Lmst

Before the era of computer graphics, the visual identity of cities was crafted by sign painters whose handmade signs are now largely anonymous. In this article (in Turkish), I trace the forgotten vernacular heritage of Bursa by documenting the lives and works of key sign painters through archives and interviews with their families, securing their place in our national graphic design history.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.55004/tykhe.1192452

#GraphicDesignHistory #SignPainting #VernacularTypography #Bursa

1958 Swissair to the Mediterranean
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#Swissair #VintageTravelPoster #AirlineAdvertising #MidCenturyModern #AviationArt #TravelPoster #GraphicDesignHistory #MediterraneanTravel #Aviation #Avgeek

This is a vintage Swissair travel poster with a bold blue background. Large white lettering at the top reads “SWISSAIR,” with smaller gold text below stating “to the Mediterranean.” The central image is a stylized illustration of two classical columns with pink and white shafts and scroll-shaped capitals, suggesting ancient Mediterranean architecture. Between and behind the columns are brightly colored triangular shapes resembling sails or rooftops in magenta, orange, and blue, set above a narrow band of sea. Near the top right, a small jet aircraft with a red tail is shown flying horizontally across the sky. The overall design is graphic and modernist, using simplified forms and strong color contrasts typical of mid-20th-century airline advertising.

1969 Come to Chevron Island Advertisement
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#VintageAd #1960sAdvertising #AviationHistory #Chevron #StandardOil #AviationOil #PrintAdvertising #MarketingHistory #IslandAesthetic #ClassicAds #GraphicDesignHistory #Avgeek #retro #vintage

This vintage advertisement—likely from the 1960s—promotes Chevron’s aviation oils using a tropical, fantasy-island theme. The illustration features a smiling woman in stylized Polynesian-inspired attire, posed in front of palm trees and a brightly colored sky. Above her, a small propeller aircraft flies past a Chevron Dealer sign. The headline reads “Come to Chevron Island!” followed by the tagline “the natives are friendly… the oil the greatest.” The ad uses tropes common in mid-20th-century marketing, blending exoticized imagery with product claims about RPM Aviation Oil’s performance in flight tests. The bottom section includes Chevron and Standard Oil of California branding, framed as an appeal to pilots and aircraft owners.

EL AL Israel travel poster for Greece, 1965.
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#Avgeek #VintageTravelPoster #ELAL #Athens #Parthenon #Acropolis #Travel #AirlineHistory #TravelPoster #Art #AviationHeritage #GraphicDesignHistory #IsraelAirlines #VintageAdvertising #Graphics

Worlds Aids Day
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In 1987, the
Silence = Death poster was created by a New York-based group of artists to protest the U.S. government's inaction on the AIDS epidemic, which they saw as a result of government and societal silence.
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#AIDSActivism #SilenceEqualsDeath #PinkTriangle #LGBTQHistory #AIDSCrisis #ActivistPoster #1980sDesign #VisualProtest #PublicHealthAdvocacy #PoliticalArt #QueerHistory #GraphicDesignHistory #SocialJusticeArt #HistoricalPoster #worldaidsday

The image is a poster with a solid black background featuring a centered pink triangle oriented with the point upward. Beneath the triangle, in large white block letters spanning the width of the poster, is the text “SILENCE = DEATH.” Along the bottom margin, in small white text, is a line of messaging that references political inaction regarding the AIDS crisis, including mentions of the Reagan administration, the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Vatican. It states that gays and lesbians are not expendable and urges actions such as voting, boycotting, and self-defense. A small copyright notice at the bottom right identifies the creators as the “Silence = Death Project” with a date of 1987.

Many thanks to Kerr Houston and BmoreArt for the thoughtful review of Meggs' History of Graphic Design, 7ed.! We greatly value criticism and are pleased folks are talking about the transformation of the new edition.

https://bmoreart.com/2025/11/charting-the-sea-meggs-history-of-graphic-design.html

#graphicdesign #graphicdesignhistory #designhistory #mhogd7ed #designwriting #designcriticism

Well, isn't this something. Many thanks to Cheryl D. Holmes Miller, DHL for her kind and insightful thoughts about the new 7th edition. It has been quite a journey and getting feedback is a great reward. https://www.printmag.com/design-education/meggs-history-of-graphic-design-7th-edition-reforms-the-canon/

#graphicdesign #graphicdesignhistory #designhistory #designwriting

Friends~ I have a hopefully small request. We are very soon after the launch of Meggs' 7ed. and understand a lotta folks haven't had a chance to dive into the book. That said, if you have early impressions and/or fully formed opinions (good, bad, or indifferent) we'd be grateful if you would submit a review to Amazon. Thank you!

#graphicdesign #graphicdesignhistory #designhistory #designwriting

That last post from @Lfaimagebot is from 1925 and has some stunning layouts
https://oa.letterformarchive.org/item?workID=lfa_bauhaus_0008&targPic=lfa_bauhaus_0008_001.jpg

#graphicDesign #GraphicDesignHistory #bauhaus #photography

The image shows an open book page with a layout divided into sections, featuring text and illustrations related to urban dynamics and film. The left page is titled "L. MOHOLY-NAGY: DYNAMIK DER GROSS-STADT" and includes a photograph of a construction site, labeled "Das Festenpunt-Finanzkonstruktion." It also features a diagram with arrows and text, such as "Kran bei Hausbau in Bewegung von unten Aufnahme von oben" and "Ziegelauflauf: Wieder Kran in Kreisbewegung." The right page is titled "TEMPO TEMPO TEMPO" and includes a photograph of a tower, with text discussing the rhythm of city life. It also features a diagram with numbered arrows, illustrating the movement of trains at a train station. The page numbers are visible at the bottom left corner, indicating page 116.

The image shows an open book with two pages, numbered 118 and 119. The left page features a black and white photograph of a dimly lit room with a single light source, accompanied by the word "Finsternis" (darkness) and a description of "Lagerräume und Keller" (storage rooms and cellars). The right page contains a drawing of a cat with its mouth open, labeled "Ein Luchs wohnt" (A lynx lives). It also includes a diagram with arrows and the text "Po-PO-o-o-TEMPO," along with a grid with numbers and the phrase "Das Gesicht des Telefons" (The face of the telephone). The text is in German, and the overall layout is structured with black lines and text boxes.

The image shows an open book page with a black and white layout. The left page features a grid of six images, each labeled with German text. The top left image shows a trapeze artist, labeled "TEMPO-O-O Zirkus von oben, fast Grundriss." Below it, a woman riding an elephant is labeled "Zirkus Dressur." The middle left image shows a clown, labeled "Clown," and the middle right image shows a girl on a trapeze, labeled "Zirkus Beine Mädchen, Synyze Clowns." The bottom left image shows a lion, labeled "Lowen Loweni," and the bottom right image shows a dressur scene, labeled "Dressur."

The right page features a large image of a scorpion-like creature, framed in black, with the text "wassersfall droht. Der SPRECHENDE FILM. Eine Leiche schwimmt im Wasser, ganz langsam." The text "DAS GANZE EINMAL RASCH DURCHLESEN" is vertically aligned on the right side, and "KURZ-RASCH" is at the bottom, with "ENDE" and the number "129" at the bottom right corner.

The image shows an open book with two pages visible. The left page is numbered 72 and the right page is numbered 73. The text is in German and discusses Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack's "Reflektorischen Farbenspiele" (Reflective Color Games). The text is divided into sections, with the title "LUDWIG HIRSCHFELD-MACK schreibt zu seiner 'PARTITUR der 'REFLEKTORISCHEN FARBENSPIELE'" prominently displayed at the top. The content includes detailed descriptions of the development of reflective colors, their application in art, and the technical aspects of creating these color games. The text is structured with paragraphs and includes references to other works, such as Albert Schröter's annotations. The right page continues the discussion, mentioning the use of music, lamps, and screens in the creation of these color games. The text is dense and technical, with a focus on the artistic and scientific aspects of Hirschfeld-Mack's work.

With new book finally released, I’m having a lot of feels, but mostly this. More to come… https://youtu.be/_HEkxxhUlxs?si=wAf5xH2T2VW4_xuW

#mhogd7ed #graphicdesign #designhistory #graphicdesignhistory #meggs

It's a book! Delivered at 12:09pm and weighing in at just shy of 100lbs. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design 7ed. is finally here! Expect many photos soon.
#rgaphicdesign #graphicdesignhistory #designwriting #designhistory #mhogd7ed

stack of boxes containing books from publisher

close up of labels on boxes with Megg’s History of Graphic Design 7e printed on them

After 5.5 and a half years of work, tomorrow we'll finally see and hold the sum of countless conversations, hours of looking / reading / writing, days of designing, and years of working with and redefining purpose. It will be thrilling and a fair amount terrifying to finally page through Meggs' History of Graphic Design, 7ed. Looking forward to introducing you all to what we've made soon. #mhogd7ed #graphicdesign #graphicdesignhistory #designhistory #meggs

I really want a copy of this: Octavo Redux 1:1 from Unit Editions
Hamish Muir's and Mark Holt's amazing Octavo magazine. It was already legendary when studying back in the early 90s. I saw Hamish talking about the 'mac style' and how prior to DTP the layering effect was colored blocks of type on glass, hung and photographed. I also remember something about one issue being an 8 color job, but all variants of black. #graphicDesign #GraphicDesignHistory

https://uniteditions.com/products/octavo-redux

Spread from book, showing a spread from Octavo magazine. It has lots of layered type in a variety of colors and blocks of type and color.

Spread from book, showing a same spread from Octavo magazine as other image. This time it is showing the print production markup for the page design

From our production specialist: “I have no revisions or questions concerning your book, and I am moving on to the next stage.” Meggs’ History of Graphic Design goes to print today! Supposed to arrive at store by end of September. #mhogd7ed #designhistory #graphicdesignhistory #graphicdesign

Introducing Representing! "Drawings, trademarks, custom fonts, patterns and symbolic images can be used to embody people, places, products, services and ideas." Spanning 27,000 years, this chapter documents the use of visual signs depicting individuals, groups, organizations, countries, and concepts.

#designhistory #graphicdesignhistory #mhogd7ed #graphicdesign #bookdesign #designeducation

Meet Mobilizing. "In a visual culture, graphic design is an influential social medium. Throughout history, and especially in times of conflict, graphic designers have created posters, newspapers, and other graphics to recruit, boost morale, protest ideologies, or mobilize support...Using symbols, narrative images, bold typography, and other techniques, designers have changed the minds of audiences with all types of persuasive media."

#graphicdesign #graphicdesignhistory #designhistory #mhogd7ed

We would like to introduce you to the 7th ed. of Meggs' History of Graphic Design.

Meet Exalting. We have restructured the book with chapters demonstrating motivations (themes) of why we create graphic design. Many people and movements now occupy multiple chapters reflecting their complexity. We invite readers to question the ways these works have been categorized and consider what alternative themes they might represent.

#graphicdesign #graphicdesignhistory #designhistory #mhogd7ed

Exalting opening spread from the 7ed. of Meggs' History of Graphic Design.

My eyes are melting. Been typesetting 30 pages of bibliography for 2 days straight. Working like hell to get it complete today. Oof. #graphicdesign #typography #pagelayout #typesetting #designhistory #graphicdesignhistory

We are thrilled to share the final Table of Contents for the soon-to-be-released 7th ed. of Meggs' History of Graphic Design. Page design is nearly complete for all 500 pages and are doing prepress with final files being sent to print in the next couple weeks.

There is so much to share about the new edition, but we'll wait for proper introductions until after we ship all the final files.

Stay tuned!

#graphicdesign #graphicdesignhistory #designhistory #mhogd7ed