Graphic design, the carefully planned arrangement of visual images and printed text, can convey both meaning and message. As they tempt consumers, communicate political messages, and reflect social concerns, these boldly crafted, iconic images have been among mankind’s most effective forms of communication.
“Graphic Design—Get the Message!” looks at graphic design in four themed areas: typography and early printing, commerce and graphic design, political and social messages, and the creative process. Through the use of posters, broadsides, package designs, paintings, decorative arts, historical photographs, and interactive computer programs, these themes address topics such as technology and innovation, manufacturing and commercial growth, changing aesthetics, typography, designers and the growth of the design profession, and social and political expression in graphic work.
Graphic designs, objects, and the history of design work from the Albany area will be used to address broader issues of national and international significance. As it examines technological, commercial, aesthetic, and social factors, “Graphic Design—Get the Message!” reveals not only how the field has changed over the years, but also how it has changed us.
This exhibition and public programs are funded by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. Exhibition planning was funded by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities.
