Reto Caduff and Steven Heller (eds.)

Ladislav Sutnar : visual design in action

Originally published in 1961, Ladislav Sutnar’s Visual Design in Action is one of the most groundbreaking books on modern graphic design. This reprint illustrates the power of design and features astonishingly contemporary graphics, advertisements and corporate identities for renowned brands.

Sutnar’s brilliant structural systems for clarifying otherwise dense industrial data placed him in the pantheon of modernist pioneers and made him one of the visionaries of what is today called information design. Visual Design in Action is a snapshot of Sutnar’s American period (1939–1976). The publication is a testament to the historical relevance of modernism and the philosophical resonance of Sutnar’s focus on the functional beauty of total clarity.

Visual Design in Action is accompanied by a commentary including notes by the editors, Reto Caduff and Steven Heller, and a complete biography of Ladislav Sutnar. The reprint was made possible thanks to the generous support of backers of a crowdfunding campaign.

Originally published in 1961, Ladislav Sutnar’s Visual Design in Action is one of the most groundbreaking books on modern graphic design. This reprint illustrates the power of design and features astonishingly contemporary graphics, advertisements and corporate identities for renowned brands.

Sutnar’s brilliant structural systems for clarifying otherwise dense industrial data placed him in the pantheon of modernist pioneers and made him one of the visionaries of what is today called information design. Visual Design in Action is a snapshot of Sutnar’s American period (1939–1976). The publication is a testament to the historical relevance of modernism and the philosophical resonance of Sutnar’s focus on the functional beauty of total clarity.

Visual Design in Action is accompanied by a commentary including notes by the editors, Reto Caduff and Steven Heller, and a complete biography of Ladislav Sutnar. The reprint was made possible thanks to the generous support of backers of a crowdfunding campaign.

Edited by Reto Caduff, Steven Heller

21,5 x 31,1 cm, 8 ½ x 12 ¼

188 pages, 378 illustrations

hardback, with commentary volume (paperback, 32 pages) in transparent slipcase

2015, 978-3-03778-424-2, English
CHF 75.00

Reto Caduff

Reto Caduff studied typography in Switzerland. Currently he works as a photographer and director for film and television. He is the director of an award-winning documentary, The Visual Language of Herbert Matter.

Steven Heller

Steven Heller was an art director at the New York Times for thirty-three years. Currently, he is co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author Department, Special Consultant to the President of SVA for New Programs, and writes the “Visuals” column for the New York Times Book Review.

Museum für Gestaltung Zürich (ed.)

Armin Hofmann

CHF 26.00
Poster Collection, vol. 7