Steven HellerFeb 24, 20181 minWeekend Heller: MoMA Acquires Typographic Op-EdsMoMA New York has acquired eight of The New York Times Op-Ed pages designed and art directed by Mirko Ilic created from 1992 to 1993 for their design collect...
Steven HellerFeb 23, 20181 minUniformly Awful UniformsSports uniforms have long been ugly. That so many people like to wear the jerseys and hats of their favorite teams has little to do with aesthetics, although...
Steven HellerFeb 22, 20181 minSetting Iran AflameBoxed matches did not set Iran ablaze when in January 1978 the revolution lit the way for the end of the Pahlavi (Shah of Iran) dynasty, but the artifacts co...
Steven HellerFeb 21, 20182 minW.A. Dwiggins Design DaddyI’ve had the good fortune to be part of the W.A. Dwiggins circle for more than three decades. And I’m privileged to have authored a foreword to the new book ...
Steven HellerFeb 20, 20181 minSelected Writing In TonguesSiglio Press gets my vote for publishing the best books combining avant garde art with graphic design and typography. Last year I gave a thumbs up to Vincent...
Steven HellerFeb 19, 20182 minConstructing Art From BooksPoul Lange, a collagist, has designed book jackets for more than three decades now (see poullange.com), and it is still one of his favorite graphic disciplin...
Steven HellerFeb 17, 20182 minWeekend Heller: Lithuania’s New National Font100 years ago yesterday, on February 16, the small Baltic nation Lithuania restored its independence. The Act of Reinstating Independence of Lithuania create...
Steven HellerFeb 16, 20183 minWhen Type Was DryThose of a certain age. My age and a few before and a bunch after were devotees of dry transfer lettering/type as well as benday, continuous line and other s...
Steven HellerFeb 15, 20181 minCrossing MAD AvenueMAD magazine was founded in 1952 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, first launched as a comic book and then after the Comics Authority C...
Steven HellerFeb 14, 20181 minGod On Whose Side?English cartoonist/illustrator Arthur Wragg (1903–1976) (featured last week) produced books on Christian Socialist themes mainly between the two World Wars. ...
Steven HellerFeb 13, 20181 minOaxaca’s Modern PosadasJosé Guadalupe Posada (1851–1913) was a Mexican engraver and printmaker known for his satirical and politically stinging calaveras. Deriving from the Spanish...
Steven HellerFeb 12, 20184 minA Typographic Detective TaleMarcel’s Letters by Carolyn Porter (Sky Horse Publishing, 2017) is part-memoir and part-detective tale about the creation of a type font and the twelve-year ...
Steven HellerFeb 10, 20181 minWeekend Heller: Those Posters!These days when we think Russia, we think election tampering, Putin authoritarianism and the future of peace and well-being. As a respite from the tension, t...
Steven HellerFeb 9, 20183 minA Legacy of Resistance and DissentSigns of Resistance: A Visual History of Protest in America (Artisan Books) by Bonnie Siegler is inspiring celebration of the right to dissent. “In the month...
Steven HellerFeb 8, 20182 minArthur Wragg: London’s Lynd WardArthur Wragg (1903-1976) was an artist, illustrator and social commentator using Christianity as his lens. In the 30s he conceived and illustrated Psalms fo...
Steven HellerFeb 7, 20181 minKinetic Snail MailWhat does it take for me—or anyone who commissions or buys design and illustration—to actually open a physical snail mail envelope these days? It either has ...
Steven HellerFeb 6, 20181 minPackaging Japanese StyleThe Japanese have long been masters of packaging design and production. Remember the influential book How To Wrap 5 Eggs? These package labels are more prosa...
Steven HellerFeb 6, 20181 minWeekend Heller: Print Goes UnprintAs many already know, Print is ceasing its printed magazine and retaining an online presence. Once there were many graphic design and printing arts journals ...
Steven HellerFeb 5, 20184 minBrain ChangeLaura Crawford was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Laura and I share the disease, but not the same symptoms or emotional responses. My symptoms are rath...
Steven HellerFeb 3, 20182 minWeekend Heller: The End Or A New Beginning?What will happen if the stable environment that has supported the aspirations of preceding generations over the last 10,000 plus years were to change and you...
