Week Three

PHILLP B. MEGGS - A HISTORY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN (2012)

Massey has an online version of this book which I have been reading. It has been very interesting as it provides an overview of graphic design from 5000 BCE right through to today, and gives insight into the complexities of transition and overlaps between these different stages. It is a reminder that these movements are not simple or linear, linking back to Williams Dominant, Residual and Emergent. This book has forced me to ask questions and look deeper than the surface. Meggs has identified these stages as such:

Bridge to the 20th Century 

• Graphic design and the Industrial Revolution (1760 - 1900)
• The Arts and Crafts Movement and its Heritage (1860 - 1950)
• Art Nouveau (1680 - 1910)
• The Genisis of 20th Century Design (1890 - 1915)

The Modernist Era

• The Influence of Modern Art (1890 - 1940)
• Pictorial Modernism (1890 - 1950)
• A New Language of Form (1900 - 1950)
• The Bauhaus and the New Typography (1910- 1960)
• The Modern Movement in America (1920 - 1960)

The Age of Information

• The International Typographic Style (1930 - 2000)
• The New York School (1930 - 2000)
• Corporate Identity and Visual Symbols (1940 - 1990)
• The Conceptual Image (1950 - 2000)
• Postmodern Design (1960-2000)
• National Visions Within a Global Dialogue (1950 - 2010) 
• The Digital Revolution - And Beyond (1970 - 2010)

A visual representation of the complex nature of history.