Directory of History Resources

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The History of Graphic Design category is for sites pertaining to the notable people, processes and events of the past which have greatly impacted the profession and study of graphic design. This category may include sites that have examples, analysis, or descriptions of noteworthy printed designs, influential art movements, typography, multimedia, illustration, photography, advertising, commercial art, publishing, and related visual communications.

Subcategories

• Advertising History
• Graphic Designers
• Historic Illustrators
• Photography Masters
• Printing History
• Typography Masters

Resources in This Category

• About: Graphic Design: History

  http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/history/
  View condensed timelines spanning tens of thousands of years, from the first known visual communication to the computer age of today.

• American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Design Archives

  http://designarchives.aiga.org/
  Browse, search and view more than 20,000 design pieces dated from 1924 to present, and appearing in the AIGA's annual juried design competitions. Includes special collections of major American design firms and practitioners.

• April Greiman: Made in Space

  http://www.aprilgreiman.com/
  Visit the home page of this pioneering woman who helped introduce the computer vernacular to design through experimental mergers of type and image.

• Art of Persuasion

  http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA99/piazza/portfolio/adweb/
  Read a critical analysis of American advertising and design during the early 20th century. View samples.

• Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND): The CND Logo

  http://www.cnduk.org/information/info-sheets/item/435-the-cnd-symbol
  Read an essay about the history behind the peace symbol, designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom.

• Colophon Page: The Italian Futurist Book

  http://www.colophon.com/gallery/futurism/
  View an exhibition showcasing Futurism's innovative uses of typography from 1909-1944.

• Design History Society

  http://www.designhistorysociety.org/
  The Society promotes and supports the study of design history. Its activities include the publication of the Journal of Design History and newsletter, an annual conference, management of a discussion list, grants and prizes for research, and awards for events.

• Docs Populi

  http://www.docspopuli.org/
  View the home page of Lincoln Cushing, Cuban poster artist, with his collections of oppositional visual art, political propaganda, and related writings.

• Famous Logos

  http://www.famouslogos.net/
  View a compilation of popular logos and their design elements.

• Flickr: Photos from Alki1

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/20745656@N00/sets/
  View personal image collections from a contributor. Sets of images range from American and Bauhaus to Russian Constructivist and Swiss International design.

• Graphic Design Archive Online

  http://design.rit.edu/
  A project of the Rochester Institute of Technology, the image archives focus on significant American graphic designers active from the 1920s to the 1950s. Selected contemporary designers working in the modernist traditions are also included.

• Graphic Design from the 1920s and 1930s in Travel Ephemera

  http://www.travelbrochuregraphics.com/
  View an international collection of travel brochures, airline and ocean liner time-tables, auto road maps, luggage labels, advertising and publications.

• History of Graphic Design

  http://www.historygraphicdesign.com/
  View examples and read background on graphic design milestones. Includes photos, videos, chronology and references.

• Moore College of Art & Design: Graphic Design History

  http://www.designhistory.org/
  View lectures and coursework based on Phillip Meggs' textbooks.

• Museum of Modern Art: Aleksandr Rodchenko

  http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/1998/rodchenko/
  The Museum of Modern Art in New York presents the history and work of one of the leading Russian artists in the period following the Revolution of October 1917.

• National Academic Mailing List Service: Design History

  http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/design-history.html
  Text-based forum for design issues, local information, and reviews by the Design History Society in the United Kingdom.

• National Library of Australia: Follow the Sun

  http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/36385/20030707-0000/www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/sun/index.html
  View a collection of 1930s to 1950s Australian travel posters. Browse images by destination, symbol, style, or artist.

• Parkland College: GDS 131 Graphic Design History

  http://gds.parkland.edu/gds/131/
  Review an online course given by Parkland College's Fine and Applied Arts Department in Champaign, Illinois.

• Pushpin Group

  http://www.pushpininc.com/
  Explore the graphic and illustrative work of Seymour Chwast, one of the founding members of the iconic Push Pin Studios in 1954, along with Milton Glaser and Edward Sorel.

• Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?

  http://www.greatvwads.com/
  Profile of book which is a compilation of Volkswagen's press, radio and television campaigns.

• Salon: Tibor Kalman

  http://www.salon.com/1999/05/19/kalman/
  The obituary of this innovative designer, best known for the work he created with his New York design firm and his brief editorship of Colors magazine.

• Smithsonian American Art Museum: Posters American Style

  http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/posters/index.html
  View major posters from the last century. Learn about their design, printing and historical impact on culture. Includes audio.

• Unimark International

  http://www.unimark-international.com/
  Read about the formation, success and eventual decline of the design firm founded by Ralph Eckerstrom, former design director for Container Corporation of America, and Massimo Vignelli.

• University of Florida: Graphic Design: Typography

  http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/rarebook/art3283c/
  Examine typographic specimens in book designs from the 15th to 20th centuries. From the Rare Book Collection of the Department of Special Collections.

• Wikipedia: Dada

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dada
  Read about the history, literature and design characteristics of this anti-art cultural movement that grew from World War II to 1920.

• Wikipedia: El Lissitzky

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Lissitzky
  Read about the life and works of this Russian avant-gardist who helped develop Suprematism and influenced architecture, literature, art, photography and design.

• Wikipedia: Graphic Design

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_design
  Read an account of early and modern graphic design history in this encyclopedia article. View sample images.

Related Categories

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