Kerry William Purcell is an English author on graphic design and visual culture. He is a frequent contributor to Baseline, Grafik and other design magazines.
Born in Cleethorpes, Purcell is a writer, design critic and historian. His first book on the celebrated art director and photographer Alexey Brodovitch was published by Phaidon Press in 2002. This has been followed by his concise biography on the renowned photographer Weegee (Phaidon, London, 2004), his comprehensive study of the Swiss graphic designer Josef Müller-Brockmann (Phaidon, London, 2006) and a book on the work of Magnum photographer Steve McCurry entitled In the Shadow of the Mountains (Phaidon, London, 2007). He is also co-editor of the forthcoming Phaidon Archive of Graphic Design (2010). His writing has been published in several anthologies.
Since 2002 he has lectured on the design history program at Kingston University, London.
In 2005 he co-organised the international graphic design conference New Views at the University of Arts, London.
Looking at Class: Film, Television and the Working Class in Britain, edited by Sheila Rowbotham and Huw Benyon, Rivers Oram Press. (ISBN 978-1854891211)
The Education of a Photographer, edited by Steven Heller and Charles Traub, Allworth Press. (ISBN 978-1581154504)