Some graphic forms are so ubiquitous today that it’s hard to remember that they were ever novel. But of course, there was a first time for everything.
A new and comprehensive visual survey of graphic design history, Graphic Classics, seems to capture nearly all of humanity’s major design firsts in a way that’s not Guttenberg Bible–dense, but rather Esquire mag–flippable (both are in the book).
Published by Phaidon and curated by its editors and external professional designers, this edition is an updated version of the 2017 book Graphic: 500 Designs that Matter. The 2024 edition adds 50 new entries, 40% of which are female or mixed female/male design teams, and 30% are from non-white or persons of color. Broadly, it beautifully captures 700 years of history with vibrant images of design work across artistic and design movements, across over 500 pages. It’s now available for $89.
Here, we excerpt five designs from the book that are such a part of everyday society today we wouldn’t blame if you if you forget they ever had to be designed in the first place.
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The below has been excerpted from Graphic Classics by Phaidon Editors. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved.
Venn diagram
Designed in 1880 by John Venn (1834-1923). Self-commissioned in the UK.
The Venn diagram is one of the best-known examples of how a simple form can be used to convey complex information. Devised to represent the similarities and differences between things and how they relate to one another, Venn diagrams appeal as much to the general public as to scholars.
The area inside each shape of a Venn diagram represents a different mathematical or logical set, with each shape arranged so that it intersects once with all the other shapes. The areas where the shapes overlap represent where the sets meet. In a simple example using two sets, one of the circles could represent “birds” and the other “hunters.” The area where the circle intersects represents all the birds that hunt, and could therefore include owls. A sheep, on the other hand, which is neither a bird nor a hunter, would fit into the space outside both circles. In this way, everything on a Venn diagram has a correct place.
The philosopher and mathematician John Venn was a fellow at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and published his work on diagrams in a paper of 1800. The most famous version of his diagram, three interlocking circles, was not new, and had been used as a symbol to represent the Holy Trinity in medieval times. Similar diagrams had been made before to illustrate the relationship between certain categories (such as Euler circles, invented by Leonard Euler), but Venn proposed creating a diagram with all possible combinations of a certain number of sets first, and then applying them to specific problems, sometimes blacking out areas that did not exist. He found that circles could be used to create two-set and three-set diagrams, and that ellipses could be arranged to make four-set ones. It was only in the 1980s that A.W. F. Edwards worked out a method for drawing Venn diagrams with any number of sets, which uses ever more complicated combinations of shapes as the number of sets increases.
Copyright symbol
Designed in 1909 in the U.S. Designer unknown.
The copyright symbol, used to indicate the existence of copyright on authored creative and artistic works other than sound recordings (which are indicated by a “P” in a circle), is one of the most recognized in the world, although the origins of its best-known format–a plain sans serif “C” enclosed within a circle of the same width–are obscure.
The symbol originated in U.S. copyright law, which was first enacted by Congress in 1790. The act protected the rights of authors to publish “maps, charts, and books” for a period of fourteen years, with the option of renewal for a further fourteen year term if the author remained alive. The act did not govern works of music, newspapers, or those of foreign authors, and only a very small number of published titles were ever registered. Strictly speaking, a work was only protected by US copyright law if it had a copyright notice, which consisted of three elements: the © symbol (or the word “Copyright” or abbreviation “Copr.”), the year of first publication, and the name or other designation of the copyright owner. Since 1988, when the U.S. became signatory to the Berne Convention, copyright has been automatic.
The copyright symbol was first mentioned in a 1909 revision of the U.S. copyright law, where it states that for various classes of artwork”… the notice may consist of the letter ‘C’ enclosed within a circle….” The symbol came into use because certain types of artwork were so small that including the full copyright term was impractical. Although the law prohibits deviations from this basic format, it does not specify a particular font, and the symbol can theoretically be created in any typeface. Moreover, in situations where it is not possible to create the correct format, the symbol is sometimes substituted by an upper- or lowercase “C” in brackets, but it is not clear whether the law recognizes such alternatives as legally valid. The classic form of the symbol as san serif “C” appears to be a convention that has developed over time. Its simplicity, clarity, and proportionally, especially when compared with other renderings, amply demonstrate why this version remains the standard and most popular.
Crossword puzzle
Designed in 1913 by Arthur Wynne (1862-1945). Commissioned by New York World, U.S.
The crossword puzzle was introduced to the world on December 21, 1913 by Arthur Wynne, a Liverpool journalist working in New York. Wynne is said to have developed the idea from the popular Victorian parlor game Magic Square, which he played with his grandfather, in which participants were required to fill a square with words that read both vertically and horizontally. Published in the entertainment section of New York World, for which Wynne was the “Fun” editor, the simple grid in the shape of a hollow diamond required readers to enter their answers to thirty-two clues. The demand for the puzzle immediately swept the U.S., and in 1924 the first book of crossword puzzles was published, which within weeks ran into many printings. A few months later, the now-familiar grid began to appear in advertising, as the subjects of popular songs on sheet music, and on postcards. The crossword even inspired dedicated magazines, such as Fad, Cross Word Puzzle Magazine, and Dell Crossword Puzzles.
In Britain, the first puzzle appeared in Pearson’s Magazine in February 1922, with The Times publishing an example for the first time on February 1, 1930. By 1925 Britain had produced a variation, the cryptic crossword puzzle, with devious and challenging clues that used quotations, metaphors, general knowledge, puns, and other wordplay. Many postcard publishers in both Britain and the U.S. (such as Raphael Tuck & Sons, Valentine & Sons, and Bamforth & Co.) featured on their cards artist-drawn comments on the craze, which by this time had spread to mainland Europe.
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Crosswords have retained their popularity, the original simple clues of 1913 having spawned many specialist variants, from philately to the London Underground. Crossword championships and timed competitions have also sprung up, and the familiar box, conventionally fifteen by fifteen squares in size, may now appear as a “gigantic” puzzle or take the shape of a circle, triangle, or another complex shape to increase the difficulty of solving the puzzle. The crossword, that curious teasing grid, has now become a standard feature of newspapers and magazines around the world.
US route shield
Designed in 1926 by Frank F. Rogers (1858-1942) et al. Commissioned by the Federal Government, U.S.
Rather than evolving through a coherent design program (as the British system did), American numbered highway signs developed haphazardly, with no coordinated scheme ever implemented nationwide. Although the black-and-white route shield is often thought of as the classic version, in reality variations across the country are common, with many states using the signs as an opportunity to add their own identifying characteristics.
The United States Numbered Highways (U.S. Highways) system numbers the roads and highways of the U.S. within a nationwide grid first introduced in 1926. The famous shield designed to mark them derived from a sketch by Frank F. Rogers, the Michigan State Highway Commissioner, which he based on the shield of the Great Seal of the United States. Originally, the letters “U.S.” appeared above the number, with a horizontal line and the name of the state at the top. The typeface used for the numerals was taken from a hand-drawn font that appeared in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, first published in 1935. Since then, this typeface has been revised several times, and today highway signs typically use the Series D version of Highway Gothic. The design specified in the manual also includes the black-and-white shield with rounded corners, but on the large green omit the black background, while California applies a simple black-line border in the shape of the shield and retains the letters “U.S.” in a hybrid version of the original. In the 1940s in particular, many states introduced additional symbols and pictograms, as well as map-shaped signs, creating numerous variations, and as the Interstate Highway System has gradually superseded the U.S. Highways, the classic black-and-white road sign has grown increasingly scarce.
With its appealing retro character (and now rarity), the original numbered road shield has become one of America’s most treasured national symbols, evoking the romance of the long-distance road trip, which holds a special place in modern U.S. mythology. Today, however, the sign is more likely to be found on items such as menus and albums than on the nation’s road.
Universal product code
Designed in 1973 by George J. Laurer (1925-2019). Commissioned by the National Association of Food Chains, U.S.
The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a barcode system originally used in North America that was invented for grocery checkouts. The first UPC-scanned item was a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum, purchased on June 26, 1974 in Troy, Ohio.
The Uniform Grocery Product Council was formed in the early 1970s to create a barcode that could be used with automated checkout systems to achieve greater efficiency. Even though automated checkouts were introduced in the early 1930s with the invention of a punch card, followed by a bull’s eye system patented in 1952, these ultimately proved impractical. The council hired consultants McKinsey & Company to define the UPC’s numerical format, and technology firms including IBM, Pitney Bowes-Alpex, and Singer to propose alternative ways of presenting the data in a symbolic form. In 1973 IBM’s design, created by one of its engineers, George J. Laurer, was selected as standard.
The UPC has twelve numerals (though variants, such as the international EAN barcode shown above, have between eleven and thirteen) and consists of a pair of left guard bars, a pair of right guard bars, and two standard guard bars in the center. Each numeral is represented by two bars and two spaces that vary in width according to the number coded, making a total of thirty bars and twenty-nine spaces. The first number on the left is always a system character–for example 0 (zero) denotes grocery items– with the remaining five numbers on the left identifying the manufacturer. The number on the far right is a check character, while those preceding it are specific to the product itself. The nominal symbol height of a UPC is 1 inch (2.59 cm), but this can be reduced or magnified by values ranging from 80 to 200 percent. In order to obtain optimum reliability in scanning, the bit pattern for each numeral is designed to be unique and requires black areas on both sides.
Today, the UPC is widely employed for other applications, in addition to its use in the retail industry. With its insistent stripes and digital numerals, the product has become an indispensable part of the modern world and is regularly appropriated as a symbol of the digital age.
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