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Theo Inglis takes us on a visual journey of Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design

The pioneering movement of mid-century modern design that captured the post-war zeitgeist of energy and progress continues to be popular amongst the creative community today.

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Theo Inglis's Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book cover featuring blue, white, orange and black geometric shapes on a bright yellow background

We're all familiar with the Eames chair and the legacy of George Nelson, but what about the era's graphic design? Well, you can now learn more about it in an eye-popping new book by Theo Inglis entitled Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design.

Full of gorgeous colour palettes, experimental type and prints that "buzz with kinetic energy", the hardback title is a visual and comprehensive guide to the much-loved graphic style with an in-depth look at the innovative graphics of the period.

Featuring over 150 artists and designers from all over the world – including Paul Rand, Alex Steinweiss, Ray Eames, Joseph Low, Alvin Lustig, Elaine Lustig Cohen, Leo Lionni, Rudolph de Harak and Abram Games – Theo draws from a broad range of sources including advertising, magazine covers, record sleeves, travel posters and children’s book illustration to show the development of the design style globally, and how this continues to influence design today.

The book is packed with hundreds of colour illustrations, including classic designs, such as Saul Bass’ film posters and Miroslav Šašek’s children’s books, alongside lesser-known gems. To find out more or to buy a copy of Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design, visit midcenturymoderngraphicdesign.co.uk.

Theo Inglis is a design writer and graphic designer who specialises in post-war design. Aside from writing for many magazines and websites, including Grafik, Eye and Creative Review, he also runs the Tumblr account midcenturymoderndesign.tumblr.com, which has more than 30,000 followers.

Open spread of Theo Inglis's Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book showing an abstract geometric design in blue, black and grey on the left page, with an Introduction chapter on the right page against a bright yellow background
Open pages from Theo Inglis's Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book showing vintage graphic design work with bold typography, illustrated portraits and colourful geometric compositions on a yellow background
Open pages from Theo Inglis' Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book showing spreads on Persuasive Percussion album cover and Roman Guitar design with geometric shapes and colour palettes on yellow background
Theo Inglis's Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book open on a yellow background, showing vintage posters and book covers from the mid-century period
Spread from Theo Inglis's Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book showing vintage graphics, photographs and design examples with text on a bright yellow background
Spread from Theo Inglis's Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book showing vintage airline and travel posters featuring bold geometric shapes and vibrant colour palettes on a yellow background
Spread from Theo Inglis's Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book showing Ark 13 and Modern Publicity design examples on a yellow background
Open spread from Theo Inglis' Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book showing vintage graphic designs including an American star poster and various colourful illustrations on yellow background
Open spread from Theo Inglis' Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design book displaying vintage poster designs and typography on a bright yellow background
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