100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design , by authors Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne is the latest addition to Laurence King’s popular 100 Ideas series. “Our aim,” they say, “is to determine, define, discuss and illustrate the big ideas that created the critical mass that produced the art and craft of contemporary graphic design.”

This title contains a wonderful collection of some of the best ideas in graphic design from the last one hundred years, and is a great source of inspiration for both students and professionals. 100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design is not about individuals and their striking work, but rather about how visual trends spoke, and currently speak, to each other on a global level. The book focuses on how these trends build on one another, how they complement and strengthen each other – thanks to a series of cultural, economic, political and technological circumstances. What you won’t find in this book is a dictionary of ‘-isms’. The writers have purposely avoided these, choosing instead to highlight “notions, conceptions, inventions and inspirations – formal, pragmatic and conceptual – that have been employed by graphic designers to enhance all genres of visual communication.”

Spreads from 100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design

The book takes us on a wonderful tour, chronologically documenting 100 of the most influential ideas in graphic design history, ranging from Idea #1: The Book, to Idea #100: Designers’ Websites. Other ideas featured include #11 Colour Blocks, #22 Propaganda, #25 Manifestos, #42 Collages, #45 Pictograms, #70 The Grid and #73 Less is More, to name just a few. The scope is broad but brilliantly refined. It is an elegant title that is very well laid-out, with an astonishing collection of imagery and a great selection of informative text.

100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design is more than just a sourcebook for designers. As Heller and Vienne point out in their introduction, “You may never be credited for your contribution to graphic design, but the world might be a better place if you can help formulate a big idea.” I hope this title does more than draw upon the wisdom of past designers. Maybe we could all turn to it from time to time, to learn from these 100 ideas, in the hope that it may inspire us to build upon them and create something new.

Want to know more? Head to Beautiful Pages.

—
About the authors:
Steven Heller is the co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program and co-founder of the MFA in Design Criticism program at SVA, New York. For 33 years he was an art director at the New York Times. He is editor of AIGA VOICE and contributing editor to Print, Eye, Baseline and I.D. magazines. He is the author of more than 120 books on design and popular culture, including Design Literacy, Paul Rand, and Stylepedia. He is the recipient of the 1999 AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement.

Véronique Vienne has worked at a number of US magazines as art director, and is the author of The Art of Doing Nothing and The Art of Imperfection. A frequent contributor to Graphis and Metropolis magazines, she lives in Paris.