Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits

by Steven Heller, Louise Fili

A chunky, distinctive object of brilliant design in and of itself, Stylepedia is the first handy, cross-referenced desk guide to the kaleidoscope that is modern design. In hundreds of illustrated entries, Heller and Fili, the award-winning authors of Euro Deco and numerous other popular design titles, survey the designers, schools, and movements that comprise the practice today as well as take a fascinating glimpse back at some of the seminal early leaders. From the first Santa Claus to appear on a Coca-Cola bottle to the increasingly ubiquitous camouflage tee shirt, iconic everyday items of yesterday and today provide valuable inspiration to designers and design aficionados. As quirky as it is useful and positively packed with lavish color illustrations, this designer's design compendium is the only one of its kind.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Art Design, Art, Reference

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2006

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

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stylepedia is what I've been skipping through just before I fall asleep, and I think it's been filling my dreams with Penguin book covers, William Morris prints, and Agit Retro details. Which is awesome.

This is more of a affectionate smorgasbord than comprehensive tome. Its own design is appealingly chunky and chock full of full-color, browsable goodness. A good book to own.

[Lindie ✦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhh not bad, but as Heller admits in the foreword, it is limited and he apologizes for oversights/missing "styles". The book is not as diverse as I hoped, as most 'styles' discussed are very Western/American/European-centric. I may not be the right target audience for Heller as I generally find his work speaks to a very American audience with a lot of U.S. pop culture references.

If something as silly and widely unknown as "bonehead" style can be included, why not include a style that's been popular and adapsince the 1800s like "Japonisme" that had a much wider reach, adoption/influence on Western art and design (in reference to Heller's 'pyramid scheme' model)?

Anyway, I found the descriptions of what 'style' is quite interesting. What I especially enjoyed, though, was the variety and quality of the images. Lots of visual information and source material.

Also, fun fact, I had no idea it was Napoleon Bonaparte that introduced "Egypyian style" to France i.e. the form of slab serif typefaces... interesting.

[Mariya Frantseva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to feed your imagination. I discovered Japanese Art Deco military comics and a lot more unbelievable curiosities. Rereading and thumbing through for already many years.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty neat book, covering everything from Ed Fella to Santa Claus to Obey the Giant. Pretty good, if short, histories of various designers, styles, type foundries, etc. I just wish it had more illustrations.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great book for those who only have a few minutes at a time to read. Has great pictures and entrys on different art styles, graphic designers, fonts, aesthetic movements. just to hold this book is fun.

[Aggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE this book! If you ever need a quick and accurate guide to different design styles and movements, it doesn't get much better than this, Much better than using google! If you are a designer, this is pretty essential to read and re-read.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, majorly heavy in content. Not a light read by any means!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb overview—incomplete, of course, but completeness is impossible in such a book.

[Cody Hockin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great overview of different artistic styles that span many years and genres. But is an overview, not much depth to each.

[Josh Burnstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good book to have as a reference to my design process.