What do you think?
Rate this book
The History of Graphic Design: 1890-Today
In this volume, Jens Müller traces 130 years of graphic design, designers, and developments from the late 19th century through the economic boom after World War II until today. Year-by-year spreads are combined with in-depth features on hundreds of landmark projects, industry-leader profiles, as well as visual timelines of each decade.
About the series
TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program--now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.
About the series
TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program--now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.
511 pages, Hardcover
Published January 20, 2022
57 people are currently reading
743 people want to read
About the author
Jens Müller
75 books33 followersJens Müller was born in Koblenz, Germany, in 1982 and studied graphic design. Recipient of numerous national and international design awards, he is a partner of Vista design studio in Düsseldorf and professor of corporate design at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 17, 2024
A Remarkable Reference Book!
For the past two decades, in addition to my work as a journalist, I have been the founding Editor of Front Edge Publishing, a community of authors that was established to bring important books about religious and cultural diversity into print—and now we have branched into general issues related to caregiving, help for various stages of life, peacemaking and innovative educational books. I explain that to say: One of the big challenges I face, every month, is discussing book covers with authors and our art-and-design staff. We need reference books that showcase a wide range of graphic arts so we can discuss actual visual examples.
For that reason, this is a very valuable book and I highly recommend it to anyone who works with graphic arts, online design and other image-based media.
I am giving this 5 stars because it is the perfect kind of resource for our needs, but I want to clarify a few issues for other friends on Goodreads—and here's where this might seem like an odd kind of 5-star review.
The following are reasons you might not want this book:
First, this is not a "coffee table book." The format of this book is closer to standard trade hardcovers and that means the hundreds of illustrations on these pages are not especially large. If you're interested in a much larger book for fun, for visual reflection and simply the joy of looking at great art (in this case graphic design), then you might be disappointed in the size and format. I'm not feeling that way, because I'm looking at this book as more of a catalog of the wide range of graphic artists over the last century-plus.
Then, this is a "multilingual" edition, which means that text is printed in English, Spanish and Italian. That means a good deal of space is devoted to repeating the same text in the three languages. That's not a big deal for me, but the multilingual approach of this book might either be a negative or a plus for some readers, depending on your cultural background.
Next, a lot of the type is either too small or too light for reading in less than ideal conditions. Again, I'm now mainly enjoying this book under a good reading light because I want to thoroughly immerse myself in the creativity of these artists. However, I did notice that, upon pulling this book from the Amazon box, I initially had trouble reading some of the smaller, lighter text. If this is a visual concern for you, then be forewarned.
The historical text, from what I know after a lifetime in this media field, is accurate, but it's not too extensive. If you're looking for a more substantial book about historical trends in graphic design, you may feel that there are too many images that leave you wanting more prose explanation.
So, that's my laundry list of reasons a number of folks may want to avoid this book. That's the purpose of this review: To explain why I'm giving it 5 stars, but also realize this book is not for everyone.
The ideal reader for this book is looking for a sort of "catalog" for "quick reference" to hundreds of graphic images from 1890 to 2019, when this book ends. That's exactly what I wanted and I'm very happy to have it on the bookshelf near my desk.
For the past two decades, in addition to my work as a journalist, I have been the founding Editor of Front Edge Publishing, a community of authors that was established to bring important books about religious and cultural diversity into print—and now we have branched into general issues related to caregiving, help for various stages of life, peacemaking and innovative educational books. I explain that to say: One of the big challenges I face, every month, is discussing book covers with authors and our art-and-design staff. We need reference books that showcase a wide range of graphic arts so we can discuss actual visual examples.
For that reason, this is a very valuable book and I highly recommend it to anyone who works with graphic arts, online design and other image-based media.
I am giving this 5 stars because it is the perfect kind of resource for our needs, but I want to clarify a few issues for other friends on Goodreads—and here's where this might seem like an odd kind of 5-star review.
The following are reasons you might not want this book:
First, this is not a "coffee table book." The format of this book is closer to standard trade hardcovers and that means the hundreds of illustrations on these pages are not especially large. If you're interested in a much larger book for fun, for visual reflection and simply the joy of looking at great art (in this case graphic design), then you might be disappointed in the size and format. I'm not feeling that way, because I'm looking at this book as more of a catalog of the wide range of graphic artists over the last century-plus.
Then, this is a "multilingual" edition, which means that text is printed in English, Spanish and Italian. That means a good deal of space is devoted to repeating the same text in the three languages. That's not a big deal for me, but the multilingual approach of this book might either be a negative or a plus for some readers, depending on your cultural background.
Next, a lot of the type is either too small or too light for reading in less than ideal conditions. Again, I'm now mainly enjoying this book under a good reading light because I want to thoroughly immerse myself in the creativity of these artists. However, I did notice that, upon pulling this book from the Amazon box, I initially had trouble reading some of the smaller, lighter text. If this is a visual concern for you, then be forewarned.
The historical text, from what I know after a lifetime in this media field, is accurate, but it's not too extensive. If you're looking for a more substantial book about historical trends in graphic design, you may feel that there are too many images that leave you wanting more prose explanation.
So, that's my laundry list of reasons a number of folks may want to avoid this book. That's the purpose of this review: To explain why I'm giving it 5 stars, but also realize this book is not for everyone.
The ideal reader for this book is looking for a sort of "catalog" for "quick reference" to hundreds of graphic images from 1890 to 2019, when this book ends. That's exactly what I wanted and I'm very happy to have it on the bookshelf near my desk.
July 2, 2024
Title says it all - delightful, comprehensive overview of the past 130 years of graphic design, which is just about as long as it's been an actual thing. Obviously, huge changes at the beginning, and you can really see a decade-by-decade evolution in typography, layout, illustration, etc. But then once you hit the 1960s, things start to level out a little bit - particularly in the area of logo design, with so many logos from back then are still around today, either in their original or updated form, (such as Paul Rand's 1967 makeover of his original 1956 IBM logo - bottom right):*
(WARNING - MAJOR DIGRESSION) And so it seems - to me at least - like certain aspects of graphic design have become like certain aspects of rock music: they've both reached a level of maturity (or IMHO, "perfection") where further evolution has been minimized, or at least slowed down. I mean sure, there's rap now, and dance and techno and stuff; but at the same time there's still ROCK - two guitars, singer and drums - with groups like Foo Fighters and Green Day (and okay, I get that I'm already dating myself), sounding are pretty damn close to things like "Master of Puppets" (nearly 40 years old) and "Who's Next" (over 50) - and yet my kids still listen to them both. But go back a half century before that? Ragtime and big bands, trombones and the Charleston.
But back to graphics...and just in time, because in fact one big change DID come along in the last decade or so -the widespread use of computer graphics that opened the door to all those cool flying graphics on CNN and other broadcast/internet/digital platforms, as well as the whole new field of 3D logos:
…which are super cool, but also self-limiting (again, my opinion) in that for many/most of them, there are no longer simple one-color versions.
Anyway...fascinating book with copious illustrations - so one to be slowly savored, (several other reviews note the relative lack of explanatory text, but I personally like the emphasis on the designs themselves). Only possible critizism is that as Taschen is a German publisher, this is perhaps a little too Western/Euro-centric; it certainly could have used more Eastern design, especially Japanese (which was represented by only about 5 pages out of 500). In fact, the only other Asian work I spotted at all was a few English-language pieces from "The Father of Hong Kong Design" Henry Steiner,** who is probably most famous in the U.S. for his work with Hong Kong Shanghai Bank, but who "out there" was/is a genuine legend, (great introductory article on Steiner here: https://zolimacitymag.com/steiner-ser...).
____________________________________
* This makes sense, of course, since logos are designed to last for decades; while packaging, advertisements, posters, magazines, etc., are intentionally designed to be ephemeral, and so are more affected by design/marketing trends and fashions.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rand for a student project back in the early '70s and found him totally intimidating - can see my review of his Thoughts on Design here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
** And I also had the pleasure of knowing Steiner (who coincidentally studied under Rand at Yale in the '50s, but was much less frightening in person) when I was a young designer in Taipei and he was the undisputed godhead across East Asia - in fact, we at one point were in discussions about him possibly buying our company or perhaps merging it with "Steiner&Co," until my idiot business partner totally fucked it up.
(Left to right: 40-years-ago me, Steiner, idiot business partner)
(WARNING - MAJOR DIGRESSION) And so it seems - to me at least - like certain aspects of graphic design have become like certain aspects of rock music: they've both reached a level of maturity (or IMHO, "perfection") where further evolution has been minimized, or at least slowed down. I mean sure, there's rap now, and dance and techno and stuff; but at the same time there's still ROCK - two guitars, singer and drums - with groups like Foo Fighters and Green Day (and okay, I get that I'm already dating myself), sounding are pretty damn close to things like "Master of Puppets" (nearly 40 years old) and "Who's Next" (over 50) - and yet my kids still listen to them both. But go back a half century before that? Ragtime and big bands, trombones and the Charleston.
But back to graphics...and just in time, because in fact one big change DID come along in the last decade or so -the widespread use of computer graphics that opened the door to all those cool flying graphics on CNN and other broadcast/internet/digital platforms, as well as the whole new field of 3D logos:
…which are super cool, but also self-limiting (again, my opinion) in that for many/most of them, there are no longer simple one-color versions.
Anyway...fascinating book with copious illustrations - so one to be slowly savored, (several other reviews note the relative lack of explanatory text, but I personally like the emphasis on the designs themselves). Only possible critizism is that as Taschen is a German publisher, this is perhaps a little too Western/Euro-centric; it certainly could have used more Eastern design, especially Japanese (which was represented by only about 5 pages out of 500). In fact, the only other Asian work I spotted at all was a few English-language pieces from "The Father of Hong Kong Design" Henry Steiner,** who is probably most famous in the U.S. for his work with Hong Kong Shanghai Bank, but who "out there" was/is a genuine legend, (great introductory article on Steiner here: https://zolimacitymag.com/steiner-ser...).
____________________________________
* This makes sense, of course, since logos are designed to last for decades; while packaging, advertisements, posters, magazines, etc., are intentionally designed to be ephemeral, and so are more affected by design/marketing trends and fashions.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rand for a student project back in the early '70s and found him totally intimidating - can see my review of his Thoughts on Design here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
** And I also had the pleasure of knowing Steiner (who coincidentally studied under Rand at Yale in the '50s, but was much less frightening in person) when I was a young designer in Taipei and he was the undisputed godhead across East Asia - in fact, we at one point were in discussions about him possibly buying our company or perhaps merging it with "Steiner&Co," until my idiot business partner totally fucked it up.
(Left to right: 40-years-ago me, Steiner, idiot business partner)
October 2, 2024
I very randomly picked this book up at some point, and I am glad I did. This was a very fun and educational experience. You learn a bit of history while reading the short bits of information, but you are also reminded by how heavily politics plays a role in the designs created. I had fun picking my favourite designs, and am excited to pick this book up for inspiration whenever I decide to continue any creative hobbies (which have, I am sad to admit, have accumulated years of imaginary dust).
January 12, 2025
An absolutely fantastic 130 year journey through Graphic Design. A wonderful book that shall not be missed by anyone interested in this matter. Well done, Taschen!
March 27, 2023
Si estás estudiando diseño o eres diseñador, este libro es perfecto para ti.
Está lleno de datos interesantes, resalta a diseñadores importantes de cada época y además, las diferentes etapas y estilos con los que ha revolucionado el diseño a lo largo de los años.
Además, se enfoca también en otras ramas del diseño, como el diseño de productos, diseño web, diseño en edificios, entre otras cosas.
Lo único ‘malo’ es que habrá secciones del libro que no te interesen tanto como otras, pero eso está bien, creo que abarca bastante información y lo más importante que funciona.
Recomiendo ampliamente comprar este libro en físico, por la cantidad de ilustraciones que hay y también, porque puede ser un gran libro de consulta.
Está lleno de datos interesantes, resalta a diseñadores importantes de cada época y además, las diferentes etapas y estilos con los que ha revolucionado el diseño a lo largo de los años.
Además, se enfoca también en otras ramas del diseño, como el diseño de productos, diseño web, diseño en edificios, entre otras cosas.
Lo único ‘malo’ es que habrá secciones del libro que no te interesen tanto como otras, pero eso está bien, creo que abarca bastante información y lo más importante que funciona.
Recomiendo ampliamente comprar este libro en físico, por la cantidad de ilustraciones que hay y también, porque puede ser un gran libro de consulta.
August 6, 2023
Impressive history of graphic design over 500 pages, mostly illustrations with no explanations
January 19, 2026
Este libro es una guía visual de la evolución del diseño gráfico desde finales del Siglo XIX hasta la actualidad alrededor de todo el mundo incluyendo no solo los diseños más icónicos, sino también algunos no tan conocidos, pero igualmente relevantes.
Este fue un libro muy satisfactorio en muchos sentidos. Es muy atractivo visualmente no solo por la cantidad generosa de imágenes, sino también por lo bien distribuidas que están estas mismas y la información que las acompañan. Se nota que cada página está diseñada cuidadosamente porque contienen una gran cantidad de imágenes y texto y aun así se lee con facilidad y se entienden claramente las jerarquías de texto.
No le puse cinco estrellas porque por momentos considero que hubiera estado bueno un poco más de información o contexto para algunas de las imágenes o al menos una aclaración en cada epígrafe de para quién o para qué estaba hecho el diseño, porque al haber muchos diseños en otros idiomas y para marcas de otros países había imágenes que no terminaba de entender por no saber a qué se dedicaba la marca o cuál era el contexto del país en particular.
Algo para destacar es la variedad de marcas y diseñadores no tan populares que no se ven en todos lados pero que aun así forman parte de la historia del diseño y que te abren la mente y el registro visual para no caer siempre en las mismas referencias y poder investigar por fuera del libro, cosa que hice bastante.
Por otro lado, la parte textual también estuvo muy bien trabajada no solo en cuanto al diseño sino también a la selección, es decir, tanto los epígrafes como los resúmenes introductorios de cada década y los textos sobre las tendencias y los diseñadores más relevantes estuvieron muy bien resumidos, pero no por eso fueron menos informativos. Durante toda la lectura se mantuvo un muy buen equilibrio entre información de calidad y qué tan resumida estaba, además de su pertinencia con las imágenes.
Además, me sorprendió la cantidad de diseños argentinos que incluyó el autor en el libro, entre ellos muchos de Alejandro Ros, el diseñador graduado de la primera promoción de la carrera de Diseño Gráfico de la FADU que conocí en la charla que nos dio para la materia Historia 2 (Gavito) en 2025.
En conclusión, fue un libro bien diseñado, dinámico, informativo y muy visual. Me gustó mucho y me encantó encontrar variedad en todo sentido.
Este fue un libro muy satisfactorio en muchos sentidos. Es muy atractivo visualmente no solo por la cantidad generosa de imágenes, sino también por lo bien distribuidas que están estas mismas y la información que las acompañan. Se nota que cada página está diseñada cuidadosamente porque contienen una gran cantidad de imágenes y texto y aun así se lee con facilidad y se entienden claramente las jerarquías de texto.
No le puse cinco estrellas porque por momentos considero que hubiera estado bueno un poco más de información o contexto para algunas de las imágenes o al menos una aclaración en cada epígrafe de para quién o para qué estaba hecho el diseño, porque al haber muchos diseños en otros idiomas y para marcas de otros países había imágenes que no terminaba de entender por no saber a qué se dedicaba la marca o cuál era el contexto del país en particular.
Algo para destacar es la variedad de marcas y diseñadores no tan populares que no se ven en todos lados pero que aun así forman parte de la historia del diseño y que te abren la mente y el registro visual para no caer siempre en las mismas referencias y poder investigar por fuera del libro, cosa que hice bastante.
Por otro lado, la parte textual también estuvo muy bien trabajada no solo en cuanto al diseño sino también a la selección, es decir, tanto los epígrafes como los resúmenes introductorios de cada década y los textos sobre las tendencias y los diseñadores más relevantes estuvieron muy bien resumidos, pero no por eso fueron menos informativos. Durante toda la lectura se mantuvo un muy buen equilibrio entre información de calidad y qué tan resumida estaba, además de su pertinencia con las imágenes.
Además, me sorprendió la cantidad de diseños argentinos que incluyó el autor en el libro, entre ellos muchos de Alejandro Ros, el diseñador graduado de la primera promoción de la carrera de Diseño Gráfico de la FADU que conocí en la charla que nos dio para la materia Historia 2 (Gavito) en 2025.
En conclusión, fue un libro bien diseñado, dinámico, informativo y muy visual. Me gustó mucho y me encantó encontrar variedad en todo sentido.
January 6, 2024
I am by no means a reviewer or a professional, but seeing as this book has so few reviews and I am passionate about the topic of graphic design, I figured I’d throw my two cents here. (English is also not my first language, so if there are any grammatical errors I apologize.)
I will start off with the good: This book will undoubtably be a valuable resource for me throughout the years. It is very nice to be able to flip through this book to take inspiration from different graphic designers over the years, as well as being able to see the changes in design from year to year. I also appreciate the diverse selection of designers highlighted.
However, the text portion of this book is very lackluster. Not to say there wasn���t effort put into it, I appreciated the small tidbits this book gave on graphic design related events throughout the years. But it frustrated me more than anything, if I’m being honest. There would constantly be references to things (like typefaces or design magazines), but they were not accompanied by any visuals. I get that not everything can be shown, but there were countless examples of this, which grew frustrating.
I noticed one instance of incorrect crediting. The pride flag is credited to anonymous, even though it is very easy to find out the designer for it: Gilbert Baker. I only noticed this because I was already aware of who the designer was, but it makes me wonder on how many more instances of this there are in the book. I now am not sure how much I can trust the research done into this book. (Of course, there is a chance that everything else is properly researched and I only happened to catch the one instance of this but somehow, I highly doubt that).
I also was surprised by the lack of citations in the book. I couldn’t find any instances of citations for the text, save for the directly quoted portions. I find this worrying as it is a history book. As I was already feeling skeptical since the crediting instance, this only adds to my worries. Again, I’m not accusing this book of being factually incorrect or poorly researched, but I do find it odd.
I will start off with the good: This book will undoubtably be a valuable resource for me throughout the years. It is very nice to be able to flip through this book to take inspiration from different graphic designers over the years, as well as being able to see the changes in design from year to year. I also appreciate the diverse selection of designers highlighted.
However, the text portion of this book is very lackluster. Not to say there wasn���t effort put into it, I appreciated the small tidbits this book gave on graphic design related events throughout the years. But it frustrated me more than anything, if I’m being honest. There would constantly be references to things (like typefaces or design magazines), but they were not accompanied by any visuals. I get that not everything can be shown, but there were countless examples of this, which grew frustrating.
I noticed one instance of incorrect crediting. The pride flag is credited to anonymous, even though it is very easy to find out the designer for it: Gilbert Baker. I only noticed this because I was already aware of who the designer was, but it makes me wonder on how many more instances of this there are in the book. I now am not sure how much I can trust the research done into this book. (Of course, there is a chance that everything else is properly researched and I only happened to catch the one instance of this but somehow, I highly doubt that).
I also was surprised by the lack of citations in the book. I couldn’t find any instances of citations for the text, save for the directly quoted portions. I find this worrying as it is a history book. As I was already feeling skeptical since the crediting instance, this only adds to my worries. Again, I’m not accusing this book of being factually incorrect or poorly researched, but I do find it odd.
February 17, 2026
Ha sido muy interesante poder ver de manera visual la evolución del diseño gráfico desde el 1899 hasta la actualidad. Los pequeños apuntes que se van haciendo según los acontecimientos de cada año, además de la presentación de nuevos artistas y diseñadores gráficos que no conocía todavía ( o de los que conocía su trabajo, pero no su nombre) me han gustado mucho también.
Ahora mismo, gracias a este libro, tengo un montón de referencias de trabajos y de profesionales del sector que sin duda usaré para mis próximos proyectos.
Ahora mismo, gracias a este libro, tengo un montón de referencias de trabajos y de profesionales del sector que sin duda usaré para mis próximos proyectos.
September 17, 2022
Pretty good overview of how graphic design has changed over the years, and was really interesting to see and read. However would've loved a bit more descriptive texts next to the examples that were displayed rather than just a paragraph or so every couple chapters.
Regardless, it was really interesting to see the designs influenced from various cultures around the globe, and serves as a good point of inspiration (think.... sort of like a physical Pinterest board) for creating my own work.
Regardless, it was really interesting to see the designs influenced from various cultures around the globe, and serves as a good point of inspiration (think.... sort of like a physical Pinterest board) for creating my own work.
January 18, 2025
Very interesting! I read this because I had to study it, so I thought why not read a book about is. It gave me lots of new ideas. It's a great book for resources, even if you don't want to read the text. Just keep in mind that it is a book in 3 languages. Also the text is sometimes really small, so I had to get closer to the pages. Overall it was a really interesting book that I am going to recommend to my friends.
Read
January 30, 2024Um guia maioritariamente visual da história do design gráfico inteira. É triste os pedaços de texto não terem mais relação com o conteúdo visual exibido, mas só o facto de ser um livro que contém de tudo e que ao abrir em qualquer página dá vontade de experimentar coisas, já faz valer a pena.
March 13, 2025
4,5 ⭐️
C'était vrm cool, ce livre montre bien l'évolution du graphisme au fil des années depuis sa création, apportant en même temps que les explications et l'histoire, un nombre incalculable de références et c'est vrm cool !
C'était vrm cool, ce livre montre bien l'évolution du graphisme au fil des années depuis sa création, apportant en même temps que les explications et l'histoire, un nombre incalculable de références et c'est vrm cool !
March 17, 2022
Libro fantastico! Lo consiglio a tutti gli appassionati di graphic design
June 2, 2022
A really solid collection, great images, good arrangement
August 30, 2023
Awesome reference book on graphic design from 1890 to 2019.
June 2, 2024
I cannot believe he teaches at my university and i always chose another courses because i didn't know who he was...
June 30, 2025
Geiler Scheiß. Mein innerer Nerd ist sehr satisfied.
Read
December 30, 2025No era exactamente lo que esperaba pero será un muy buen recurso de referencia.
February 12, 2026
really great visual book
December 1, 2023
Comprei esse livro para ter referências visuais na minha estante. É um ótimo livro para designers, de qualquer área, mas confesso que pulei muitos dos capítulos e me centrei mais nos nomes dos autores e um comparativo de seus trabalhos ao longo dos anos. É um livro pra se voltar em diferentes momentos, e ler certas passagens dependendo do trabalho ou momento de carreira. Não deixa de ser uma edição linda, com uma impressão maravilhosa e uma curadoria que beira a perfeição.
August 29, 2022
amazing book for people with ADHD - colourful and with synthesised content
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews