Category: Essays

Steven Heller|Essays

The Ink Revolution of Jason S. Logan

Jason S. Logan is imagining a revolution for natural, place-based ink that is equivalent to what Alice Waters did for food.

Jessica Helfand|Essays

The Look of Freedom

It was the American novelist William Faulkner who once observed that we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. So who am I to take issue with more contemporary interpretations of commemorative form?

Adrian Shaughnessy|Essays

The Politics of Desire and Looting

The part designers have played in the London riots.

Steven Heller|Essays

Should A Designer Be Judged By Ideology?

Should designers and illustrators be judged harshly for choosing to make art on the wrong side of history?

Mary Badon|Essays

Red Light, Green Light: The Invention of the Traffic Signal

The traffic light — invented in 1912 by a policeman in Detroit — has radically impacted the way transportation rules have developed over the past 100 years, all over the world.

Justine Jablonska|Essays

A Peek Into Poster House

Ten posters from the Poster House collection, selected by Chief Curator Angelina Lippert.

Steven Heller|Essays

Happiness of Chalk Talk

“Drawn lines are simple things in themselves, yet what power of expression in a few of them appropriately combined!”

James Cartwright|Essays

Flipping the Script

How two progressive organizations, Tactical 2017 and Flippable, use open-source data and strategic voting, and why that might dictate the future of our elections.

Steven Heller|Essays

Cleaning Up Sanitation

The story of New York City’s Sanitation Department, the vanilla trucks, and the lower case Helvetica.

Kathleen Meaney|Essays

Wing It: Testing Out Exhibit Design Using Virtual Reality

The field of environmental (or experiential) graphic design is young and on fire.

Steven Heller|Essays

A Bee C: Paul Rand’s Bee Fixation

The 1981 Eye-Bee-M rebus is Paul Rand’s most iconic poster.

Steven Heller|Essays

A Short Definition of Timelessness

Time may be concrete and abstract, but in terms of design, timelessness is imposed. It is a critical and subjective, yet generally agreed upon label for style—or lack of style.