A toolkit for visual literacy in the 21st century
A New Program for Graphic Design is the first communication-design
textbook expressly of and for the 21st century. Three
courses--Typography, Gestalt and Interface--provide the foundation of
this book.
Through a series of in-depth historical case studies (from Benjamin
Franklin to the Macintosh computer) and assignments that progressively
build in complexity, A New Program for Graphic Design serves as a
practical guide both for designers and for undergraduate students coming
from a range of other disciplines. Synthesizing the pragmatic with the
experimental, and drawing on the work of Max Bill, Beatrice Warde,
Muriel Cooper and Stewart Brand (among many others), it builds upon mid-
to late-20th-century pedagogical models to convey contemporary design
principles in an understandable form for students of all
levels--treating graphic design as a liberal art that informs the
dissemination of knowledge across all disciplines. For those seeking to
understand and shape our increasingly networked world of information,
this guide to visual literacy is an indispensable tool.
David Reinfurt (born 1971), a graphic designer, writer and educator,
reestablished the Typography Studio at Princeton University and
introduced the study of graphic design. Previously, he held positions at
Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and
Preservation, Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University School
of Art. As a cofounder of O-R-G inc. (2000), Dexter Sinister (2006) and
the Serving Library (2012), Reinfurt has been involved in several
studios that have reimagined graphic design, publishing and archiving in
the 21st century. He was the lead designer for the New York City MTA
Metrocard vending machine interface, still in use today. His work is
included in the collections of the Walker Art Center, Whitney Museum of
American Art, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the Museum of
Modern Art. He is the co-author of Muriel Cooper (MIT Press, 2017), a
book about the pioneering designer.
