Women in Graphic Design

Why do so few women feature in the history of design? Why is it still the case that so few women speak at conferences? How have previously celebrated female designers come to be “forgotten”? Are women judged today solely on the basis of their quality of work? In recent decades, female graphic designers have been working actively and successfully, but the longstanding identification of creative genius with masculinity has--with a few exceptions--prevented women from receiving recognition in the official annals of design history; even today, only a tiny percentage of active female designers enjoy public acclaim. This opulently illustrated volume sets out to repair this omission. Women in Graphic Design 1890–2012 presents the most significant female designers and traces their paths to professionalization and acclaim, through short biographies, essays and conversations with well-known contemporary female designers such as Irma Boom, Paula Scher, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Julia Hoffmann, “Swiss Miss” Tina Roth Eisenberg, Katja M. Becker, Anna Berkenbusch, Heike Grebin, Gisela Grosse, Miriam and Nina Lambert, Iris Utikal and Judith Grieshaber. Also included are key writings by contemporary and historical designers such as Paula Scher, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Natalia Goncharova, Ellen Lupton, Martha Scotford, Véronique Vienne, Astrid Stavro and Alissa Walker.