Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design

by Steven; Pomeroy Heller

Although created to fulfill ephemeral needs, great works of graphic design often become memorable cultural icons representing the times and places of their origins. Design Literacy presents ninety-three "object lessons, " specific histories examining the contexts in which well-known, unknown, and anonymous works have made decisive contributions to the evolution of graphic design. Steven Heller and Karen Pomeroy create a mosaic of design stories that offer a series of valuable lessons in how design works and an engaging history of graphic design from the late nineteenth century to the present. Tracing the development of each work, Heller and Pomeroy explain its role in design history and how it relates to the cultural milieu from which it emerged. Design Literacy is a quick remedy for designers and students of design suffering from a diet of too much "eye candy" and hungry to understand the forces at work behind the visual power of great works of graphic design.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Art Design, Art, Graphic Novels, Reference, History

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like his Looking Closer series, this is a book for what should be a redundancy but seems more like an oxymoron every day: the thinking designer. This is not an eye-candy book, full of pretty pictures and not much substance. It is a (brief) primer on design history and evolution. If Design Literacy and Meggs' History of Graphic Design had a baby, that would be the definitive book on the origins, development, and understanding of graphic design.

[Inggita · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is more a history book on design - there are more stories than there are pictures.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this book for the chapter on magazine cover design alone, and it is worth your time.

[Stuart.teicherhotmail.com · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it- needed some consistent narrative. It's too choppy for me.

[Rob Adey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting survey of design history through landmark examples. Really suffers from a lack of images, though - one per (admittedly very short) chapter isn't really enough for this kind of thing.

[Henry Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still reading, loved it!

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great group of essays!

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book, just not my style. I've always found anthologies to be a challenge in terms of consistently staying interested. Some of the essays are very fascinating, including one about the introduction of mass market paperback novels. However, there were some essays that I just was not interested in.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

the book has a ton of design history information. I only got a through the first section and half the second. Which may be a shame but I just wasn't into it right now. Maybe I'll give it go at a later date and could give more attention to the reading. I found it just be okay so far.

[Annie Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still reading, very much learning.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic book about modern design

[Tam Mckenzie]

Engin & Sciences - NC998 .H45 1999

[Numberbox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have both design literacy and design literacy continued. The second book is orange soft cover medium sized, with a pair of glasses on the cover.

[Cleyton Yano]

n sei

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't found a book by Steven Heller that i've hated. Great book.