Design School Reader

An Essential Collection of Essays and Musings on Graphic Design from One of the Field's Leading Educators

In this wide-ranging compilation, art director, writer, and lecturer Steven Heller shares his passion for graphic design with readers, whom he invites to consider that design can be discerned in all things natural and manmade. Developed as content for a class devoted to reading, this collection is not overtly about conventional design, but about a variety of topics viewed through the lens of design. Offered as a primer for undergraduate and graduate students, Design School Reader presents more than forty essays on subjects such as:

• The role of design in politics
• Visual culture and the social impact of design
• Key moments in the history of typography
• Technological innovations
• The power of branding and logos
• Ethical considerations and dilemmas
• Important figures in the design world

Divided into five parts—Design Language; Design Dialects; Politics, Ideology, Design; Business and Commerce; and Inspiration and Discoveries—each section features a collection of essays culled from Heller’s extensive publications from the past several decades. At the end of every essay, readers will find discussion points to prompt further lines of inquiry. As Heller notes, “The key is to read, discuss, and debate.” Students, aficionados, and anyone with a healthy curiosity will thoroughly enjoy this illuminating and thought-provoking assemblage of perspectives on the practice.
 

Steven Heller is the co-chair and co-founder of the School of Visual Arts MFA Design / Designer as Entrepreneur program. For thirty-three years, he was an art director at The New York Times, thirty of those years in the Book Review, where he also wrote the Visuals column. He is the author, editor, and co-author of over 190 books and has written introductions, forewords, and essays for over 150 more—all on graphic design, typography, political art, and popular culture. He is the recipient of the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement and the Smithsonian National Design Award for “Design Mind,” as well as two honorary doctorates and other awards. He lives in New York City.