Pre-order ‘The History of Graphic Design, Vol. 1’ by Jens Müller and Julius Wiedemann
If you want to gain an understanding of the general spirit of a particular era in the past century or so, there are several places to start: music, literature, photography, art, and perhaps most surprisingly, graphic design.
Taschen's upcoming coffee table book, History of Graphic Design, Vol. 1: 1890–1959 — written by Jens Müller and edited by Julius Wiedemann — traces 70 years of graphic design, from the late 19th century through the economic boom after World War II:
[This book] traces the evolution of this creative field from its beginning as poster design to its further development into advertising, corporate identity, packaging, and editorial design. Organized chronologically, the volume features over 2,000 seminal designs from all over the world, 72 of which are profiled in detail besides 57 leaders in the field, including Alphonse Mucha (chocolate advertisements), Edward Johnston (London Underground logo and typeface), El Lissitzky (constructivist graphics), Herbert Matter (photomontage travel posters from Switzerland), Saul Bass (animated opening titles), and A. M. Cassandre (art deco posters).
Here are a few select pages within:
The 480-page hardcover will release on January 31st, 2018 and can be pre-ordered for $60. In the meantime, Taschen is developing a second volume that will cover the period between 1960 and today.