The first text in this book, a quote from the Austrian Bauhaus artist Herber Bayer, "the creative process is not performed by the skilled hand alone, but must be a unified process in which "head, heart, and hand play a simultaneous role," guides this exhaustive examination of the graphical development of language through speech, writing, and eventually print and video. Covering most of the major developments in the graphic arts throughout historical times. Extremely comprehensive in scope.

I really appreciated this book. I’ve worked as a copywriter and creative director in advertising for over 30 years, but never had any formal training. I’ve had to soak up knowledge as I went along — most of which came through trade magazines, like Communication Arts and Graphis. This resource has been so helpful in contextualizing all the tools of our trade, from printing to typography to photography to digital media. Having this background adds so much richness to what I do.

This was my textbook for a class, but it was so much fun to read and so informative and interesting that it's going in my permanent library.

Great textbook for learning the art history of design. Learned a lot from it

*Foi um livro interessante para conhecer a história de tudo mas queria que fosse mais focado no design gráfico em si, e não só nos movimentos artísticos e políticos que influenciaram o design.
*Senti falta de designers não brancos, nem que fosse só em citação (tiveram alguns, mas não o bastante).

É o tipo de livro que é bom para procurar referências mas não vejo muita necessidade de jamais ler ele inteiro de novo.

There's not much to say about this book because it is exactly what the title says. There aren't many graphic design history books out there, and this one is the most comprehensive of all of them. It explains how and why design evolved, of course with lots of illustrations and pictures inside. It will teach you how different styles originated and what were their key characteristics. From earliest writing systems, to medieval manuscripts, to Art Nouveau, to Bauhaus, to current year digital design, this book covers all the key design movements and eras.
If you're a designer, this is a must-read. If not, you will learn a lot about design that surrounds us, gain a new appreciation of it, and if nothing else, expand your horizons.

I had to read this book for a History of Graphic Design class. The first part of the book was definitely interesting, but I have to admit that as the semester progressed I skimmed the rest of the chapters. I will have to reread this book in the future to fully appreciate it.

Jan 2020 - enjoyed chapter on Arts & Crafts movement. Made a small vector library ripping off William Pickering's Elements of Euclid shapes and colors.

One of the most comprehensive histories of graphic design I've read.

This textbook was boring and dry in my experience and I am no textbook hater. I liked some of the information I learned in the book about Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing machine and also the illustrators of the dark ages.

It was a textbook, but I honestly really enjoyed it. I'd always viewed art history as disconnected from real life, and superfluous. But...art changes and shapes life all around it, and graphic design especially. Learning about the role of design in war-time propaganda, civil rights movements, and other various cultural movements was truly fascinating. Looking forward to diving into the history of Animation this quarter!

This was my text book for a college class of the same name at Seattle Pacific University. This was the first history textbook of any kind that really helped put history into an understandable context. It’s what sparked my curiosity for understanding art and design through the ages and bringing context into the things we see today. Overall, a great in-depth text book.