Meggs' History of Graphic Design

Book Description

Now in its Fourth Edition, this unrivaled, seminal work continues its long tradition of providing balanced insight and thorough historical background. Under the new authorial leadership of Alston Purvis, this authoritative book offers more than 450 new images, along with expansive coverage of such topics as Italian, Russian, and Dutch design. It reveals a saga of creative innovators, breakthrough technologies, and important design innovations.

Customer Reviews:

Must have for Graphic Designer!!!.......2007-09-15

Great book with expansive price, thats why i put 3 stars only,,

i get that book only MYR 80.00 (in USD around 23 dollar)
if you are student, especially Limkokwing University Student you can ask your Design History lecture,,

My faveorite textbook.......2007-08-01

I didn't want to sell this back to the store it was so good. It is in my library for reference when ever I need it.

Wonderful Book.......2007-03-18

This book is a great comprehensive history of graphic communication from the cave paintings till today. I'm using it as textbook for one of my classes in college and it is wonderful. It is also beautifully designed.

awesome.......2007-03-08

One of the best book I bought on the subject. Buy it. it's a great source of inspiration.

History Of Grahpics.......2007-03-08

I found that this book is well illustrated and more focused on the history of graphics rather than the technique. I purchased this as a school text book requirement but will be keeping the book for my own personal enjoyment. Book is larger than expected and dates from early cave paintins and their symbolic and graphic relevance through some of the early wood and block prints up to Warhol and current used of design and typography.

Average customer rating:

Good reference
Brilliant but brief overview of bygone symbols
Lotsa Fun, and Informative.

Trademarks of the '60s & '70s
Tyler Blik
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0811816982

Book Description

The latest addition to the Trademarks series catches the wave of today's craze for the look of the sixties and seventies. Bursting with vibrant color and imagination, advertising art made a dramatic leap in maturity as it soared into the free love and "me" decades. This collection features the best of the pop culture explosion.

Customer Reviews:

Good reference.......2004-11-20

This book is a good reference, with a nice introduction by Philip Meggs, and some nice commentary, but it just kills me that you are not given the artist or firm behind any of the logos. For each logo, the author has listed the Company name, Company location, type of product, and year of execution of the logo, but if you are interested in the names behind the marks you will be frustrated that this piece of information is omitted.

Brilliant but brief overview of bygone symbols.......2001-03-08

A terrific overview of trademarks, this remarkable book break symbols down into sections - corporate america, typography, etc - that make the book easily digestable. Great as inspiration for graphic designers, as source material, or as one of my friends recently did, ideas for tattoos. Good stuff.

Lotsa Fun, and Informative........2000-02-04

So far, the biggest kick I got out of this book was seeing the trademark for National Airlines. I remember when the only air service we got here in little Sarasota was from Eastern, National, and Florida Airlines, none of which are in existence any more. This book shows you how a symbol can be ubiquitous and then vanish.

Six Chapters in Design: Saul Bass, Ivan Chermayeff, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, Ikko Tanaka, Henryk Tomaszewski

Average customer rating:

Less was more
A good ,allthough basic, overview of the giants
monolithic work in the palm of your hand!
if your a visual person, this book is for you

Six Chapters in Design: Saul Bass, Ivan Chermayeff, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, Ikko Tanaka, Henryk Tomaszewski
Philip Meggs
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0811817229

Book Description

Stylish and concise, this volume presents the work of six venerable names in modern design history. Featuring more than three hundred examples of their best work, yet still eminently portable, Six Chapters in Design is a charming model of economy. Each chapter begins with an essay by a fellow designer, or poet, or, in the case of Saul Bass, director Martin Scorsese, and closes with a biographical profile. Esteemed by designers around the world, these are the artists who created the identities of Warner, AT&T, IBM, ABC, UPS, and Westinghouse; film titles for The Shining and Cape Fear; posters; advertisements; and memorable images of every sort. Their work, nearly omnipresent in everyday life, has influenced an entire culture. This dynamic compendium is a smart resource for designers and artists working in any medium.

Customer Reviews:

Less was more.......2002-06-22

This book is exactly what I hoped it would be: a visual parade of the works of designers who are arguably considered superstars in graphic design.

The various graphics are seen applied to print (magazine/book/poster), signage, film and sculptural media.

The examples span several decades, from the early 40s to the mid-90s. The great thing about seeing superb design in the years before the 1980s is that design during that period was accomplished without the use of computers; as a result, greater emphasis was placed on composition, shape, typography, color and imagination. The result was design that was simple, bold and highly communicative. It's a far cry from the over-stimulated design that almost everyone with a computer is capable of producing -- and has.

The back of the book contains an index to the graphics with a descriptive label and the year in which each was produced. Each designer's section starts off with a few paragraphs of introductory text, and ends with a brief bio.

The graphics are displayed one per page, and speak for themselves. Designers should pay attention to the message in this body of work.

A good ,allthough basic, overview of the giants.......2001-04-14

I think this book is a fairly good inventory of design works by the giants. Some of the works displayed have dated and it seems there could have been better editorial choices. Nevertheless, i think its a good starter for the begginer, and is a fun way to kill an hour.The print quality is exellent, giving vivid colors, but the cover design is...well- a shame.

monolithic work in the palm of your hand!.......1999-09-29

Great works by the great designers, including my fav. Saul Bass's anatomy of a murder, it's simply a designers inspiration in carry size.Don't strain your eyes - it's picture only.

if your a visual person, this book is for you.......1999-03-22

i say this because theres absolutely no copy. color galore and histories of they're work are covered in full. have fun looking at the greats, i did.

Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography

Average customer rating:

Interesting book for those into typography
don't judge a book by its cover, design, or content
Heller Is Prolific

Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography

Manufacturer: Allworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1581150822

Book Description

When Transforming Words Into Print Becomes a Passion

Color'em, distort'em, move'em: changing fonts on a computer screen is almost as easy and fun as playing with a set of rubber stamps. And yet, creating and choosing type is an art that not only requires artistic skills, but a deep understanding of the many ways type is rooted in the communication patterns of our times. In "Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography," acclaimed design authors Steven Heller and Philip B. Meggs open a window into the secret universe of present and past typography.

"Texts on Type" is an unprecedented opportunity to discover some of the most brilliant and sparkling minds of 20th century type design and typography. In fifty thought-provoking essays, readers encounter the evangelists and critics of a craft whose aesthetic frontiers have always been negotiated with unsurpassed fervor, from W.A. Dwiggins, Herman Zapf, and Paul Rand to the front-runners of contemporary typography. Practitioners of type and typophiles will perceive this craft with new eyes as they learn about the groundbreaking technological, aesthetic, and cultural changes that have propelled typography from a rarified, secluded craft into a dynamic activity practiced by millions.

The fifty essays cover topics such as

* Principals of designing and choosing the right typeface
* The Modernism versus Tradition debate
* The relationship between type form and expression
* The anatomy of typefaces across the 20th century
* Aesthetical reflections from classics to electronic and dynamic typography

Customer Reviews:

Interesting book for those into typography.......2007-06-13

On first examination, this book looks very dry. There aren't any pictures or examples to go with the articles, and overall the book just isn't "designed" to any extent. That being said, the articles themselves are very entertaining and interesting for those in the typographic field.

don't judge a book by its cover, design, or content.......2005-03-26

This hilarious mess manages to belie almost every principle of design espoused within its pages, with its frankly ugly, workmanlike design, errors in proofreading, and strange choices in content. The layout is slapdash and the printing quality is dodgy-anyone wanting typography to match the content of the book should be looking at Robert Bringhurst's essential Elements of Typographic Style, or any other Hartley&Marks book on typography, instead. If typography is the art of overweening attention to minute details, this book is certainly a betrayal of that art.

Keeping that in mind, several of the essays contained within are classic (anything Beatrice Warde or Stanley Morison has to say about type is essential reading), and Heller has done his usual job of hitting the high points, without going into any great depth. His own contribution to the volume is typical of the limited attention span he brings to a lot of his editing projects: a thinly-researched polemic on blackletter type and fascism that manages to omit some key details that would totally change the thrust of his argument were they to be acknowledged. I have, and like, other Heller books, and he's a charismatic public speaker, but this is not his finest effort.

Heller Is Prolific.......2001-08-14

Steven Heller puts the "Good Graphics Seal of Approval" on any graphic design book, in my opinion. The essays in "Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography" is no exception. Together with Philip B. Meggs, Heller pulls together over fifty essays on the history, aesthetics and practice of type design and typography. You'll find essays in this anthology penned by the likes of Goudy, Zapf, Rand, Ogilvy, and other huge names in the arena of graphic design. This is just another Heller book to have to back up the rest of your everyday knowledge. After all, if you know more than the next guy, you'll get the job. My only complaint is that - for such an excellent book on typography - the typeface in the body copy is smaller than the norm. If you're over 40, pull out the reading glasses.

Average customer rating:

Meggs: Making Graphic Design History
Rob Carter
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0470008393

Book Description

Graphic designer, professor, historian, and author Philip Baxter Meggs (1942-2002) was born in 1942, Meggs began teaching in the Communication Arts and Design Department at Virginia Commonwealth University, chairing the department from 1974 to 1987. In 1983, he published his History of Graphic Design--the book that not only put graphic design in its historical context; it put graphic design on the cultural map.

Before Phil Meggs wrote his seminal book, graphic design was left largely unchronicled. A History of Graphic Design offered designers and students of design a foundation on which to build, a starting point from which to move forward, and a context for graphic design's place in history.

This single work afforded an immediate legitimacy to a field that had, until that moment, been considered more of a trade than a profession. As Steven Heller wrote in PRINT magazine, Meggs "laid more than a groundwork; he built a monument to graphic design's legacy. Now he is an integral part of that legacy."

Meggs: Making Graphic Design History is at once a retrospective of Phil Megg's achievements as a historian, educator, and artist in his own right, a deserved tribute to his lasting influence on the graphic arts, and a loving memoriam written by family, friends, and colleagues who were lucky enough to have known him.

Average customer rating:

A History of Graphic Design
Philip B. (editor) Meggs
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PS74JM

Average customer rating:

A History of Graphic Design
Philip B. Meggs
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KPCUQ2

Average customer rating:

History of Graphic Design 3e IM
Meggs
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0471327018

Book Description

One of the most widely read and consulted texts on calligraphy ever written. History, theory, materials and techniques of calligraphy, typography and constructed letters. Over 500 illustrations and an exhaustive bibliography of scholarly and technical references. "One of the most comprehensive and well made histories of lettering and calligraphy." — American Artist.

Customer Reviews:

Unique review of calligraphy.......2002-04-23

Unlike most "calligraphy" books, Anderson presents a review of the topic spanning the globe and millenia. Starting with Roman graffiti and ending with modern calligraphy revival schools in California to 8th Century Burma, there's a little bit of everything here.

A nice review of western european medieval calligraphy, I rarely use the rest of the book. It presents well how the different styles are related, the development of modern styles of calligraphy and type fonts, the 20th century revival of more traditional art forms with some froo-froo hat tipping to Victorian style copperplate to bold modern blocky forms.

This has it all. A well written book, it references the copious plates and examlpes while guiding the novice through the years and development of the manifaceted art style known as calligraphy.

I would recommend this for intermediate students who are interested in the history of calligraphy, to complement learning how to do it. This will not teach you how to do calligraphy, it will hopefully teach you how to appreciate it as an art form.

Average customer rating:
Art of Written Forms: The Theory and Practice of Calligraphy
Donald Anderson
Manufacturer: HOLT, RINEHART & WINSTON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKOIUO

Average customer rating:
The Art of Written Forms: The Theory and Practice of Calligraphy
Donald M. Anderson
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0030723957

Average customer rating:
Art of Written Forms : the Theory and Practice of Calligraphy
Donald M. Anderson
Manufacturer: HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON, IN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKFINA

Average customer rating:
The Art of Written Forms. the Theory and Practice of Calligraphy
Donald M. Anderson
Manufacturer: Plenum Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OT0Q7Y

Average customer rating:
The Art of Written Forms: The Theory and Practice of Calligraphy
Anderson.
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OECSCA

Average customer rating:
The Art of Written Forms: the Theory and Practice of Calligraphy
Donald M. Anderson
Manufacturer: New York Holt Rinehart Winston 1969.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OGD9HQ

Average customer rating:
The Art of Written Forms: The Theory and Practice of Calligraphy
Donald M. Anderson
Manufacturer: Holt Rinehart Winston
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQH1AS

Book Description

TOTAL DIRECTING is the first book to fully integrate the technical aspects of screen directing with practical methods for directing actors, deeply and carefully exploring how these two primary aspects of the director's craft work together.

Viewed from a perspective that seeks a balance successful work with actors and technically high-level production values, the complete directing process is discussed in detail from the start of script development through the delivery of a finished project covering every aspect of preparation and decision-making with solid background information, practical suggestions, and clear illustrations. Topics include:

• project development • screenplay analysis • choosing and working with a production team • auditioning and casting • script preparation • using the language of acting • working with a set • understanding screen acting styles • conducting a rehearsal • blocking camera and actor moves • using improvisation • working with storyboards • the Hollywood continuity style • choosing camera shots and lighting • multi-camera directing • preparing for each day's shoot • editing and working with editors & much more.

Customer Reviews:

tota directing.......2007-01-09

very effective, simple, but interesting the book gives a complete insight in directing. It is really difficult to find such a complete book, I found it a great book.

What a director needs to know besides "attitude" and how to yell, "Action!".......2006-09-07

There's nothing wrong with reading interviews with master film directors, but they rarely give you the practical, hands-on information you need for becoming a professional director. Tom Kingdon's book is one of the only books that guides you through the steps and skills a director needs to know to take a script through to the final cut. I'm a professional documentary filmmaker, script writer and production teacher in a major media arts college, and in over twenty years of teaching, this is the first time I've assigned a directing text.

So by all means, study the words and works of Hitchcock, Kazan, Scorcese et al, but don't expect them to teach you how to break down a script or rehearse actors or many of the myriad tasks and procedures essential to being a real director.

...wow.......2006-07-11

It is my opinion that the only books on filmmaking that should be read and utilised are the books which are written by people who know what they're talking about. This is a book on filmmaking by a man who has never made a film! I've always found that to be ridiculous. The types of film books I read are mostly interview books, because you are getting the information straight from the source. Also, there are many books wwritten by actual award-winning, famous directors. For example, MAKING MOVIES, by Sidney Lumet. As far as interview books, you have what I call the "big four," being CONVERSATIONS WITH WILDER (Cameron Crowe), HITCHCOCK (Francois Truffaut), THIS IS ORSON WELLES (Peter Bogdonavich) and, in my opinion the best, KAZAN: THE MASTER DIRECTOR DISCUSSES HIS FILMS (Jeff Young). These are actual directors speaking about the craft. Wouldn't it be better to read books on directing from actual directors? But, its up to you. It's your choice. Learn the craft from masters like Hitchcock, Kazan, Welles, or Wilder, or you can learn from Tom Kingdon.

Book Description

Who is this arcane, bizarre, carousing, crime fighter who haunts the shadows and alleys of Iron City? The modern hero is redefined with this two-fisted, hard-drinking, womanizing, violent, and politically incorrect freebooter whose antics and mayhem will have you in stitches before you know it. Meet Mr. Furious, Captain Attack, Screwball, The Bikini Teens and Bondo-Man, the man of living bondo! Meet super criminals, flying dead dogs, all-girl motorcycle gangs and monsters - the big ones - the Japanese kind!

Customer Reviews:

More Flaming Carrot trade paperbacks, please!.......2001-12-30

I wasn't too familiar with the Flaming Carrot before I ordered this but I took a shot. Funny,funny stuff. Few comics make me laugh out loud but this one did. Flaming Carrot and his superhero friends, the Mystery Men, are treated as "B" super heros in the world of comics. Anyone who is a fan of The Tick would get a hoot out of the Flaming Carrot.

The Carrot at home.......2001-02-27

What a magnificent collection this is. We've always known that FC was a small-town superhero, and now we get to see him at his most provincial: spring-cleaning his laundromat, winning a run-down beachfront burlesque joint in a card game with his cronies, taking it easy while the pot-roast cooks, hanging out with some of the other Mystery Men at a cheap motel happy hour!

Burden's strengths lie in two things, I think, and these are the ablitity to produce the most blissfully, jaw-scratchingly random things without any particular explanation, and to make his characters just folks. After reading this collection, which is heavier on story than on Artless Dodger-style freakish Mysteryvillains (small-town evildoers), I feel a warm and abiding fondness for FC and the crew. They've always made me laugh, and now they make me want to bake them muffins.

FC discusses Zamfir with strippers. Notes in a moment of reflection that there's no good reason for him to wear a tie. Captain Attack (a Mysteryman) reminisces about blowing up Miami land crabs when he was a boy. The Mystery Men split up for a night on the town: some go to watch a bowling tournament, the others end up at a too-mod bar. Mr. Furious gets drunk and cranky and throws an ashtray at the band.

And then they all fight cloned Nazi boots. God, I love Bob.

Very clever and funny comics.......2000-09-04

Flaming Carrot is a rather tongue-in-cheek superhero, with an odd and surrealistic slant - hilarious but not too far out. He was one of the members of the Mystery Men, some members of which appeared in a recent movie but not Flaming Carrot. He fights villains like The Chair, whose only superpower is to turn into a chair, and the Melon Master who throws melons... There's a classic 50's and 60's style to the comic too.

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