Steven Heller

Between the turn of the century and the late 1920s when the so-called "Object Poster" had reached a peak, the most effective posters were those that could be printed in both enlarged and reduced formats without sacrificing any essential visual information. Lucian Bernhard, father of the Object Poster (sachplakat) in Germany, was associated with the [...]

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Last year, Jan Wilker and Hjalti Karlsson of NYC's karlssonwilker inc. were asked to develop ideas to celebrate the launch of MINI's latest model the Coupe. One quite "self-serving" notion was to go on a road trip, through countries they wanted to explore, meet with creatives along the way, and take the various countries' "creative [...]

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As long as advertising has existed, advertisers have looked for places to affix their advertisements. Bananas were the big thing in the 90s. Thermometers were the big thing in the 30s. It was one place, among many, that a prospective consumer was certain to look. Here are a few French thermomads (my coinage).

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These simple silk-screened signs from the late 1930s or early 1940s say a lot about the English language and American mores of the times. In just a few words one can guess what kind of establishment (cafe/bar) it was and even speculate as to the clientele. And questions are asked to: Why are ladies not [...]

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Designers are looking for ways in which to incorporate meaningful social impact work into their practices. Colleges are responding to student demand that social issues be taught in the design curriculum and recent graduates are attempting to find jobs that balance social change with earning a living. SVA's Impact / Design for Social Change (the [...]

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"Clang, clang, clang" went the Lino...type "Ding, ding, ding" went the bell "Zing, zing, zing" slid the copy At the moment I typed it, it fell "Chug, chug, chug" went the motor "Bump, bump, bump" rang the lead "Thump, thump, thump" went the matrices When it molded, I could see the type fed "Buzz, buzz, [...]

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The Daily Heller's resident comics maestro, Robert Grossman, offers up some fresh off the vine commentaries.

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A few years back (2003 to be exact) I wrote a story in Print on The NSK State, created in 1992 by the Slovene arts collective Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK), which included the groups Laibach, IRWIN, Noordung, New Collectivism and the Department of Pure and Applied Philosophy. Their trope was needle-sharp parody of Communist and [...]

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Raise your free hand if you still use Macromedia's FreeHand. There was a time when lots of illustrators and designers relied on this vector program. Then it went the way of old Las Vegas neon. The lights are flickering. Adobe, who bought out Macromedia is still selling the program but has no plans to support [...]

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Steam Punk is the retro fitting of retro fits. It is ironic nostalgia for the Victorian past - the complexity of old steam-run machinery. The great turbines that ran the early technologies are now mere chips. But one thing remains the same: Steam furnaces. They may look a bit more sleek - more like refrigerators [...]

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