It’s History! How Graphic Design Inspires (and is inspired by) Historical Events

Brooklyn-based arts online magazine Hyperallergic takes a look at the new book “A Visual History of Graphic Design,” which shows how the evolution of graphic design lines up with various historical events. It includes numerous notable events that occurred between 1890 and 1959, including the founding of Pepsi in 1898, the formation of the Disney company in 1923 and the stock market crash in 1929.

For example, there’s a decade map of the 1940s — a time when the U.S. entered and ended World War II. War visuals seeped into popular culture, like how the poster for the 1942 film “Casablanca” adopted the visual language of war propaganda posters.

There’s also a spotlight on designers, companies or inventions that impacted each decade, like those of artistic designer Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and artist Alphonse Mucha in the 1800s.

The books shows a link between politics and design, such as how Brazil’s first color magazine popularized images directed specifically at the working class. It’s an intriguing premise overall and one that we’ve never seen presented so well visually. How do you think current events are or will influence graphic design?

Photo Credit: A Visual History of Graphic Design by Jens Müller and Julius Wiedemann