Respected author, academic and design thinker, Victor Margolin chats with Russell Kennedy, Icograda President 2009-2011, about future directions in design and his forthcoming book on the history of design.

Victor Margolin is Professor Emeritus of Design History at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on design. During the interview, Victor shared some interesting thoughts on the role of design in society and the immediate need for design advocacy and big picture thinking.

Above: Victor and Russell in Beijing (China). Photograph by Brett Jones.

“Designers have to be much stronger advocates for what they believe should be designed and they have to work harder to persuade those with capital to invest in their projects.”

- Victor Margolin 2010

Russell Kennedy: You are currently working on a book, which is believed to be the definitive book on the history of design. What is the book called and how does it differ form others on the subject?

Victor Margolin: The book is titled ‘World History of Design’ and it is truly a world history with significant attention devoted to all parts of the world. I write a lot about Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Near and Middle East, and the Commonwealth countries. The history of design in these regions has not been well covered in larger histories although books and articles on individual countries do exist in various languages. My intention is to explain how product and graphic design have developed in all parts of the world from the beginning of culture until today. Such a history is necessary because design is not practised internationally and everyone needs to find their own precedents in a widely conceived historical narrative. Although my book will be the first to cover design on a world scale, others will surely follow.

RK: Are the terms graphic design and communication design inter-changeable for you? If not, how do you distinguish between the two?

VM: For many people communication design has supplanted graphic design. The former term arose from a description of the practice while the latter speaks more to a sense of purpose or what graphic design is for.

RK: How has the practise of graphic design/communication design evolved over its short history?

VM: Actually the history of graphic communication begins with the creation of the first alphabets. Thus, it has a long history. In my book, I write about the history of alphabets, the development of printing and the design of typography, the history of public notices and other forms that extend quite far back through history. I am not the first to do this, however. Philip Meggs in his ‘History of Graphic Design’ set a precedent for this broad approach to graphic design history although he did not cover all parts of the world.

RK: How will graphic design/communication design evolve in the future?

VM: Of course, the internet has become quite important. I would like to think, however, that print will remain a significant part of culture. The folks who are proposing Kindles, iPads, and other forms of e-readers don’t seem to have a deep sense of culture that can position these devices within the broader sphere of reading. Technology and techies are driving a lot of cultural change and I am concerned that there is not enough informed discussion of what this means. So a lot of graphic designers are designing for the web, for video games, for computer apps and so forth. However, I believe that a place should remain for more traditional print design with high graphic and typographic standards. (more…)

Source: Icograda

« Previous Article Next Article »