to objects (dust jackets, design handbooks); and methods (paper cut-outs, pixelation).

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

216 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2012

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

[Graham Herrli · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't expect to learn much from this book. I'd hoped it would give me some useful ideas for different graphic approaches to current projects.

It didn't.

I'd thought it might give me a greater knowledge of the history of graphic design so that I would better know what emotions various pastiches evoke.

It didn't.

This book provides a perfunctory gloss of each of its 100 ideas listing specific projects that specific individuals have made following that idea, but not showing why that idea mattered historically or why I would want to use it now. The language is condescendingly erudite, as though a large vocabulary could compensate for a lack of thought.

[Katelyn Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about ideas that focuses on social revolution. It gives a substantial analysis of the important art history context, such as art nouveau, art deco, post modern, and abstraction. The book itself is its own graphically though out artform!! Beautiful examples.
Also noted, it gives the designer who reads the text a background on why the world is designed it is today. Why our brands are bigger than the product and how a fist can signal unrest.

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب جيد للتغذية البصرية لمصممين الجرافيك ..
قريب هعمل update ب لينك لشرح الكتاب ع اليوتيوب

[cọng rơm · Rating 3 out of 5]

ò cũng vui
ò cũng mệt
mệt nhiều hơn vui
mà vui nên thôi bỏ qua mệt

[Rebekah Hisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on historical graphic design techniques. Would recommend. Here are my Top Ten--must read--Design Devices from this book:

- Primitive figuration (No. 21)
- Avant-garde zines (No. 41)
- Forced obsolescence (No. 55)
- Stripes and panels (No. 57)
- Layering and overprinting (No. 68)
- The grid (No. 70)
- White space (No. 72)
- Monoalphabets (No. 74)
- Culture jamming (No. 81)
- Magazine coverlines (No. 96)

Honorable mentions:
- Red with black (No. 31)
- Supergraphics (No. 32)
- Corporate identity (No. 36)
- Triangulation (No. 48)
- Illegibility (No.78)

This book was a little outdated (2012), and I definitely picked up on some cultural design bias, but it was a good guide and provided some cool history to these ideas.

Quote for thought: "While a great text will evoke mental pictures, a great design will give the reader added levels of perception."

[Martin Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic design is so cool and this was a well-presented and seemingly informed introduction to many of the major ideas.
Some of the 100 ideas seemed to be changes in medium rather than advances in graphic design techniques per se but I grok that there's a very fine line there.
However, this book's given me more tools to recognise and interpret graphic design techniques in application.
Heller and Vienne also credit most of the designers and design movements responsible for using and propagating these ideas - a historical lesson I feel I've missed in some of my other graphic design readings.
Accompanying most ideas are a classic and a modern example of the idea in practice, which is probably to be expected but still a nice touch.

[Kiaran Thai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rất hay và súc tích, thích hợp khi đang research cho project bởi vì không thể nghiền hết thông tin trong đây mà vẫn nghiệm lại được điều gì. Sách đẹp từ tranh ảnh đến nội dung, tóm lược lại hầu hết các xu hướng trong ngành nghề về nghệ thuật thị giác.

[Juha Saxberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading for every graphic designer. Lots of history, examples, and interesting anecdotes. Some key pictures are missing (Keith Haring’s work, for example), perhaps for copyright issues? But this book servers well as a handbook when design inspiration and ideas are needed.

[Sascha Vreekamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for school. Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne learned me alot of new designers and styles which gave me alot of inspirarion! It made me understand better what it means to be a graphic designer. What made me very proud.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as insightful as I'd hoped but it's a good book to pick up and peruse for ideas when you're feeling stuck.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The selection of the ideas is convincing and inspiring.
They could definitely be the idea source pond in any type of design.

[Branwen Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, brief overview.

[jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cảm hứng đến bất ngờ không tính trước

[Jiwon Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that summarizes interesting concepts succinctly.

[Gordon Ryoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly stimulating

[Goran Jankuloski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kolaž bez mnogo narativa.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique interesting book

[Nguyen Doan Duy Anh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sách đẹp , cung cấp nhiều kiến thức bổ ích về các ý tưởng thiết kế đồ hoạ nổi bật trong lịch sử

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book for anyone interested in Graphic Design or visual communication.

[Maria Gebhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only is this book a great conversational piece, but it truly is an inspirational source for any designer.

The bold red and black cover attracts attention and the book has a large format filled with examples of these ideas in full color. The large size is great to flip through the pages and get lost in the fascinating world of text, images, and messages.

The ideas range from the iconic to designs used every day. Below are a few examples of the ideas this book explores:

- Idea 6 – Point Fingers explains the power of the We want you! with an index finger pointing at the viewer image from posters.

- Idea 28 – Calligrams shows how the visual low increases effectiveness of a message.

- Idea 36 – Corporate Identity gives an explanation of how this branding began in 1907 by Peter Behrens and its evolution throughout generations.

- Idea 43 – Riddles and Rebuses demonstrates the effectiveness of this idea including the I heart NY message.

- Idea 56 – Vibrating Color describes that color changes how the person views, reacts, and interprets a design.

- Idea 72 – White Space reflects much more than a blank page and symbolizing a message in the pure simplicity of untouched area.

Overall, I thought this book was a great way to generate ideas for projects and a way to compare what designs could work best. It really is a primer that should be on any designer’s shelf.

[Laura Eydmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 big ideas in graphic design, for example, paper cutouts, corporate identity and white space. Each idea has a double page spread, with imagery to illustrate the idea, and a page of text.

A great reference book, easy to pick up and browse, or to read through from cover to cover. The ideas are in chronological order roughly, and you can see trends and ideas through the years. The text describes the idea, where and when it originated, and some examples of it in use, with big full colour full bleed images to help describe and explain.

The ideas range from techniques, such as white space and stencil type through to notions such as sexual taboo busting and nostalgia. Some of the ideas are bigger and perhaps have had more of an impact than others, but all of the ideas mentioned and written about here are interesting and have some importance on the history and development of Graphic Design.

I enjoyed this book, I was able to pick it up, and read through quite a few different ideas and then put it down again… and there is no doubt I’ll use this in the future for reference and research.

[Dennis Boccippio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book, not entirely what I was expecting, but in a good way. The commentary and examples are very much provided through a professional designer's eye ... bordering on erudite but ultimately still accessible to non-professionals. The selection of "ideas" is very eclectic and tends to clump in a couple of preferred 20th century movements, but I was happy to surrender to the author's selections and be guided through the journey. The graphic examples were both beautiful and thought-provoking about the accompanying text. A minor quibble is that the captions are in extremely small font, bordering on illegible for my only-middle-aged eyes, and challenging if reading in evening low light.

Other than that, well worth the time and expenditure.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

nem olvastam el minden fejezetet (amik egyébként 1 oldalasak), mert túl kevés az infó, és a könyv szerkesztése is elég kaotikus. szóval ilyen nagyon alap infókat gyűjt össze (annyira, hogy a képanyag 90%-át is ismertem már), kicsit olyan, mint a kötelezők röviden. graphic design röviden, ha közöd nincs a témához, de szereted nézegetni a plakátokat és érdekel a művtöri.
csak azért kap 3 csillagot, mert szép a layout-ja.

[Andra N · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice introduction into what the authors consider to be the most influential events in graphic design, whether it is a new technology (rub-on-design), a motif (ornamentation) or a social-related change(entrepreneurship). It is a easy read with relevant illustrations for each idea presented. It does not follow a chronological order and I feel it could have been better structured in order to let the reader retain the information within.

[Veronika · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors have demonstrated an outstanding knowledge not only of art, but also social and political events throughout design history. They provide works of the very pioneers as well as the up-to-date artists to illustrate they point. It is aimed rather at graphic design students than the wide publicity and it is very apparent due to the language used:
"Taking Dada a step further, punk was so contemptuous of conventional beauty that it proffered a kind of 'haute-ugly'."

[Ray Knickmeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fascinating read. I'd regrettably never done much digging into the history of graphic design, and this book introduces that topic in a really engaging format. I pretty much devoured it in a couple days. It's also a beautifully designed book in and of itself, very inspirational and I'm sure I'll be going back to it again and again.

[James Obando · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy read, I loved the insightful summaries with classic examples, wish I could post pics, but guess you'll have to pick this one up to see. All the great designers are found here, with all the many uses of graphic design.

[Kerfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't enamored with all 100 of the concepts the authors highlight here, but there's plenty to satisfy anyone interested in the graphic representation of ideas. Some of the explanations also appealed to me more than others, but the visuals are always a delight.

[Roksana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The layout of the text and imagery in this book is cohesive making it easier to read and gain more from it. Informative with a wide variety of ideas from history that influenced graphic design.

Overall, an interesting and educational sight into graphic design history.

[Cyrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect overview.