History of Graphic Design Vol. 2 Book: 1960s to Today, Posters & Visual Language

The second half of the story is where graphic design gets loud.

In this second volume of The History of Graphic Design, Jens Müller rounds off the most comprehensive exploration of graphic design to date. With around 3,500 seminal pieces and 78 landmark projects, year-by-year spreads and profiles of industry leaders, it shows how graphic design shaped contemporary society from the 1960s until today, from the hippie movement to new forms of visual language.

The decades it spans saw psychedelic posters and protest graphics, sweeping corporate identity programs, transit maps, record sleeves and magazine covers, and then the arrival of the personal computer and the internet. The spreads pictured here jump from a lion-faced Almanaque poster to bold typographic experiments, a psychedelic Dylan poster, the New York subway System Map, a 1991 spread of digital-era work and a 2018 spread of contemporary identities. It reads like a timeline of how the world learned to look.

The year-by-year format is what makes it work. You can follow a single idea, like the grid or the hand-drawn letter, as it fades out and comes back, and watch design react to politics, technology and pop culture almost in real time. The landmark project features slow you down at the right moments, so it is as good for serious study as it is for flipping on a slow afternoon.

In Signals, this is the reference for the visual era most of us grew up inside.

Why graphic design since 1960 still matters

The visual language of the last six decades is the language everyone working today speaks, whether they know it or not. Posters, identities, album art, editorial layouts and screen graphics from this period still drive mood boards and briefs. Seeing that work in sequence, with the people behind it, turns borrowed references into real understanding, and makes it easier to know when you are quoting history and when you are actually adding to it.

Who this book is for

For graphic designers, art directors, brand teams, illustrators and design students who want the modern era mapped in one place. Filmmakers, editors and motion designers will find a deep bank of title, poster and identity references. For the RIOT and vandal_ crowd, it is the lineage behind the work we make every day, in one heavy, generous volume.

Product details

• Title: The History of Graphic Design. Vol. 2. 1960–Today
• Author: Jens Müller
• Publisher: TASCHEN
• Volume: Vol. 2 of The History of Graphic Design
• Period: The 1960s until today
• Contents: Around 3,500 seminal pieces, 78 landmark projects, year-by-year spreads and profiles of industry leaders
• Languages: German, French, English

FAQ

What period does this volume cover?
It follows graphic design from the 1960s until today, from the hippie movement to new forms of visual language.

What is inside?
Around 3,500 seminal pieces and 78 landmark projects, presented in year-by-year spreads alongside profiles of industry leaders.

What languages is the text in?
The book is trilingual, with text in German, French and English.