Automobile Design Graphics

by Steven Heller, Jim Donnelly, Jim Heimann (Editor)

In the heyday of the automobile, marketing cars was an exacting process. Selling the public one of their major life purchases involved not only traditional advertising but also a crucial item that extolled the virtue of the the brochure. Often oversize and sumptuously produced, including acetate overlays with fabric and paint swatches, brochures were only available at dealer showrooms or auto fairs―hence specimens of antique and vintage car brochures are rare collector’s items today. Frequently overlooked in design and automotive histories, this ephemera offers a lucid mirror image of tastes, consumerism, and buying habits since the dawn of the automobile. Automobile Design Graphics presents for the first time a comprehensive overview of this mostly forgotten breed of collateral advertising. From the most obscure (Tucker, Ajax, Columbia) to the most iconic (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler), the visual history brings together over 500 reproductions from these rare and collectible customer brochures. Across eight decades, they present not only some of the finest cars, but also some of the best illustration and graphic design of the 20th century. Ancillary examples of automotive literature, including the elaborate dealer manuals are also featured, alongside essays by automobile and cultural historian Jim Donnelly and preeminent design historian Steven Heller. Testament to a bygone era when cars were, quite simply, the stuff dreams were made of, this book is a visual and informative pleasure for car enthusiasts, designers, and pop culture aficionados alike.

Genres: Design

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 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

[Jose · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a big coffee-table hardcover book(does not come with dustjacket) , interesting advertisments and cars picked throughout a selected period. the book however and it's content has been done by the authors/compilers before same publisher different titles in different sizes which I also own one with the Mako Shark II Corvette On the cover which is my favorite and a subsequent version in big and small with the Vw bug or volkswagen beetle on the cover those books come with dustjackets, this book writing which is not much tends to focus on negative aspects such as Capitalism(as if that is wrong?) and other opinions and comments regarding American's taste for Large vehicles(and?) these points turned me off, it's practically a pictorial book with small captions and some ads that looked xerox'd(photocopied on) the quality isn't the best. Sadly a great subject which could have been done way better.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A large, attractively designed book printed on thick, high quality stock, Automobile Design Graphics is a treasure trove of American automakers’ brochures and advertising, full of fantastic art, design and photography for cars sold between 1900 and 1973. The many illustrations include an impressive variety of styles and techniques, and much of the printed material is fully readable, allowing the reader to enjoy the exuberant (or often, highly fictional) sales copy that provides more than a taste of what was then seen as important to sellers and buyers. The focus is correctly on the visuals, with only minimal text to note interesting features and facts; a cool collection of period automobile art, design and marketing.