No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism

The last thirty-five years have seen profound upheavals in the field of graphic communication. One by one, the old certainties about the techniques and purposes of graphic design have been questioned and torn apart. Jettisoning rules that no longer seemed relevant in the postmodern era, designers and typographers have reassessed their roles and forged experimental new approaches. No More Rules is the first wide-ranging critical survey to attempt to make sense of these international developments. No More Rules tells this story in detail, breaking down a broad and sometimes confusing field of graphic design activity into key developments and themes, such as the American new wave; punk and its aftermath; deconstructionist theory and design; the digital type revolution; typography grunge; graphic authorship and graphic agitation; retro and the vernacular; and recent new conceptual approaches to design. Each of the books key themes origins, deconstruction, appropriation, technology, authorship and opposition is illuminated by stunning examples of work that has changed the way in which designers and their audiences think about graphic communication.