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Re-Learning Postmodernism in the History of Graphic Design: A (Con)Textual Analysis of Design Journal in the Late 1960s

This article revisits the late 1960s, a period when journals such as Design journal began to deploy the term ‘postmodernism’ in relation to contemporary design culture. Through close textual analysis, this article demonstrates how the word ‘postmodern’ is used as an initial placeholder (or descriptor) for nascent design strategies that were emerging in rapid response to shifting social and economic forces in 1968. The analysis demonstrates how writers such as Corin Hughes-Stanton, the editor at Design journal, were working hard to encapsulate a strong movement within the field of graphic design towards individual consumers in an unsettled market place. The article shows how Hughes-Stanton et el characterize postmodernism in terms of a direct and populist form of visual communication; it is a linguistic placeholder used to describe the conscious decision (by graphic designers) to groom and address a volatile body of British consumers. In contrast to common readings of postmodernism in terms of a distinct visual style, this article shows how postmodern graphic design was originally conceived as a resolutely public-facing approach to communication; it was a commercial creative strategy before it became embedded as a formal visual aesthetic. In this way, this article makes an original contribution to understandings of ‘postmodernism’ within the History of Graphic Design, providing a new line of argument based on substantive empirical findings. The editor has recognised the merit of this piece of research by accepting a longer submission than the standard 8000 words. The Journal of Design History is published by Oxford Journals and has over 3000 subscribers internationally (mostly universities). It plays an active role in the development of design history and takes the form of an online and print-based publication. The article will be of value to design historians, as well as students and practitioners in the field of Graphic Design.