Incomplet Design History

This episode examines the often-overlooked role of the mimeograph in the intertwined histories of print technology, graphic design, and social change. Emerging in the late nineteenth century through the innovations of Thomas Edison and Albert Blake Dick, the mimeograph offered an accessible, low-cost means of reproducing text and images—long before the advent of xerography or digital printing. Its...

Medieval heraldry, originally developed in 12th-century Europe, functioned as a complex system of visual identity. Initially created to distinguish individuals—particularly nobility—on the battlefield and in tournaments, heraldry evolved into a hereditary and legally significant tradition. These emblems, comprised of tinctures (colors), charges (symbols), and shield shapes, became early forerunner...

Cuban graphic design emerges as a vibrant and politically charged art form, reflecting the resilience and creativity of designers amidst challenging circumstances. Through a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of Cuban posters, this research illuminates the innovative techniques, visual languages, and ideological foundations that characterize the era’s influence on graphic design. The study no...

Underground newspapers of the 1960s and ’70s were central to the New Left and broader countercultural movements, serving as both platforms for dissent and vehicles of radical visual experimentation. Often dismissed by mainstream journalism due to their limited circulation, lack of professionalism, and overt bias, these publications were nonetheless vital expressions of political, social, and aesth...

In the aftermath of the Stonewall riots and amidst widespread societal hostility toward LGBTQ+ individuals, Drummer magazine emerged in 1975 as a bold act of resistance and cultural affirmation. Founded by John Embry and originally launched as a newsletter for the Homophile Effort for Legal Protection (H.E.L.P.), Drummer became a groundbreaking publication for gay men involved in leather and BDSM...

Willi Smith (1948–1987) was a trailblazing Black fashion designer celebrated for redefining casual fashion through his visionary "Street Couture." Born in Philadelphia, Smith showed early artistic promise, working as an illustrator and studying at the Philadelphia Museum of College Art. He attended Parsons School of Design on scholarships and apprenticed with Arnold Scaasi before working for brand...

This podcast episode delves into the critical role women have played in shaping the magazine industry through design, editorial leadership, and cultural influence. While season one spotlighted individual designers, this episode zooms out to explore the broader impact women have had on magazine evolution—from early European publications to today’s digital formats. It traces how magazines shifted fr...

Between 1557 and 1561, a group of women at the convent Santa Maria Maddalena alla Giudecca, known as The Convertite on Giudecca island in Venice ran one of the earliest female operated printing presses in early modern Europe. Unlike other women printers of the time – often widows inheriting their husbands’ shops – these women worked collectively from within an enclosed convent. They were not noble...

Kustom Kulture is the name for a subcultural movement from the 1950s and 60s in America. This movement included souping up cars to create hot rods and customizing cars into unique one-of-a-kind creations. These custom cars were an identity for the, usually, men that drove them. This movement has been called a distinctly masculine movement and is said to have died out when Detroit car manufacturers...

Jackie Ormes, an African-American cartoonist from Pennsylvania, was born on August 1st, 1911. Her father, William Winfield Jackson, owned and operated a printing business, and her mother, Mary Brown Jackson, was a homemaker.  As a teenager, Jackie published her first comics in her school’s yearbook as Monongahela High School’s Yearbook arts editor.  After graduating, she worked as a proofreader fo...

Tove Jansson (1914–2001) was a pioneering Finnish artist whose multifaceted career spanned painting, illustration, cartooning, and literature. Best known internationally for her creation of the Moomins , whimsical troll-like characters who first appeared in books and later in globally syndicated comic strips, Jansson’s legacy bridges the divide between “high” fine art and “low” commercial illustra...

REFERENCES Tucker, I. (Ed.)(2018). FF DOT: The pixel art of final fantasy . Dark Horse Books.  Hendrix, G. (2017). Paperbacks from hell: The twisted history of ‘70s and ‘80s horror fiction . Quirk Books. Chatziioannou, A. (2023). From ants to zombies: Six decades of video game horror . Bitmap Books. Gianni, G. (2017). Gary gianni’s monstermen and other scary stories . Dark Horse Books. Kochman, C....

Brummett Echohawk was a war hero, an artist, a writer, and a public speaker, and he was also a member of the Pawnee tribe, born in Oklahoma in 1922. Though he is well known for his contributions to the art world, he is less known for his contributions to the history of illustration and commercial art, he turned to these outlets throughout his life to successfully augment his income. Brummett Echoh...

REFERENCES White, R. (2003). Prehistoric Art: The Symbolic Journey of Humankind. Harry N. Abrams Inc.  Clottes, J. (2008). Cave Art. Phaidon Press Limited. 9780714845920 Neumayer, E. (1983). Prehistoric Indian Rock Paintings. Oxford University Press. 9780195613872 Ruspoli, M. (1987). The Cave of Lascaux: The Final Photographs. Harry N. Abrams Inc. 0810912678 Myron, R. (1964). Prehistoric Art. Pitm...

Art Nouveau was a stylistic movement in the late nineteenth century characterized by highly ornate and decorated designs. Inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, Celtic manuscripts, The Arts and Crafts Movement, and the development of the lithograph, Art Nouveau, or New Art, was applied to everything from architecture to biscuit tins. Though widely applied, posters that make up a great part of Art...

Capcom, a Japan-based maker of successful game properties, made a tremendous impact on the business of video games world wide, and helped usher in the current boom in Japanese-based visual media like manga and anime as much as fellow cultural exports like Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Speed Racer, and the Dragon Ball series.  The art team behind the bulk of Capcom’s fighting game imagery began in the late...

TIMELINE * A broad timeline spanning centuries is used to account for imprecise dates in the Ottoman Empire from multiple sources. 14th Century (1300s): The beginning of the Ottoman Empire. This period marks the initial blending of Islamic art with Byzantine and Persian styles, forming the basis for the unique Ottoman artistic and traditional geometric elements appearing as a symbol of Islamic art...

REFERENCES Witwer, M. & Newman, K., Peterson, J., Witwer, S. (2018). Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, A Visual History . Ten Speed Press. Seeley, S. & Seeley, T. (2015). The Art of He-Man and The Masters of The Universe . Dark Horse Books. Forster, B. & Sorenson, J. (2019). Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging . IDW Publishing. Farago, A. (2014). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Th...

Bio/ Background (intro) Directors: Ron Clements and John Musker  Intro (below) Topic 1 Introduction To my surprise, a number of people have never seen or heard of the movie “Treasure Planet.” In this  classic retelling of “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson,  the narrative was turned into an intergalactic adventure complete with cyborgs, space travel, and, of course, treasure. Disney’s “Tr...

Lynd Ward hits all my favorite aspects of the mercurial world of art and design. Here is the son of a leader of the Methodist Church whose work unabashedly depicts the underside of the Depression Era city and the undead creatures of gothic horror (often in the buff). His work embodies the height of graphic narrative and the depth of pulp chunkiness. The elite halls of the gallery and chummy confin...

José Guadalupe Posada was a Mexican illustrator who worked in lithography and engraving, he was a very prolific image maker who completed an estimated 20,000 illustrations in his lifetime, with themes ranging from Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead illustrations, political cartoons, popular illustrations, and daily life, as well as illustrations for “shocking” crime stories. He was also known t...

From its origins in the 1950s from the pages of books to software like MacDraw in the 1980s to CD Roms, and finally moving online in the 1990s, Clip Art’s evolution took place along with that of graphic design. Even though clip art was mostly created by unnamed designers and illustrators and sold in packages or libraries, there are many important figures we know of whose clip art contributed to th...

Most books, not all, but most, follow conventions of book design that have been in place for literally hundreds of years. With very few exceptions, it wasn’t until the 1960s when authors began to play around with story structure that there were any books that also played with the structure of the book itself. And it was later still that graphic design started adding another layer to the storytelli...

The History of Tarot decks intersects with symbology, or the study of symbols as well as their history, mass production of text and images, and popular culture, all of which are fields of study in the history of graphic design, and yet this subject has not been included in mainstream histories of design. Is this a reflection of the mystical, romanticized history of the cards, and one that implies...

The history of graphic design has traditionally skewed toward designers from white hegemony. Where white men (and some women) tend to fill the pages, webpages, and galleries that celebrate design. As humanity evolves, we must realize the value of making space for more diverse voices in the design world. This episode elevates Black designers who have successfully fought against the forces of white...