Graphic design holds a marginal position in the Italian design historiography in relation to industrial design. Often written by and for graphic designers, histories have tended to concentrate on changes in graphic styles as exemplified in works by prominent designers or the visual communication strategies of major companies. By contrast, this thesis addresses the organisation of the graphic design profession in Milan, from the interwar period to the mid-1960s. Key aspects explored include: graphic design’s mutable meanings and practices; formal and informal educational practices; graphic designers’self-identification with a new profession; and the structures they created to organise and make their practice visible. A focus on dialogue and negotiation between different interest groups stresses the relational and contingent nature of design professions. The thesis asks whether Milan’s graphic practitioners capitalised on modernist ideas such as standardisation, universalism, objectivity and functionalism to distance themselves from graphic arts and advertising, and enable re-categorisation within design. Thus, it problematises the relationship between professionalisation and international modernism, within the specific context of industrial structures in Milan and the hierarchy of design practice in twentieth-century Italy more broadly. The thesis provides an original retelling of stories often taken for granted, and looks behind individual designers and big companies to uncover overlooked narratives. Five chapters addressing the Scuola del Libro and the Cooperativa Rinascita in Milan, the ISIA in Monza, the Milan Triennale, the Studio Boggeri and the associations AIAP and ADI draw attention to educational issues, design practice, professional organisations, networks and mediating channels that have defined, legitimised, represented, advanced, contrasted, and articulated the graphic design profession in Milan. The argument is built on close scrutiny of archival material and other primary sources, including extensive visual material and oral interviews. Methodologies derive principally from history of design and visual culture, and place great emphasis on visual analysis. Visual artefacts are approached both as visual expressions of design methodologies and aesthetic principles and, drawing on actor-network-theory, as three-dimensional actors that interact with people and other artefacts. Despite focusing on the local, the thesis draws on global design history as a methodology by taking into account the dynamic and multi-directional movement of people, ideas, and artefacts within transnational circuits. Building on sociological stances, it approaches professions as socially constructed concepts and argues that professional identities are constantly in formation and require continual adaptation to shifting environments, agendas and design discourses. The thesis aims to offer neither a comprehensive history of Italian graphic design nor a final assessment of its professionalisation. Rather, it prioritises the process of professionalisation, by stressing tensions and contradictions, and by following practitioners’ struggle to articulate what graphic design is. The originality and potential impact of the thesis lie in its endeavour to present a closely-articulated history of the graphic design profession in Milan that draws attention to economic, industrial, political, social and technological contexts, and to propose this as a template for the writing of graphic design history. Furthermore, it provides a historically-integrated, archive-based, outward-looking model for graphic design history as an integral part of the history of design.

Visual identity can be understood as the result of the application of graphic design methods aimed at inter-brand differentiation, which paradoxically is leading to “homogenizing identities” (Bell, 2004). The globalization of visual identity is a phenomenon that can be observed not only among global brands competing with each other, but also in locally specific heritage brands that relinquish distinctive elements of their identity to resemble the global. In many cases, their specificities end up being distorted, blurred, or lost, and the richness of what is historically and culturally unique about them is often misinterpreted, neglected, or even discarded. By showing what can be lost with regards to historical and cultural memory within a brand’s imagery, this thesis questions the significance of archives to locally specific brands claiming symbolic and cultural relevance. It shows how can graphic designers can contribute to the preservation of cultural diversity through visual identity. To address the loss of cultural memory as well as the globalization of visual identity, this study draws on visual design heritage to achieve an understanding of the past as a source and a means to feed future cultural development. By adapting visual methodologies and case-study methods to assess brand identity, the study presents a methodological approach for the rescuing, interpretative analysis, and exploration of historical memory in brand imagery. It applies ethnographic research methods for data collection and graphic design methods for recovering visual materials, combined with timelines and grids for contextual and visual analysis. A main case-study is presented to demonstrate how the methods originated, how they enable the observation of identity transformations over time, and of how visual identity dissolves with global influence. This case addresses the historical context and today’s cultural relevance of an archive of the Portuguese iconic Sanjo sports shoes brand, which emerged with the rise of the ‘Estado Novo’ authoritarian regime in Portugal (1933–1974). Through the interpretation of how brand designs evolved in relation to contextual history it is possible to see the various social, cultural, political and economical transformations that occurred in their life spans. The thesis presents parallel examples of brands that were heavily influenced or even controlled by government in the past and now operate independently. As with the case of Sanjo, the comparative study investigates, and further draws attention to the relationship between the loss of historical memory and the globalization of visual identity. By examining the relevance of archives for addressing identity issues, the thesis shows that current graphic design practices can avoid failing to address historical contextualisation and cultural relevance if, firstly, a great deal of historical and cultural memory is retrieved, secondly, if there is substantial visual and contextual analysis, and thirdly, if the visual elements and histories uncovered are put together in the right context. By considering the possibilities that brand archives present for exploring the symbolic values of objects and generating meaning, this study fills a gap between archival practices and the way many designers and companies are dealing with locally specific brands. It argues that brand archives are key instruments for designers to derive meaning and convey cultural memory into the future, and that visual identity is a channel through which these can be acknowledged, displayed and experienced. The study concludes by suggesting possible approaches graphic designers might pursue to address the issues identified, and it broadens the scope of the directions in which brand archives can be explored through the re-contextualisation of cultural objects.

Recent developments in network culture suggest a weakening of hierarchical narratives of power and representation. Online technologies of distributed authorship appear to nurture a complex, speculative, contradictory and contingent realism. Yet there is a continuing deficit where the moving image is concerned, its very form appearing resistant to the dynamic throughputs and change models of real-time interaction. If the task is not to suspend but encourage disbelief as a condition in the user, how can this be approached as a design problem? In the attempt to build a series of design projects suggesting open architectures for the moving image, might a variety of (pre-digital) precursors from the worlds of art, architecture and film offer the designer models for inspiration or adaptation? A series of projects have been undertaken. Each investigates the composite moving image, specifically in the context of real-time computation and interaction. This arose from a desire to interrogate the qualia of the moving image within interactive systems, relative to a range of behaviours and/or observer positions, which attempt to situate users as conscious compositors. This is explored in the thesis through reflecting on a series of experimental interfaces designed for real time composition in performance, exhibition and online contexts.

This research analyses the dissemination of political and ideological content through the music graphics of selected bands associated with punk and post-punk. It concentrates on the anarcho-punk movement and the neo-fascist scene in the United Kingdom between 1978 and 2008. The aim is to show how music graphics were integral to the philosophy of politically engaged bands, and acted as systems of propaganda. The research further deconstructs these systems and reveals underlying narratives, intentions, tropes and visual codes. The research presents three main novel contributions to scholarship and knowledge. The first is the creation and cataloguing of the most extensive archive to date of the material under analysis providing an instrumental resource for further research on the subject. The second is the development of a methodology for analysing the dissemination of ideological and political content through graphic design objects in a subcultural context. This methodology allows for an exploration of the heretofore neglected area of the inter-relationship between dissemination of the message and specific graphic systems. The analysis is conducted through the use of multiple research methods, drawing upon qualitative research methodologies and the development of complementary methodologies devised for the field of graphic design. The focus is on the analysis of political camps and comparisons between them, noting points of commonality and divergence between dialogues of opposition within the common subcultural context. The third contribution is the identification, analysis and interpretation of ‘extreme’ political music graphics produced by artists from the United Kingdom from 1978 to 2008. Covering an under-researched field and time span of subcultural movements that were critical for the punk subculture and the corresponding political groups, the analysis of the music graphics presents an insight into their political theory and strategies. This comparative work involved methodologies drawn from cultural studies, subcultural studies and historical studies, and can therefore be seen as a contribution to these fields as well as to that of graphic design studies.

This thesis presents a model for analysing the graphic object as urban object, by considering atypical fields of discourse that contribute to the formation of the object domain. The question: what is graphic design as urban design? directs the research through an epistemological design study comprising: an interrogation of graphic design studio practice and the articulation of graphic design research questions; a review and subsequent development of research strategy, design and method towards the articulation of methodology that reflects the nature of the inquiry; a detailed analysis of five different ways to study and research graphic design as urban design, in geography, language, visual communication, art and design, and urban design. The outcome of the investigation is a model that enables future research in the urban environment to benefit from micro-meso-macrographic analysis. The model endeavours to provide a way to evaluate, design and enhance ‘public places and urban spaces’ by considering different scales of symbolic thought and deed. This has been achieved by acknowledging the relationship between the relatively miniscule detail of graphic symbolism, the point at which this becomes visible through increased scale, and the instances when it dominates the urban realm. Examples are considered that show differences between, for example, the size and spacing of letter shapes on a pedestrian sign, compared to the ‘visual’ impact of an iconic building in the cityscape. In between is a myriad of graphic elements that are experienced and designed by many different professional disciplines and occupations. These are evidenced and explained. Throughout the study an indiscriminating literature review is interwoven with the text, accompanied by tabular information, and visual data in the form of photographs and diagrams. This is mainly research-driven data utilising photographs from fieldwork in Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, Portugal, South Korea, United Kingdom, and United States of America. The methodology integrates a transdisciplinary adaptive theory approach derived from sociological research, with graphic method (utilising a wider scope of visual data usually associated with graph theory). The following images provide sixteen examples of artefacts representing the graphic object as urban object phenomenon.

In the nineteenth century, as society in Victorian Britain adjusted to the effects of urbanization and industrialization, social roles began to shift, changes that were reflected in the children’s book illustrations of Randolph Caldecott, Henry J. Ford, and Beatrix Potter. This time period was considered the golden age of children’s book illustrations due to a large boom in both number and quality available. These children’s books illustrators had a lasting impact on culture and aesthetics and reinforced the social constructions of the new urban middle class. Randolph Caldecott’s illustrations of nursery rhymes gave new interpretations to familiar texts, some of which furthered shifts in gender roles for both males and females. Andrew Lang’s fairy tale series, illustrated by H. J. Ford, walked a fine line between high art ideals and consumerism. Ford’s illustrations referenced the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic. The fairytale genre has emphasized female roles from its inception, and Lang's and Ford's focus on an essentially English femininity added complexities to messages about the ideal woman. Beatrix Potter’s subversive work can be seen as the culmination of the Victorian period. She satirized the ideal woman at home, illuminating the anxieties and pressures of the domestic sphere and exploring the Victorians' fixation with the etiquettes of social rank. In an attempt to further the scope of traditional art history, this dissertation shows that, even in consumerist-driven visual culture, even in seemingly inconsequential children’s book illustration, we can see the impact of key social changes and values.

The picture book is an artistic medium is part of literature, especially of children’s literature. This discussion of the picture book extends to the dynamic between author and illustrator, and interactions between the verbal and the visual, as described by contemporary researchers, such as Maria Nikolajeva, Lawrence R. Sipe, and Carole Scott. Most of them were not picture book creators, so the voice of the picture book’s creator is easily overlooked. To fill the gap between the researcher and the creator, this project explores the creative process of the picture book by studio-art research. This project is concerned with the creation process of a picture book, presenting a coherent overview of an approach to creating an artist’s picture book, especially in the idea of development through both visual and narrative by two methods: research and practice. This thesis demonstrates my framework of creating an artistic picture book, Little Mouse. Chapter one discusses the methodology of the studio-art research, compares practical-led research and practical-based research, and identifies my multicultural background, to set the foundation of this project. In Chapter two, I applied a part of practical-led methodology to adapt and transfer a range of sources from history, theory, literature and popular culture to build up and enhance the depth of my concept of Little Mouse, which encompasses and analyses my core interest - a life-changing journey. Chapter three discusses how I applied practical-based methodology to reflect the progress of the practical work of making Little Mouse, particularly focusing on how framed a fiction story, and discussing step by step my approach to illustration practice. In the last chapter, I tested my potential readers to review whether my work succeeded in communicating and delivering my visual research in the form of my finished book. This project hybridizes multicultural sources to form a contemporary picture book which blurs the boundaries between illustrator/writer and reality/fiction. This also provides a case study of the picture book for bridging research and picture book’s creator and demonstrates a process of understanding and interpreting creative activities.

This research project operates from the perspective of the author as graphic design practitioner and considers how practice-based visual methods may be used to form a novel system of analysis in graphic design research. The focus of this research is the Conservative Party poster, produced for the British General Elections held between 1979 and 2010. With practice at the core of the research methodology, visual design methods have been configured and applied to a range of material in order to generate insights about how visual language is used in a variety of contexts. The research includes a review of the graphic communication of the British political poster, existing visual methods, and practice-based research within the field of graphic design. From there, a system of practice-based methods was devised, and then applied to the Conservative Party posters. The design system employs methods that disassemble each poster into its individual components (type, image, hierarchy, colour and negative space), mapping each using simple visual techniques, before reassembling these components to identify trends and insights in relation to various political themes. In order to test this design system, these methods were applied to a very different type of visual communication material produced for Sense, a charitable organisation that advocates for the rights of deaf-blind people. This proved valuable to the study, and demonstrated how this system could function in a very different context. The output of this study proposes potential visual devices for aiding visually impaired readers engage with photographic imagery. The findings and visual outputs of this investigation are described in this thesis, and are also housed in a series of three books that form the practice component of this research project. This thesis aims to highlight the value of practice-based methods within graphic design research, and specifically, methods more exclusively available to the graphic design practitioner. Practice is of central importance to this research project, forming the core of the methodology, as well as the outputs produced in response to the research findings. Through establishing the visual characteristics of the Conservative Party poster (1979-2010), this research seeks to demonstrate how a novel system of practice-based methods might help further an understanding of visual communication design.

Ambiguity can arise from indecision, unintened confusion or as the international evocation of several meanings in the same image,object,situation or idea. Intentional ambiguity enables multiple interpretations of a message,increasing richness of meaning, while adding pleasure through uncertainty and surprise. In disciplines such as literature and fine art, ambiguity is preceived as not only desirable,but inherent to the value of the work of art or idea and its interpretation in the mind of the viewer. Yet the possibilities of ambiguity remain under explored in graphic design, a discipline predominatly (conventionally) concerned with clear comunication of mesage.

The main intentions of this thesis are to analyse and explain changes in the function and graphic components of Beijing s wayfinding systems and to explain how the systems construct multiple cultural and political identities at different historical periods and in changing local/global contexts. In the thesis, the oversimplified one-way theory of the global-local dichotomy, in which the global power of the West is overwhelming and constantly dominant, and the local system of non-Western countries is passive and fragile, is challenged. Instead, this thesis seeks to examine the interactivity and correlation of the local and the global from two perspectives: mobility and reversibility. Looking at mobility is to consider the local and global and their nexus as different interconnections and networks that are constantly and unevenly changing. Reversibility, with which this thesis is most concerned, deals primarily with the reversible relationship of the local and global, namely, that either the local or the global can be dominant. This point is well illustrated by the evolution of Beijing s graphic wayfinding systems function and appearance. Beijing, as the capital of China, has undergone a radical transformation from the fall of the last Empire Qing (1912) to the establishment of the People s Republic of China (1949). The meaning of Beijing varies in accordance with the changes in its political and social structures. There have been five phases in Beijing s development: a well-planned imperial city; a capital city with a republican spirit; a totally industrialised but relatively isolated capital of a socialist country; an open and modernised Chinese-style socialist city; and a cosmopolitan city. In the course of this metamorphosis, what took place was a series of collisions, exchanges, fusions, and re-collisions between local power and global power. Along with the immense changes in Beijing, the role and appearance of the graphic wayfinding systems have also changed, especially those of road signs and doorplates, whose roles have been transformed from that of initial household register to orientation reference, to effective propaganda tool, and then on to the regeneration of a city. Finally, Beijing s graphic wayfinding design within its urban development has been reconfirmed as a useful instrument to support the new forms of visual narratives and consolidate the city brand of Beijing in the 21st century. This study probes into the political and cultural significances behind the changes of the graphic wayfinding systems of Beijing, as well as the interaction between the local and the global as reflected in the formation of these findings. The mutable and reversible relationship between the local and the global is illustrated and clarified through analysis and comparison of various functions and visual elements between Beijing s present graphic wayfinding systems and its early wayfinding signs, as well as decoding the different mainstream political or cultural ideologies that have deeply affected the function and design of Beijing graphic wayfinding systems at different periods.