Preface

As early as 1922 the Massachusetts-based type designer, calligrapher, and book designer William Addison Dwiggins coined the term graphic design, but it was seldom used before 1945. Until that time graphic designers were mainly referred to as commercial artists. The profession grew extensively during the second half of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century. As we move deeper into the digital age it is undergoing more dramatic changes. It is only natural that the new generations of graphic designers have provocative ideas and question existing viewpoints and established notions of aesthetics. Each time we think we are at the forefront, we find that we are only at a new beginning with the future an open panorama.

Numerous methods are utilized to explore the evolution of graphic design history. These include investigating purely visual aspects, studying its economic associations, and considering the effects of new technology. Clearly, the visual aspects of graphic design are of foremost importance, but we must also reflect upon the designers' principles, the influence of their work on viewers, and the meaning of forms and their syntactic associations. Established methods of art history inquiry are often inadequate for approaching the relatively fresh and intricate history of graphic design. Focusing solely on specific designers and their major works or consigning them methodically to specific groups or movements does not fully serve our requirements. New industrial and technological developments such as the introduction of movable type, lithography, and the computer have played, and continue to play, a vital role. Also, creative interactions between designers have become important, especially today with global communications being almost unlimited.

Meggs' History of Graphic Design was never intended to be an all-encompassing historical graphic design encyclopedia, as this would require far more than a single volume. Still, we have attempted to provide a broad survey of notable stages and achievements in graphic design history. In determining what to include, a primary consideration was how particular cultures and individuals affected the contemporary state of the graphic design profession. Today, the graphic design field is much more extensive than in the past, encompassing areas such as motion graphics, design for the built environment, digital type design, design for portable devices, and interactive media. While personal predilections and those of Philip Meggs were significant factors in the selection of designers and images, it was our objective to make such decisions based on reasons that transcended our own aesthetic perceptions. Selections of designers and images were based as much as possible on how clearly they convey ideas, significant design concepts, or particular graphic forms. Obstacles in obtaining publication rights or adequate reproductions also influenced the selection. Thus, some important designers were regrettably excluded.

In graphic design history there have been times when collective visions emerged that cannot be ascribed to one designer. However, there have also been individual designers who clearly created new routes with innovative typographic and expressive forms and unique methods for communicating information. One objective of Meggs' History of Graphic Design has been to document graphic design modernization and those designers who have influenced its ongoing evolution. Attempting to single out particularly consequential designers, especially from the past three decades, has proved to be a challenging task. By "consequential" I am referring to those who not only produced significant work but also made lasting contributions to the development of the field. For me, the question of what distinguishes a master graphic designer from his or her talented colleagues is both exasperating and difficult. Such a person must have a distinctive artistic vision, an instantly recognizable visual vocabulary, and a unique approach that transcends the standard problem-solving process. The innovative ideas and achievements of master designers from the past have remained at the forefront and continue to enlighten and motivate us today. The graphic design of the last twenty years, though, is a more complex arena. The perimeters separating various graphic design fields have become increasingly blurred, and attribution has become more problematic. Today, many graphic designers produce work together with a revolving team of colleagues and with the fresh insight of interns. Such designs are the products of a number of individuals, and crediting everyone involved not always feasible.

Offering a definitive account of contemporary graphic design will always be a vexing task, and the final chapters of this book have no definitive ending. The English philosopher and historian R. G. Collingwood succinctly summed up this dilemma in 1924: "Contemporary history embarrasses a writer not only because he knows too much, but also because what he knows is too undigested, too unconnected, too atomic. It is only after close and prolonged reflection that we begin to see what was essential and what was important, to see why things happened as they did, and to write history instead of newspapers."

Most works included in Meggs' History of Graphic Design exemplify only a segment of what was produced in any specific era. The images represent numerous schools, movements, styles, and individual approaches, and there are seldom examples that show the crowning achievements of any one designer. A survey such as this is limited to presenting the work of designers at particular stages in their careers, and not their overall contribution. Those seeking a fuller account of a particular aspect should begin by referring to the bibliography for further information.

As with any work of this magnitude, some pivotal figures and areas were omitted in previous editions. Clearly, in this edition one of the most pressing matters was to examine developments since 2012, the publication date of the fifth edition. Although the structure of Meggs' History of Graphic Design is essentially chronological, there are instances where periods intermingle and overlap.

For the sixth edition, we have added many fresh illustrations, and some of the earlier text and illustrations have been removed to make room for new content. Many designers who deserve to be in this book could not be included because of space limitations, and to these I extend my apologies.

We are constantly confronted by new visual messages and forms, and those that remain relevant must be visually arresting and intellectually challenging. Although contemporary graphic design is to a large extent defined by technology, there are still strong ties binding it to crafts and aesthetics of the past. The computer allows designers to work more quickly and efficiently, increasing the speed with which graphic design problems are resolved. Design projects that in the past would have taken months are now solved in a matter of days or even hours. Yet in spite of the exciting developments in electronic media, printed works remain almost as vital today as in previous years. The revival of letterpress printing over the past decades is indicative of this trend.

Graphic design is built firmly upon historical foundations, and its history now occupies a central place in graphic design education. In a time when traditional notions of graphic design are constantly being tested, it is important that young graphic designers have a historical understanding of their profession. In finding inspiration from the work that came before, they should acknowledge the evolution that, as so aptly stated by Philip B. Meggs, "enabled designers to achieve a gradual transition from Renaissance design to the modern epoch."

Since it was first published in 1983 as A History of Graphic Design, Meggs' History of Graphic Design has remained one of the most thorough, authoritative, and enlightened books in its field. It is my objective that it maintain its position while being updated and refined. It has been an honor to serve as reviser for the last three editions. I hope that the sixth edition will continue to enlighten and nourish both students and professionals in this ever-evolving field.

A note on editorial conventions

With this edition, for the first time, dimensions are given for the original artifact illustrated, whenever such were obtainable. Dimensions appear at the end of figure legends, as height (cm) x width (cm). Note that where a two-page spread from a book or periodical is shown, the dimensions given are for a single page only.

Foreign-language titles of works of art (visual, literary, musical) are styled as they would be in their native context. For the most part, that means an initial capital letter only-or "sentence style," rather than English "title style," capitalization. Title style is employed for Medieval Latin titles, following common practice. English glosses of foreign-language titles follow the original, in parentheses, set in roman type. If, however, there is (to our knowledge) a published English translation of the work, the title of that translation follows, in parentheses, set in italic type.

The graphic design world is cosmopolitan. The post-World War II European émigrés to the United States who had such an impact on the profession, for example, led complicated lives, straddled contexts, and may have anglicized their names along the way. For historical figures we have endeavored to use the form of the personal name most common...