Communicate: Independent British Graphic Design Since the Sixties

The aesthetics and spirit of popular culture have been increasingly relevant to British graphic designers over the past several decades. Communicate offers a fascinating selection of this innovative work, examining closely the influence of youth culture, pop music, and new wave aesthetics on graphic design during the 1960s and ever since.

Illustrated in full color, Communicate features 350 images that range from classic designs of the sixties to the work of today’s emerging design teams, including record album covers for groups including The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Roxy Music; political protest posters; psychedelic concert posters; typeface projects and signage; and designs for books, magazines, and film.

Focusing on work from small, independent studios where creativity, rather than the bottom line, is paramount, the book includes projects by some 60 outstanding designers including Derek Birdsall, Richard Hollis, Neville Brody, Why Not Associates, and Scott King. Contributors to the volume trace how and why British graphic design has developed as it has, and interviews with ten key designers—Julian House, Ian Anderson, and Margaret Calvert among them—provide unique insider views of the design world.

Rick Poynor is series editor of Monographics, published by Yale University Press. He founded Eye, the international review of graphic design, and was its editor from 1990 to 1997.