The Poster: 1,000 Posters from Toulouse-Lautrec to Sagmeister

by Cees W. de Jong, Alston W. Purvis, Martijn F. LeCoultre

This complete international history of poster design from the Art Nouveau to the present covers all of the significant developments in poster design, and every important type of poster, from wine and war to rock and rebellion. One thousand posters illustrate the work of virtually every significant artist and graphic designer who ever created a memorable poster, including a generous selection of contemporary work. Organized chronologically, with thematic sections devoted to design styles as well as popular history, The Poster is also a visual chronicle of world culture from the late 19th century to the present. Finally, The Poster is an appealing design object in itself, and a terrific way to experience the pleasures of graphic design.

Genres: Art, Design, Nonfiction

567 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Cees W. de Jong is a designer and publisher based in Naarden, the Netherlands. He has published numerous books on design, architecture, art and graphic design, and is now working as a design/publishing consultant and author.

Reviews

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great top-level reference of poster design history to dip into for inspiration and challenge. The posters are divided into sections by design eras or movements, except for the last one called "The Poster as Personal Artistic Expression." I would not have missed that last section at all. We're still too close to our own era to be able to objectively recognize which designs are lasting and which are visual gimmicks or forced witticisms.

The design-speak was wisely kept to a minimum with only brief summaries on the first page of each era's section.

In contrast to many art/design books, there was a welcome minimum of nudity.

[Athena Shardbearer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual Rating 2.5 Stars

This book was broken down by eras of poster design. What I enjoyed most was the Polish Poster design section, you don't find too many book with this section. But I found a few sections lacking poster that are important and some poster not in the right section of the book. Example, Bauhaus section was lacking poster by Herbert Bayer, Where is the famous Kandinsky Poster? And all the Laszlo Moholy-Nagy posters? He was one of the first to use photographs in his posters. Also he is the most famous of all instructors from the Bauhaus School, and his posters some of the most famous. Josef Albers and his color theory work? I didn't see any of those anywhere. If it wasn't for his color theory work and posters, I don't think I would understand color and use it as much as I do in my own work.

I felt this book has beautiful poster design but there are so many more missing that are essential to poster design history. Where are the Moulin Rouge posters by Jules Cheret? The Koloman Moser posters. So many famous Art Deco posters as well. I guess this book is just about posters in general. I didn't find any of the sections educational, but I did see new posters that I hadn't seen before.

I think this book tricked me, putting a Sagmeister poster in the front and I think any designer would be fooled. If you want a book that has posters to give you some inspiration, then I guess this is a good start, but these sections are all out of wack. Also for six bucks at a resale shop is not that bad. I wouldn't pay the suggested 25 dollars, it's not worth it and there are better poster design books out there.

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book to dive into for design inspiration. It's fun to see the styles change over the years and return again in new ways.

[Lesley Looper · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a neat and colorful collection! Fun book to go through!

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great posters to flick through!

[Josh Horowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview and high quality. Book is on the smaller side but this helps keep the price down. Would be great if a larger-format version was also published