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Welcome to GRDS 378: History of Graphic Design
~Fall 2002~

A course that investigates historical events, trends and individuals as they may influence current practices and practitioners in graphic design today. The text for this class is Graphic Design History, edited by Steven Heller & Georgette Ballance, as well as current issues of HOW and PRINT magazines.
(For more information on HOW, visit their site at: www.howdesign.com; for more information on the text, visit www.amazon.com.)

At the beginning of the semester, students were presented with the following definition for this class:
We will spend the semester defining what is the "History of Graphic Design" from the focus point of contemporary design looking at individuals, issues and events both current and in the past that have made significant contributions to today's professional field.

This will be done through reading a variety of articles found in the text, various magazines and visiting several design related web-sites. After reading the initial article, each student will select various topics from the read information to further investigate, increasing their knowledge and understanding of the article read. We will function as a symposium rather than a lecture class with students presenting their findings to the entire group. Presentations will need to be in both verbal and visual formats. Students will be expected to research numerous tangents before bring together their findings and presenting them to the class.

Starting with simple one week investigations over the semester we will build up to developing a web-site capable of presenting some of the many different areas that designers today are working in and who and what may have been their influences. It is hoped that this site will be only a beginning, not a "final" project for many of these students.

Basic overview of the semester:

First Assignment:
The semester began with students selecting one of eight pre-selected topics to investigate found in the August issue of HOW Magazine. Working in groups of approximately three individuals for each topic, students had one week to read the article and gather as much additional information as they could. Some form of research beyond the actual topic was required. Who are the key individuals in each topic, what else have they done, how does the topic affect current students/future professionals? Topics investigated ranged from the New York City based graphic design radio talk show 360 Degrees to the future of web design with an understanding of the needs of individuals with disabilities. What exactly is a "virtual company" such as OXO and its potential impact on any design in the future? Students involved in web designing became more aware of the responsibilities of their profession. Although attempts were made to contact 360 Degrees for possible airing on the college station, at this time no connections have been made.

Second Assignment:
Following these presentation, eight different gifts were offered to the students. Selection of these gifts resulted in investigative teams. Although all students were to read the first section in Graphic Design History 1: Legacy Considered, each team was to investigate additional information that would increase the class's understanding of the two articles. For more information on this assignment go the the gifts page.

Third Assignment:
The second assignment helped to establish a common ground for the class. Names like Rand, Bayer, Weingart and Vignelli became human instead of just names in a text book. Opportunities to hear both Matthew Carter and Wolfgang Weingart speak at different events became personally rewarding.The awareness that such individuals were not just in the past, but still actively making contributions to the field of graphic design today.

This third assignment required each group to select and read two chapters in the text. The first part of this assignment was the researching and reporting back to the class a variety of additional background information. The creation of various support materials was also produced and distributed to all class members. For actual chapters researched and tangents investigated call up the Project 2a text.

Following these group presentation, each group selected one of their two reading topics all all research to organize a "Proposal for a Symposium" on the topic of their choice. Although there is not room to present each final proposal here, select "Proposal for a Symposium" to see the title, suggested speakers and examples of the various documents.

Forth and final Assignment:

The final assignment for the semester required students to selected an article from a contemporary professional resource, read the full article and develop a series of questions based on the information in the article and investigate these various tangents. For a full list of potential articles to select from, download the Project #3 file.
Below is the final list of actual selected articles to be researched, followed by the student's initials responsible for the topic presentation. Where this actual article can be found is also listed. As the article is read and various tangents researched their findings will be developed into a linked document. Each listing will be linked to the student's research once it is available.

Bonjour, Hello Again. Who am I?, (A. E.); Text: PRINT LVI:II— European Design Annual 2002, page 114

Mechanics at Work, (K. R.); Text: PRINT LVI:II— European Design Annual 2002, page 120

Dutch Treats, (C. F.); Text: PRINT LVI:II— European Design Annual 2002, page 114 126

Counter Revolution - Digital Kitchen-studio, (A. C.); Text: PRINT LEVI:II, page 41

Narrative Drives - Annual Report Design, (K. P.); Text: PRINT LEVI:II, page 58

Reading the Tube - TV type, (J. O’B.); Text: PRINT LEVI:II, page 84

Peter Behrens: Design’s Man of the Century, (B. F.); Text: Heller/Graphic Design History, page 97

Lucian Bernhard: The Master Who Couldn’t Draw Straight, (M. C.); Text: Heller/Graphic Design History, page 105

The Search for Georg Olden, (C. S.); Text: Heller/Graphic Design History, page 115

Fortunato Depero: Cheering Up the Universe, (L. G.); Text: Heller/Graphic Design History, page 153

Cipe Pineles: Artist as Art Director, (S. O..(; Text: Heller/Graphic Design History, page 161

Hélène Gordon-Lazareff: The Tsarina Who was Elle, (C. S..); Text: Heller/Graphic Design History, page 189

Renewal and Upheaval: Dutch Design Between the Wars, (H. McC.); Text: Heller/Graphic Design History, page 321

Information on @issues Design Magazine. Select any one issue, read all the articles , develop your tangent information for 2-3 of the articles that most interest you or you believe have valuable current info for a young designer.
(C. P.), http://www.cdf.org/atissue.html

From Typotheque, an independent type foundry based in The Hague in the Netherlands these articles have been selected.

1. HOW GOOD IS GOOD? by Stefan Sagmeister; (B. J.),

2. The Time for Being Against by Rick Poynor; (S. B.)

3. Reduce to the max: proportional deconstructions in Swiss contemporary graphic design by Max Bruinsma; (V. H.)

4. Contemporary Dutch graphic design: an insider/outsider’s view by Peter Bilak; (M. W.)

New Faces: type design in the first decade of device-independent digital typesetting (1987-1997) by Emily King:

Chapter Two: The West Coast; (C. H.)
Chapter Three: The East Coast; (M. W.)
Chapter Four: London; (B. L.)
Chapter Five: The Netherlands; (W. R.)

Individuals interested in contributing to any of this information are welcome. Please contact us via e-mail.

At this time, anyone with information on either of the following topics are encouraged to submit information:

1. Helene Gordon-Lazareff, creator of ELLE Magazine

2. Any and all information on current designers and design trends in the Netherlands.