This critical study of graphic design and typography is a source for anyonenterested in the art and history of books, letterforms, symbols, advertising,nd theories of visual and verbal communication. A section on theoryonsiders the centrality of the written and printed word toost-structuralism and deconstruction. A wide range of design practices areiscussed, from the history of punctuation and the origins of internationalictograms to the structure of modern typography. A section on media looks athe role of design in mass communications with essays on stock photography,isual journalism, illustration, advertising and vernacular design cultures.;he book closes with history, a section organised as a time line spanning 200ears of design in America. These historical case studies show how the modernrofession of graphic design emerged in response to cultural, political andconomic developments in the US.