Includes bibliographical references (pages 210-211) and index.

The book -- Body type -- Rub-on designs -- Rays -- Pastiche -- Pointing fingers -- Vanitas -- Clenched fists -- Monumental images -- Female archetypes -- Color blocks -- Ornamentation -- Decorative logotypes -- Naive mascots -- Entrepreneurship -- Metaphoric lettering -- Swashes on caps -- Texts as images -- Visual puns -- The square format -- Primitive figuration -- Propaganda -- The object poster -- Paper cutouts -- Manifestos -- Graphic design magazines -- Botanical geometry -- Calligrams -- Loud typography -- Asymmetric typography -- Red with black -- Supergraphics -- Supreme geometry -- Funny faces -- Expression of speed -- Corporate identity -- Dust jackets -- Found typography -- Ransom notes -- Design handbooks -- Avant-garde zines -- Collages -- Riddles and rebuses -- Photomontage -- Pictograms -- Floating heads -- Abstraction -- Triangulation -- Extreme close-ups -- The provocative gesture -- Motion graphics -- Night spectaculars -- Shadow play -- Good design -- Forced obsolescence -- Vibrating color -- Strips and panels -- Frame by frame -- Perfect rectangles -- Abstract graphs -- Dynamic diagonals -- Stencil type -- Comic lettering -- Parody -- Sustainable packaging -- Public service campaigns -- Branding campaigns -- Layering and overprinting -- Design thinking -- The grid -- Brand narratives -- White space -- Less is more -- Monoalphabets -- Film title sequences -- Big book look -- Nostalgia -- Illegibility -- Scan lines -- Teen magazines -- Culture jamming -- High contrast -- Psychedelia -- Split fountain -- Underground comics -- Record album covers -- Street slogans -- Sexual taboo busting -- Self-promotional publishing -- Tags -- Universal Pricing Code -- Vernacular -- French theory -- Do it yourself -- The fine print -- Magazine coverlines -- Guerrilla advertising -- Pixelation -- Ambigrams -- Designers' websites.

The aim of this book is to determine, define, discuss, and illustrate the big ideas that created the critical mass that produced the art and craft of contemporary graphic design.