Do You Compute: Selling Tech from the Atomic Age to the Y2K Bug 1950-1999

by Ryan Mungia (Editor), Steven Heller (Introduction)

A visual history of computer advertising in the 20th century

Before Alexa and the iPhone, there was the large and unwieldy mainframe computer. In the postwar 1950s, computers were mostly used for aerospace and accounting purposes. To the public at large, they were on a rung that existed somewhere between engineering and science fiction. Magazine ads and marketing brochures were designed to create a fantasy surrounding these machines for prospective clients: Higher profit margins! Creativity unleashed! Total automation! With the invention of the microchip in the 1970s came the PC and video games, which shifted the target of computer advertising from corporations to the individual. By the end of the millennium, the notion of selling tech burst wide open to include robots, cell phones, blogs, online dating services, and much, much more.

Do You Compute? is a broad survey featuring the very best of computer advertising in the 20th century. From the Atomic Age to the Y2K bug, this volume presents a connoisseur's selection of graphic gems culled from museums, university archives, and private collections to illustrate the evolution of the computer from its early days as a hulking piece of machinery to its current state as a handheld device.

Accompanied by two essays—one by cultural anthropologist Ryan Mungia and the other by graphic design historian Steven Heller—and including five different decade-long timelines that highlight some of the most influential moments in computer history, this fun yet meaningful volume is a unique look at the computer and how it has shaped our world.

Genres: History, Design

240 pages, Hardcover

Published November 30, 2019

Reviews

[Justin Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty great visual documentation of five decades of technological advertising. The ad text puts into perspective just how far technology has come in a relatively short span of time. Some of the ad designs are quite beautiful as well with some surprisingly abstract and artistic. My only complaint is that I wish there had been more commentary text written. Most of the book is simply a gallery of old ads that range from ugly to elegant, accompanied by a fairly brief foreword and introduction. It's well worth a look for the interesting visual collection though.

[Bishnu B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I collect a lot of coffee table books, and I usually don't list them here, but this one I will because it's a well written history of tech marketing and lends itself to being read cover-to-cover. On top of that it does have all the pretty pictures you want in these kinds of things. Highly recommended.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book exploring the advertising of technology through the decades. I enjoyed the timelines and full page ads.