A New Program for Graphic Design

A toolkit for visual literacy in the 21st century

Published with Inventory Press.

A New Program for Graphic Design is the first communication-design textbook expressly of and for the 21st century. Three courses―Typography, Gestalt and Interface―provide the foundation of this book.

Through a series of in-depth historical case studies (from Benjamin Franklin to the Macintosh computer) and assignments that progressively build in complexity, A New Program for Graphic Design serves as a practical guide both for designers and for undergraduate students coming from a range of other disciplines. Synthesizing the pragmatic with the experimental, and drawing on the work of Max Bill, Beatrice Warde, Muriel Cooper and Stewart Brand (among many others), it builds upon mid- to late-20th-century pedagogical models to convey contemporary design principles in an understandable form for students of all levels―treating graphic design as a liberal art that informs the dissemination of knowledge across all disciplines. For those seeking to understand and shape our increasingly networked world of information, this guide to visual literacy is an indispensable tool.

David Reinfurt (born 1971), a graphic designer, writer and educator, reestablished the Typography Studio at Princeton University and introduced the study of graphic design. Previously, he held positions at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University School of Art. As a cofounder of O-R-G inc. (2000), Dexter Sinister (2006) and the Serving Library (2012), Reinfurt has been involved in several studios that have reimagined graphic design, publishing and archiving in the 21st century. He was the lead designer for the New York City MTA Metrocard vending machine interface, still in use today. His work is included in the collections of the Walker Art Center, Whitney Museum of American Art, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. He is the co-author of Muriel Cooper (MIT Press, 2017), a book about the pioneering designer.

David Reinfurt‘s new book provides ... in depth access to a historical analysis, exquisite close-focus portraits of multi-talented creative makers past and present, alongside his own research and examples of his class assignments. This intelligent book contains new insights regarding graphic design history, thought, and practice. This book is a reminder of Walt Whitman’s call for "a force infusion of intellect" to confront the future. (Sheila Levrant De Bretteville Director, Yale University Graduate Program in Graphic Design)

At a moment of tremendous technological and cultural change, David Reinfurt makes the case that graphic design is not merely a craft, but a fundamental way to understand and engage with the world. Discursive, expansive, and inspiring, this book redefines its subject and provides an indispensable guide to how it might be practiced. (Michael Bierut Partner, Pentagram New York)