The publishing house Taschen has released a tremendous new book on early 20th-century graphic design. History of Graphic Design. Vol. 1, 1890–1959
Jules Chéret, French poster from the 1890s
This guy started it all. Jules Chéret was not only a brilliant poster designer, he provided the key that helped graphic design take off: In the 1890s he developed a technique to produce full-color prints with only a few print colors. His find made color printing affordable overnight.
Paul Pederneiras, Brazilian magazine cover from 1903
Next to posters, satirical magazines were among the early driving forces in graphic design. Stunning examples can be found almost everywhere in the world in the 1900s. One of my favorite journals is the Brazilian O Malho–it has amazingly progressive cover designs.
Alfred Leete, British magazine cover from 1914
We all know the iconic “I want you for U.S. Army” poster, with Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer. The concept is based on this cover from London Opinion magazine, issued in 1914 at the beginning of World War I. For me this is not only an early example of graphic design used for political means, but also shows how design ideas are syndicated globally (and often copied).
Wilhelm Deffke, German logotype from 1917
German designers were among the most innovative people in early graphic design. There are many examples; I’ve picked Wilhelm Deffke and one of his modern logos. Years before the Bauhaus was founded, he (and many of his contemporaries) already used modernist principles in his commercial works.
El Lissitzky, Russian book cover from 1927
In the 1920s avant-garde designers from many European countries as well as from Russia brought new stylistics to graphic design. One of these masterminds was El Lissitzky, whose cover designs combining typography and photography are timeless beauties.
Hannes Meyer, German postcard from 1929
The design of this postcard is just so brilliant. It was used to promote studies at Bauhaus saying,”Young people come to Bauhaus!” Today we need to look at other works from that time (of which there are many in the book) to get an idea of how new this layout using the cut-out hand and the small-caps type must have felt in 1929.
Domenico Chiaudrero, Italian poster from 1934
The book also covers some of the dark chapters of the 20th century, including the graphic design for fascistic regimes in Italy or Germany. This Italian poster promoting the “Duce,” Benito Mussolini, is a good example of how works can be graphically beautiful yet so dreadful.
Harry Beck, British infographic from 1933
Even as a graphic designer you sometimes forget that everyday graphics have been designed at some point. The London subway map is a brilliant example of that. Internationally when we use a subway, we use a map, and it is based originally on Harry Beck’s 1933 concept.
Ayao Yamana, Japanese magazine cover from 1937
For me this cover is the perfect symbiosis of Eastern and Western design aesthetics. Nippon was a journal to promote Japan abroad in the 1930s. It’s a great example of how global styles merge.
Alvin Lustig, American book cover from 1947
The postwar years were the heyday for modernism in the U.S., and Alvin Lustig was one of the maestros of this era. For me, his cover design for Tennessee William’s novel A Street Car Named Desire perfectly captures this moment of design history.
Cipe Pineless, American magazine cover from 1949
Austrian-born Cipe Pineless was among the designers to establish the function of an “Art Director” in the magazine business. In the 1940s and 1950s she has overseen the overall design of publications such as Seventeen or Charm and created fascinating covers and spreads.
Michel Robert, French poster from the 1950s
The 1950s was the last decade where illustration dominated poster design, before the reproduction of color photographs in poster size became possible and superseded drawings in this field. I personally favor the French poster designers; with their unique sense of humor used to promote even the strangest products.
Richard Paul Lohse, Swiss magazine cover from 1957
The grid-based cover concept for the architectural journal Bauen+Wohnen is to me a perfect example of what was later called the “Swiss Style” and evolved to the “International Style,” because it was adapted around the world. A neutral look, giving you the possibility to fully focus on the contents, created by a systematic use of typography and images keeps being a principle that can hardly be improved.
Lester Beall, American brand design manual from 1958
A little booklet for the General Life Insurance Company, summing up all the graphic standards developed by Lester Beall, was the first example of a modern design brand manual in 1958. It set the tone for the following decades where regularized corporate identity systems prevailed (one of the developments featured in the second volume of The History of Graphic Design).
Saul Bass, American opening title from 1955
Saul Bass was not only a pioneer in creating fascinating opening titles. He also realized that movies should be promoted like products, with a consistent visual identity. His work–including ads, record covers, posters, and the opening title–for Otto Preminger’s The Man with the Golden Arm set a new industry standard in 1955.
