Blog | Print Magazine

May 11, 2020
4 min

The Daily Heller: Keith Godard, Pioneer History Teacher, Dies

Last week, designer, author, teacher and friend, Keith Godard, passed away. He is rightly credited with developing, indeed pioneering, the earliest contemporary graphic design history courses with Louis Danziger, which were later codified in exhibitions, conferences and books used in colleges and art schools throughout the U.S. His was the first design history lecture I ever attended (sponsored by the AIGA in the mid 1980s). Two years ago when I was editing Teaching Graphic D

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Mar 12, 2020
3 min

Where Does the Term ‘Graphic Designer’ Come From?

Print has been acquired by an independent group of collaborators, and soon enough, we’ll be back in full force with an all-new look, all-new content and a fresh outlook for the future. In the meantime, we’re looking back at some of our most popular content—such as Steven Heller’s “Evolution” series, a veritable “Cosmos” of the visual universe. Home of “The Boston Evening Transcript.” From “King’s Hand-book of Boston: Profusely Illustrated By Moses King,” 1881. Are you a graph

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Jun 5, 2019
2 min

Punk for a Day: Graphic Design History and the Punk Aesthetic

Youth culture is known for rebellion. But insurgence may have hit a a fever pitch in 1970s Britain with the start of punk and the emergence of the punk aesthetic. Maintaining the ideology that “anyone can do it,” the young punks of the time began transforming the music scene from polished and produced to something fast and aggressive. Independently made 7-inch vinyl became the center of design for the nihilistic disruptors influenced by Dadaist collage, the 1960s underground

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May 6, 2019
5 min

Smithsonian’s Wonder Woman Collection is the Beginning

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. is the largest museum complex of its kind in the world. Within its 19 museums, one can find everything from a mounted African elephant to Fonzie’s leather jacket. The Smithsonian also houses an impressive collection of comic books, a uniquely American art form launched in the mid 1930s to immediate success. One of the most fascinating components of this four-color archive is its Wonder Woman collection, housed at the Smithsonian

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Mar 13, 2019
5 min

Batman Through the Years: the Changing Look of Batman

It’s the rare comic book superhero who doesn’t undergo the occasional change in appearance now and then. Costumes are altered, hairstyles are updated; it’s usually about keeping up with the times, or an attempt to boost sales. Batman through the years has certainly had a changing look, and few superheroes have undergone the numerous and varied changes experienced by Batman over his 80-year history. Who’s Really Behind Batman? The creation of Batman has long been attributed to

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Feb 19, 2019
3 min

Vintage Restaurant Menu Design: We’re Still Hungry

With the rise of iPads greeting diners at the table, menus—at least print menus—are quickly becoming a thing of the past. To commemorate this graphic niche of restaurant menu design, one 392-page TASCHEN book showcases over 800 printed menu designs from 1850 to 1985. The book, which was recently released in an affordable paperback edition, is fit for any graphic designer’s home library. A la Carte: 100 Years of Menu Design in America is co-authored by Steven Heller, a renowne

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Jun 1, 2018
5 min

Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine Finally Shuts Up

Author’s NEW Note, September 11, 2018: Interview resumes publication this very week! Author’s Note, June 1, 2018: So Interview has just ceased publication, not quite a half-century after it began. With years of financial struggles and a recent string of lawsuits, as well as a creative director standing accused of sexual misconduct, it finally filed for bankruptcy. I certainly won’t miss the magazine. Truth is, I was surprised to hear it was still around. Especially in these d

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Oct 4, 2017
3 min

Celebrating Sputnik’s 60th: A Collection of Vintage Soviet Designs

Call for entries: HOW Logo Design Competition Deadline for entry: October 30, 2017 Today is the 60 year anniversary of when the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. The launch took place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is now the world’s oldest and largest space facility that is still in operation. Sending Sputnik into orbit hurled the world into the infamous Space Race between Cold War enemies USSR and the US. I

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Sep 24, 2017
3 min

22 Dr. Seuss Illustrations You’ve Probably Never Seen

Call for Entries: HOW Logo Design Awards “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel, has been a staple in literature and illustration for decades. His love for surrealism brought us brightly colored scenes of strange creatures in curious environments. Ask anyone and they can probably name at least one, if not five, of his best-selling children’s books. But ask about the start of his career and you’ll more than likely receive a shrug as

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Jul 10, 2017
2 min

Albrecht Dürer: The First Post-Modernist Designer

Self portrait Albrecht Dürer was the very epitome of a Renaissance man. Born in 1471 at the height of the German Renaissance, he excelled at painting, woodcuts, engraving, typography, book-making and writing. Having studied the family trade of goldsmithing, he went on to apprentice with his godfather Anton Koberger, the publisher and printer of the heavily illustrated Nuremberg Chronicle, published in 1493. While still in his twenties he established himself as an important il

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Jul 5, 2017
2 min

Nathan’s Famous 100-Year-Old Logo

Over 100 years ago in 1916, a Polish immigrant named Nathan Handwerker opened a hot dog stand on the corner of Surf and Sitwell Avenues on Coney Island, New York. With the help of two friends, their $300 loan and his wife’s secret spice recipe, Handwerker created the original Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand. Legend has it, on the 4th of July in 1916 two immigrants settled an argument over who was the most patriotic by having a hot dog-eating contest. The now-famous contest beca

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Apr 18, 2017
2 min

Textiled

The intersection of graphic, interior, industrial and textile design is at the heart of 20th-century modernism. And at the core of that heart is Marguerita Mergentime (1894–1941), a name that may be unknown to many of us, including me. She made her mark in the 1930s with table linens in bold colors and innovative patterns. A new monograph, Marguerita Mergentime: American Textiles, Modern Ideas (West Madison Press, New York), is the first devoted to this 1930s-era designer, wh

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Feb 25, 2017
2 min

Comic Book History’s Most Regrettable Supervillains

Enjoy comic book history? Chances are you know Seymour Chwast. Don’t miss your chance to see his keynote address “God War Sex” at HOW Design Live in Chicago May 2–6, 2017. Register today and save big! The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains: Oddball Criminals from Comic Book History In a world filled with polished silver-screen superheroes, one author has curated the unthinkable. Cartoonist Jon Morris delved deep into the past and unearthed a medley of forgotten villains—Robb

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Oct 4, 2016
2 min

The Graphic Design Work of Henri Matisse

This is the first in a series of unexpected designers. Recently one of my grad students told me how the renowned artist Henri Matisse was hired by the publisher George Macy to illustrate a limited edition of 1500 of James Joyce’s Ulysses, concurrent with the book’s initial mid-1930s publication. So the story went, rather than read the work Matisse chose to illustrate Homer’s Odyssey instead. Intrigued I decided to explore further. You can read more about it here, but what cau

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Aug 5, 2016
2 min

Design History: Graphic Design in Southern Louisiana

Can’t get enough graphic design history? Check out The Daily Heller for daily design news and insight from Steven Heller. Sign up here for the Daily Heller—which WIRED recently described as “your CliffsNotes to the history of graphic design”—to be delivered to your inbox each day! “If you’ve watched the TV show, “Mad Men” we’ve found the real thing.” Picture New Orleans 55 years ago. It’s a balmy afternoon in the city known for its soulful jazz and enticing Creole flavors. Do

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Jun 27, 2016
15 min

Black Designers: Missing in Action (1987)

The author of a 30-year-old Print article on diversity, Cheryl D. Holmes-Miller, surveys the industry in our summer 2016 issue to see who is designing the solution to a problem that continues to this day. Here, we share her first Print article—the one that started the conversation. [Update: Read Holmes-Miller’s 2016 follow-up here.] Black Designers: Missing in Action By Cheryl D. Miller The reasons there are so few blacks in the design field are complex and frustrating. But m

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Jun 27, 2016
2 min

Black and White: A Portfolio of 40 Statements (1969)

The author of a 30-year-old Print article on diversity, Cheryl D. Holmes-Miller, surveys the industry in our summer 2016 issue to see who is designing the solution to a problem that continues to this day. Here, we dig into the Print archives to share the articles that started the conversation. For more, visit www.printmag.com/summer-16 Black and White: A Portfolio of 40 Statements on a Single Theme PRINT July/August 1969 This, the fourth in a series of special issues in 1969

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Jun 21, 2016
3 min

Honoré Daumier: The Michelangelo of Caricature

“There is a lot of Michelangelo in that fellow,” observed realist author and playwright Honoré Balzac in reference to Honoré Daumier. As one of the better-known artists of the French Realism Movement, which took place from 1840 to the late nineteenth century and was an era of artists who honed in on real life often featuring commoners and laborers as their subjects, Daumier captured the moments of the time on a variety of mediums, including painting, lithography, sculpture, s

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Nov 18, 2014
7 min

When Euro Modernist Design Met American Chewing Gum

“Typography needs to be audible. Typography needs to be felt. Typography needs to be experienced.” Do you agree? Enter Print’s Typography & Lettering Awards today. If your list of early 20th century and modernist design heroes is confined to the usual suspects – Rand, Lustig, Sutnar, and such – you probably haven’t heard of Dorothy and Otis “Shep” Shepard. These pioneers of populist American Modernism have unjustly escaped mainstream critical recognition for well over a half-

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May 1, 2014
1 min

05/01/2014: Graphic Design History in Icons

This extensive survey of design from Brooklyn’s Pop Chart Lab breaks down design movements throughout history. It kicks off with Victorian design and continues through trends in modern design, including hand-crafted and flat design. Each depicts complicated design ideas with simple, black & white iconic squares. Posters are available for purchase here. Via Co.Design. #charts #handcrafteddesign #flatdesign #Victoriandesign #icons #stylisticsurvey #DesignHistory #posterdesign

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The Daily Heller: Keith Godard, Pioneer History Teacher, Dies

Where Does the Term ‘Graphic Designer’ Come From?

Punk for a Day: Graphic Design History and the Punk Aesthetic

Smithsonian’s Wonder Woman Collection is the Beginning

Batman Through the Years: the Changing Look of Batman

Vintage Restaurant Menu Design: We’re Still Hungry

Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine Finally Shuts Up

Celebrating Sputnik’s 60th: A Collection of Vintage Soviet Designs

22 Dr. Seuss Illustrations You’ve Probably Never Seen

Albrecht Dürer: The First Post-Modernist Designer

Nathan’s Famous 100-Year-Old Logo

Textiled

Comic Book History’s Most Regrettable Supervillains

The Graphic Design Work of Henri Matisse

Design History: Graphic Design in Southern Louisiana

Black Designers: Missing in Action (1987)

Black and White: A Portfolio of 40 Statements (1969)

Honoré Daumier: The Michelangelo of Caricature

When Euro Modernist Design Met American Chewing Gum

05/01/2014: Graphic Design History in Icons

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