Draw Me Schools Of Commercial Art
December 15, 2008
In his most recent post for Design Observer, Steven Heller presents a brief history of commercial art correspondence schools.
A History of Aggressive Design Magazines
December 9, 2008
Steven Heller’ latest post for Design Observer takes a look at the evolution and history of design and art trade publications.
“Comrade, it needs more zeppelins’
December 6, 2008
Heller’ latest book Iron Fists: Branding the 20th Century Totalitarian State (Phaidon Books), reviewed by the National Post.
The “O” in Obama and design breakthrough to his presidency
December 4, 2008
A recap of the design presentation of the Obama presidential campaign by Sol Sender at the Art Directors club moderated by Steven Heller.
The ‘O’ in Obama
November 21, 2008
Steven Heller’s latest Campaign Stops blog post takes a look at the design of the Barack Obama logo through an interview with Sol Sender, the designer responsible for the campaign logo.
At the Invent-o-Drome
November 7, 2008
Heller reviews Bruce McCall’s latest book Marveltown for the New York Times Sunday Book Review.
In Praise of the Anthropomorphic
November 7, 2008
Steven Heller looks at the possibility of Anthropormorphism as being the next ’big thing‘ in illustration. Read his latest post for Design Observer here.
Give Your Logo Power Beyond Words
November 5, 2008
Steven Heller was asked to chime in an article written on BNET.com regarding the success of Barack Obama’ logo in his presidential campaign.
Icons of Graphic Design Italian Translation
November 3, 2008
Steven Heller and Mirko Ilic’s Icons of Graphic Design has been released in the Italian Translation from Logos Books.
Iron Fists at the 2008 Frankfurt Bookfair
October 31, 2008
Steven Heller’s latest book with Phaidon Press; Iron Fits: Branding the 20th Century Tolitarian State was featured nicely by Phaidon at the 2008 Frankfurt bookfair.
The Last Loving Parody of the First Family
October 21, 2008
Appearing in Issue 37 of Stop Smiling Magazine: The DC Issue, Steven Heller looks the The First Family, an sateric album from stand-up comic Vaughn Meader that took aim at the Kennedy administration. Read the article here.
This Election’s Poster Child
October 21, 2008
Steven Heller brings attention to a variety of different online organizations headed by designers and artists to create a visual campaign in support of Barack Obama, for his latest New York Times Campaign Stops blog post.
modernism 101: Design and Style: 7 Volume Set
October 20, 2008
The website modernism 101 is offering a complete set of the legendary Paper Promotion Design and Style from Mohawk Paper Mills and The Pushpin Group. Click here to learn more.
Breakdowns: A Review
October 14, 2008
In his latest post for Design Observer, Steven Heller reviews Art Spiegelman’ latest book Breakdowns.
Picturing Politics
October 10, 2008
Steven Heller will be taking part in the upcoming symposium Picturing Politics presented by the illustration program at Parsons The New School for Design on November 15, 2008. To learn more about the event, click here.
What’s in a website?
October 9, 2008
Steven Heller talks with seven interactive design experts and information architects in examining the Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s websites for his latest New York Times Campaign Stops blog post.
Go West, Young Art Director
October 1, 2008
Steven Heller takes a look at the inspirational and innovative work of the storied weekly supplement of the Los Angeles Times–West, art directed by Mike Salisbury. Read latest post for Design Observer and be sure to checkout the great slideshow of cover and editorial work archived as part of the post.
MFA in Social Documentary Film Launched
September 26, 2008
As part of the new programs committee at the School of Visual Arts, Steven Heller worked with Maro Chermayeff to help launch SocDoc.
(Real) Life in a Speech Balloon
September 20, 2008
Heller reviews Art Spiegelman’s first anthology of autobiographical and experi- mental comics—Breakdowns for Moment Magazine.
Drawing the V.P. Candidates
September 13, 2008
Steven Heller asked several political cartoonists and caricaturists to share their views on the presidential candidates running mates in his latest post for the New York Times Campaign Stops.
Un Sedicesimo
September 13, 2008
Steven Heller and Louise Fili have teamed up to produce the September/October 2008 issue of Un Sedicesimo, a gallery on paper, which proposes a new personal exhibition every two months, six times a year.
Where Have You Gone R. Cobb?
September 12, 2008
Steven Heller takes a look at the influential illustration and cartooning work of R. Cobb from the 1960s in his latest post for Design Observer.
Propaganda R Us
September 5, 2008
Heller talks with Studio360’ Kurt Anderson about his latest book In Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-Century Totalitarian State. Heller describes how four famous tyrannies (the Nazi party, Stalin, the Italian Fascists, and Mao's Communist Party) used architecture and design for propaganda and control. You can listen to the show at the Studio360 link or visit the Podcast page of this site.
Back Story With The Times’s Steven Heller
September 5, 2008
The Times’ Steven Heller on the design and theatrics behind the political conventions in Back Story. You can also access the same podcast on the Podcast Page of this site.
Objectify Me: Steven Heller on Paul Rand’s Can
September 5, 2008
Steven Heller looks at an early 1950s cigar can and graphic designed by Paul Rand for El Producto. Read his post on the Objectified blog.
Hack 2 School: Drom Drop Off
September 2, 2008
Heller presents his strategic steps to help parents and students make the dorm room move in as smooth as possible through design. Check out Heller’s plan of action in his post for Core 77’s Hack 2 School special edition.
The No-Frills Convention
August 28, 2008
The Republicans are taking a modest, stately approach to stagecraft in St. Paul. And that might be just what their voters want. Steven Heller takes a look at visual presentation of the RNC for his latest New York Times Campaign Stops post.
Canned Laughter
August 22, 2008
Branding of porta-potties for Design Observer.
Clipping Art, One Engraving At a Time
August 15, 2008
Heller takes a trip down memory lane in his latest Design Observer post after digging up several old Dover clip art books from his graphic library, in doing so looks at the history of clip art and it’s many uses.
ICON5 Podcasts are posted
August 11, 2008
Check out the podcasts from ICON5, Steven Heller interviews Gary Panter, James Jean, Mitch Nash, Stanley Hainsworth and Stephanie Plunkett.
Cover Stories
August 10, 2008
Steven Heller looks at how some authors not only get to accept or reject designs of their book covers, but also get to choose the designer in his latest essay for The New York Times Book Section. Heller looks at three designer/author relationships with great chemistry.
Designs on power
August 10, 2008
Steven Heller shows how Mao has far outlasted other 20th century dictators as a graphic icon in his country for the Los Angeles Times Op Ed section. You can view the article here, or download a copy.
2 More Reviews of Iron Fists
August 5, 2008
Esquire Magazine’s Book Blog gives a review of Heller’s Iron Fists: Branding the 20th Century Tolitarian State. IconEye also posted a reivew of the book today.
Vanity Fair Type: 1930 Style
August 1, 2008
Heller takes a look at the inspiring use of typography in Vanity Fair Magazine in the 1930s for Design Observer.
Commercial modernism Teague’s modernistic gem gave Kodak a distinct visual personality
July 30, 2008
The Summer 2008 issue of Eye, no. 68, goes ‘Beyond the canon’ to question and to enlarge the accepted pantheon of graphic design history; here Steven Heller reminds us of a forgotten ‘modernistic gem’.
Steven Heller interviewed on NY1
July 27, 2008
Steven Heller was interviewed by Sam Roberts of NY1 and talks about his latest book Iron Fits: Branding the 20th-Century Tolatarian State from Phaidon Press. You can watch the interview here or visit the Podcasts page of this site..
Iron Fists reviewed in The New York Times
July 25, 2008
Steven Heller's latest book Iron Fits: Branding the 20th-Century Tolatarian State from Phaidon Press is reviewed in the New York Times click here to download a copy of the review.
Photography changes the look and content of magazines
July 24, 2008
Steven Heller looks back at how photography changed the both the look and content of magazines for click! a project presented by the Smithsonian Photography Initiative.
Steven Heller and David Womack: The Good The Bad And The Ugly in Digital Design
July 24, 2008
David Womack and Steven Heller are interviewed by Johanna Lenader for Notes on Design regarding their latest book collaboration Becoming a Digital Designer from Wiley Press.
Stuck on Lapel Pins
July 14, 2008
Steven Heller asked several designers and illustrators to offer up suggestions for lapel pin concepts for presidential candidate Barack Obama in his latest NY Times Campain Stops post.
American Icons: Or How Trade Characters Rule the World
July 8, 2008
How did a former trademark become a powerful symbol for America? Heller ponders the branding of a nation in his latest post for AIGA Voice.
Design awards for museum publications
July 7, 2008
The School of Visual Arts won top honors in the AAM’s annual design competition for the poster for Steven Heller: The Masters Series, and three honorable mentions for the invite and catalog for that show, and the catalog for Click Chic: The Fine Art of Fashion Photography. Here’s an excerpt from the article in Museum magazine, which just came out:
The Master Series: Steven Heller, by the Visual Arts Museum at the School of Visual Arts, New York, won first prize for marketing in the less than $750,000 category. This timeline of the history of graphic design uses the spine of design books to represent each year. Rodney Williams declared, “It should hang on the walls of every graphic design class in the world.” He and the other judges also liked the way the design concept worked as a marketing piece and catalogue.
The wins put SVA in the company of National Gallery of Art, Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution and U.C. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive—among the other winners. The competition is the only national, juried event involving publications produced by museums of all kinds and sizes. The details can be viewed online.
The Design Entrepreneur
June 29,2008
Steven Heller and Lita Talarico have teamed up and co-authored a new upcoming book from Rockport books as part of their Design Field Guides series titled The Design Entrepreneur: Turning Graphic Design into Goods that Sell. The book will be on shelves in September of this year. Learn more and preorder here.
Best and Worst of the Web
June 26, 2008
Steven Heller joins a panel of 14 other design and interactive professsionals asked by Business Week to find out which website designs they rate and which ones they hate. Read their 10 commandments of design, and check out the slide show of the webs’ best and worst.
Be sure to also check out the podcast interview with Steve as he discusses the evolution of digital design and the challenges facing both those building Web-based businesses and those charged with designing them. You can also find the same media file on the Podcast page of this site.
How Not to Be Motivated
June 25, 2008
Can design nirvana be achieved through the motivational teachings of an uber-guru? Heller meditates on the matter in his latest post for AIGA Voice.
Branding Youth in the Totalitarian State
June 24, 2008
Steven Heller looks at the role that graphics and visual images played in communicating to a young auidence in Totalitarian Regiemes for Designe Observer for a piece that has been adapted from his upcoming book Iron Fists: Branding the Totalitarian State (Phaidon Press).
Ironweed
June 11, 2008
Read Steven Heller’s contribution of Ironweed by William Kennedy to the 2008 Coudal Partners Field Tested collection.
Gather ’Round Designers
June 11, 2008
Steven Heller blogs about the war of political memorabilia being offered by the candidates for NPRs Blog of the Nation.
Do Campaign Buttons Represent the Candidate?
June 11, 2008
Steven Heller talks about the plethora of political merchandise offered by the presidential candidates ‹ and what it says about them on NPR.
TypoBerlin YouTube interview with Steven Heller
June 5,2008
Thorsten Wulff has posted a video interview with Steven Heller at TypoBerlin 2008. Heller talks about his fabricated interview with Steve Jobs, his love for his new MacBook Air and what the impact that technology and specifically the Mac has had on the design community and industry.
Heller at TypoBerlin
June 1,2008
Steven Heller presents at TypoBerlin 2008.
Campaign Mementos
May 27,2008
Steven Heller invited a group of designers to create momentos for each of the presidential candiates that move past the cliched and sterotypical offerings of their website. Check out the conceptual and witty concepts presented in this lastest installment of the New York Times Campaing Stops.
O.H.W. Hadank: The Classicist Even a Modernist Could Love
May 22,2008
In another post for Design Observer, Steven Heller looks at the intricately crafted work of German Designer O.H.W. Hadank.
One Leg Leads to Another
May 21,2008
Steven Heller looks at the evolution of the human leg as a graphic framing device in design. Check out the 10 visual slide shows posted on Print Magazine's website.
enseñar & aprender diseño gráfico
May 20,2008
The Spanish translation of The Education of Graphic Designer has hit the shelves.
From Mousepads to Piggy Banks
May 4,2008
Steven Heller’ most recent New York Times Campaign Stops post takes a look at the presidential candidates’ merchandising efforts.
The Sky Is Falling
May 1,2008
Steven Heller takes a look at the visual history and interest surrounding the topic of “end game” or gloom and doom scenaiors for his most recent post on Design Observer.
McCain’s Optimum Look
April 21,2008
What can a type face say about a presidential candidate? Steven Heller talks with 14 different designers about Republican front runner John McCain's use of the font Optima his campaign. Read more at The New York Times Campaign Stops.
Missing Component
April 15,2008
Heller questions why restaurant critics do not take the opporutnity to give a nod to the element of visual design in a dining experience in his latest column for Metropolis Magazine.
Underground Mainstream
April 10,2008
Steven Heller tackles the complex topic of appropriation of avante garde design into mainstream works in his latest Design Observer piece.
The Spin Master
April 10,2008
In his lastest New York Times Campaign Stops column, Steven Heller talks to political brand master Jon Houston about what it takes to help steer candidates through the political gauntlet.
Al Gore's New Logo
April 6,2008
Steven Heller looks at the new logo for Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection in this weeks New York Times Week in Review.
To the Letter Born
April 2,2008
Steven Heller interviews Brian Collins, a branding expert on the design strategy being used by Barack Obama, in his latest New York Times Campaign Stops column.
Interview with Geotypografika
April 1,2008
Jenny Tondera of the blog Geotypografika interviews Steven Heller on “New Typography” and the influence of the Bauhaus in modernist design today.
Stephen Savage Illustration
March 31,2008
Illustrator, Stephen Savage will be the recipient of a gold medal at Society of Illustrators for his needlepoint portrait of Steven Heller. To learn more click here.
The Pursuit of Design: Cause/Effect, Design As Change Agent
March 26,2008
On December 15, 2007, Steven Heller along with a group of other designers and artists gathered at Parsons The New School for an event titled “Design As Change Agent” to discuss how design can be a powerful agent for change on both the local and global levels. Along with moderating the event, Heller gave a presentation titled “Intervention: The Design of Dissent.” You can view the video here.
Ron Paul's Graphics Revolution
March 25,2008
In his latest New York Times commentary on the 08 presidential campaign, Steven Heller looks at the DIY graphic efforts in favor of Republican candidate Ron Paul. Read the latest Campaign Stops post here.
The Magic of the Peace Symbol
March 24,2008
In his latest Design Observer post, Steven Heller gives a brief history of the peace symbol created by British textile designer, Gerald Holtom for use by England's Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) 50 years ago.
Drawing the Candidates
March 17,2008
Steven Heller looks at how the public preception of presdiential candidates can be impacted by caricatures and illustration. In his latest New York Times 2008 Campaing Stops Opinion post, Heller asked four illustrations: Barry Blitt, Steve Brodner, Anita Kunz, and Rick Meyerowitz to describe the most critical features of the 08 candidates.
Swastika Humor?
March 05,2008
In his most recent post for Design Observer, Steven Heller looks at cartoonist Sam Gross’ attempt of making light of the swastika used as the Nazi logo in his lastest collection of cartoons titled We Have Ways of Making You Laugh: 12 Funny Swastika Cartoons.
Selling the Sixties
February 27,2008
Steven Heller is featured in the BBC Film Selling the Sixties a documentary about how the advertising men and women of Madison Avenue came to prominence in the early 1960s.
Pretty Ugly
February 24,2008
In his latest Visuals column for The New York Times, Steven Heller reviews new visual books about the Mad magazine cartoonist Basil Wolverton; Hergé, the creator of Tintin; Times Square; and art deco in Havana.
You can also check out a narriated visual slide show of these books here.
The Mind of a Collector Video
February 23,2008
View the video from the 2007 Philoctetes Center roundtable discussion titled The Mind of the Collector with panelists Leah Dilworth, Eric Edelman, Steven Heller, Dorothy Globus, Bill Scanga and Tyler Volk.
Beyond Red, White and Blue
February 15,2008
Steven Heller chimes in for the New York Times Opinion section on truly unique campaign graphics versus the conventional imagery typically used.
Masters Series Exhibit Site
February 7,2008
A website covering the 2007 School of Visual Arts Masters Series honoring Steven Heller has been launched. You'll find videos from his contributors, photos of the exhbit and opening reception, as well as the interview with Michael Bierut and more.
Pre-ORDER Iron Fists
February 3, 2008
The long gestating book by Steven Heller is entering the birth canal. Pre-orders can be made at Amazon.com. In this upcoming book Iron Fists: Branding the totalitarian State, Steven Heller offers a historical analysis of totalitarian regimes through the lens of graphic design. The book describes how major dictatorships throughout history have used graphics and design to propagate their ideologies. From Mussolini to Nazi Germany to Lenin, totalitarian regimes maintain themselves in political power by means of propaganda (among other tactics) disseminated through the state-controlled mass media. Heller dissects these graphics using the language of contemporary branding.
The Hand is Back
January 30,2008
Steven Heller, talks about the overly popular return of hand lettering in his latest post for A Brief Message.com.
Symposium on Propaganda set for February 15
January 30,2008
Steven Heller, Stuart Ewen and Mary Jeys are organizers of WHERE THE TRUTH LIES, a symposium on Propaganda Today. Click here to register in advance.
Wilhelm Deffke: Modern Mark Maker
January 24,2008
In his latest post on Design Observer Steven Heller examines the work of designer Wilhelm Deffke.
Emigre Interview
January 23,2008
Steven Heller’s critical article "The Cult of the Ugly," published in the British design magazine Eye, has received (and is still receiving) more response than any other article published in Eye. In an interview first published in 1994 in Emigre #30, Michael Dooley speaks with Steven Heller about the impact of his article.
Panel Discussion on Humorous Illustration
January 18,2008
Steven Heller delivers the 10th Anniversary Jack Davis distinguished visiting artist lecture on March 6th at the Student Learning Center at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at The University of Georgia at Athens. For more inforamtion and directions email: artinfo@uga.edu.