6 May 2011
St Bride Library, London

The history of graphic design, a fairly young discipline, is slowly being written. How do topics emerge, what are the research methods and how do we make sure that knowledge is shared? Can we make design history a more active part of everyday graphic design practice? How can we question the existing biases of available histories? Does the field’s obsession with celebrity designers lead us to over-emphasise biographical narratives, to the detriment of collective or object-based histories? What are new forms of writing design history?

Speakers included practicing graphic designers as well as design historians, and will investigate the status of graphic design history today, with an emphasis on the making and using of it. The speakers reviewed the state of affairs, looking at where we are, and questioning where we could go next. With Christopher Burke, David Crowley, Rick Poynor, Sonia de Puineuf, Alston W. Purvis, David Reinfurt, Catherine de Smet and Teal Triggs. Organised by Sara De Bondt and Catherine de Smet.

Our reader on this history of graphic design, Graphic Design: History in the Writing (1983–2011) was launched at the conference.