This work provides an overview of the history of Swiss graphic design as published in the influential magazine Typografische monatsblätter.

Wolfgang Weingart's influence on the development of typography since the 1970s is unparalleled and his work has served as an inspiration to countless designers in both North America and Europe. In Typography, Weingart sums up an impressive lifework in 500 pages that describe his own development and the foundations of his teachings.

Over recent decades, type has been contextualized. It is no longer at home in static, monotone print. It is now belongs in the domain of the image. Type is integrated into image as if it is a 'real' and tangible as any other subject or objects. It is treated as having physical presence with weight and depth. Among these pages we will see a return to the handmade. Hand-drawn scrawl has become increasingly popular over the past few years. We are currently entering a new typographic era, in which designers choose to focus on the form and substance of the individual letter more than on overall composition. Colour throughout

Graphic Design Theory is organized in three sections: "Creating the Field" traces the evolution of graphic design over the course of the early 1900s, including influential avant-garde ideas of futurism, constructivism, and the Bauhaus; "Building on Success" covers the mid- to late twentieth century and considers the International Style, modernism, and postmodernism; and "Mapping the Future" opens at the end of the last century and includes current discussions on legibility, social responsibility, and new media. Striking color images illustrate each of the movements discussed and demonstrate the ongoing relationship between theory and practice. A brief commentary prefaces each text, providing a cultural and historical framework through which the work can be evaluated. Authors include such influential designers as Herbert Bayer, L'szlo Moholy-Nagy, Karl Gerstner, Katherine McCoy, Michael Rock, Lev Manovich, Ellen Lupton, and Lorraine Wild. Additional features include a timeline, glossary, and bibliography for further reading. A must-have survey for graduate and undergraduate courses in design history, theory, and contemporary issues, Graphic Design Theory invites designers and interested readers of all levels to plunge into the world of design discourse.

The basic principles of typographic design.

Founded in London in 1984 by Mark Holt, Simon Johnston, and Hamish Muir, 8vo was one of the most influential design studios in the 1980s and continues to be significant in the design world today. The design studio used traditional, craft-based working methods but an experimental approach to design in order to anticipate the computer-aided aesthetic of the 90s. Designed and written by two of the studio's partners, this attractive, chunky-format book will be a delight to students and practioners of architecture, design, and art alike.

Originally published: London: Laurence King Pub., 2006.