THE Book, Updated: Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, 4th Edition

Respected, important reference sports new look, timely update; still the essential reference to our tribe’s history

I have always felt, since I started learning the discipline, that graphic designers are a tribe. We see and recoginize our own, we communicate in our own language, we have a way of looking at the world that is rather different from any other.

To students of graphic design (both in and out of school), Philip B. Meggs (1942-2002) needs no introduction (but in case you do need to be introduced, Steven Heller will do so on the AIGA page on him here). Every tribe needs an awareness of its history, and he gave us ours.

The History of a History

A History of Graphic Design, first published in 1983, was described by the late Meggs as an attempt “to chronicle the evolultion of graphic design”, “the author’s personal diary of discovery compiled over a decade of research”. As they say, easier said than done, but Meggs did it; through three editions (the third was published in 1997 ,and was reviewed by Designorati here).

In that time the History has become a standard reference, the only real comprehensive history of graphic design of which we are aware, and known to design students nationwide: Catholic in scope and appeal, it has become the text of design and art history courses in schools from Art Institutes to local community colleges from coast to coast and has earned wide acclaim.

The problem with history is that it moves on, and while any history may be relevant in the main, to stay completely current, updates are required. Nearly a decade of developments in design, a great deal in the digital arts, have occurred. With this in mind, Wiley & Sons have retitled the work Meggs’ History of Graphic Deisgn and passed the authorial torch on to Alston W. Purvis, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Rutgers University. With a history of fine arts instruction and books to his credit such as Dutch Graphic Design:1918-1945 (Wiley, pub), Wendingen: A Journal of Arts 1918-1932, and co-author of Graphic Design 20th Century: A Century of Posters..

To this continuing student of design, the credentials certainly look good. Is the update worth having, though?

The State of The Art

In a word, yes. Those who value the book will find the approach familiar and the obviously-updated information necessary (the final chapter, formerly titled “The Digital Revolution” is now titled “The Digital Revolution and Beyond”). Purvis may have made some changes in the text and illustrations selected and added new illustrations, but his updating shows utmost respect for the work that was done before, down to the general layout and grid. This wheel needed no major reinvention.

Indeed, the most obvious change in the book is the inspired choice of a new typeface (aside from the redesigned cover), which looks to be a variety of Frutiger. This replaces the 8.5/12 Helevetica Neue 55 used for body copy that the Third Edition employed, improving readability greatly, and making this accessable history even more so.

The new information and illustrations brings the chronicle complete to the years 2002-present, keeping this reference current and important.

Knowing Your Past Improves Your Future

At the top of this article I noted my impression that graphic designers were a tribe. For any group, knowledge of thier past tends to enable their future; being aware of what informs our discipline contributes to understanding why we do what we do now and why we don’t; a clear course requires a starting point as well as an ending point.

This is why Meggs book became important and why it remains so. As Meggs himself said in the Preface to the first edition:

These words remain as apt and timely as the day they were written, and thanks to Wiley and author Purvis, the work looks to remain relevant and current. It, still, is a must-have book for any graphic designer’s shelf.

By The Numbers:

• Title: Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, 4th Edition
• By: Philip B. Meggs, Alston W. Purvis
• Publisher: Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2006
• ISBN: 0-471-69902-0; 592 pages
• Street Price: $75
• Availability: Purchase from Amazon.com via this link; Wiley books are available at your local bookstore or by calling 1-800-225-5945. In Canada, 1-800-567-4797.
• Bottom line: Always a valuable reference, improved by updating and by a gentle, subtle, and respectful redesign. Remains the only book of its kind worth having, and the best historical reference currently existing for the discipline.