Steven Heller (born 1950) is an American art director, journalist, critic, author, and editor who specializes on topics related to graphic design.
Steven Heller is author and co-author of many works on the history of illustration, typography, and many subjects related to graphic design. He has published more than eighty titles and written articles for magazines including Affiche, Baseline, Creation, Design, Design Issues, Eye, Graphis, How, I.D., Oxymoron, Mother Jones, The New York Times Book Review, Print, Speak, and U&lc.
For thirty-three years Heller was a senior art director of U&lc, which stands for upper and lower case in typography. As of 2007, he is co-chair with Lita Talarico of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He has collaborated on books with graphic designer, Louise Fili, who is his wife, as well as with others including the Design Dialogue series.
"Artists' Christmas Cards" New York: A & W Publishers, 1979.
(Editor) Man Bites Man, foreword by Tom Wolfe, New York: A & W Publishers, 1981.
(Editor) Jules Feiffer's America from Eisenhower to Reagan, New York: Knopf, 1982.
(With Ralph E. Shikes) The Art of Satire: Painters as Caricaturists and Cartoonists from Delacroix to Picasso, New York: Pratt Graphics Center and Horizon, 1984.
(Editor) Seymour Chwast, The Left-handed Designer, New York: Abrams, 1985, revised as
(With Seymour Chwast) Graphic Style: From Victorian to Digital, , New York: Abrams, 2001.
(Editor) Innovators of American Illustration, New York: Van Nostrand, 1986.
(Compiler, with Seymour Chwast and Barbara Cohen) New York Observed: Artists and Writers Look at the City, 1650 to the Present, New York: Abrams, 1987.
(With Lisa Talarico) Design Career: Practical Knowledge for Beginning Illustrators and Graphic Designers, New York: Van Nostrand, 1987.
(With Seymour Chwast) Graphic Style: From Victorian to Post-Modern, New York: Abrams, 1988.
(Editor, with Seymour Chwast) Sourcebook of Visual Ideas, New York: Van Nostrand, 1989.
(With Barbara Cohen and Seymour Chwast) Trylon and Perisphere: The 1939 New York World's Fair, New York: Abrams, 1989.
(With Karen Pomeroy) Designing with Illustration, New York: Van Nostrand, 1990.
(With Anne Fink) Low-Budget, High-Quality Design, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1990.
(With Gail Anderson) Graphic Wit: The Art of Humor in Design, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1991.
(With Karrie Jacobs) Angry Graphics: Protest Posters of the Reagan/Bush Era, Salt Lake City, Utah: Peregrine Smith Books, 1992.
(With Vicki Gold Levi and Seymour Chwast) You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby: Baby Pictures of the Stars, New York: Hyperion, 1992.
(With Gail Anderson) The Savage Mirror: The Art of Contemporary Caricature, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1992.
(With Steven Guarnaccia) School Days, Photography by William Whitehurst, New York: Abbeville Press, 1992.
(Compiler, with Anne Fink) Covers & Jackets! What the Best Dressed Books and Magazines Are Wearing, Glen Cover, New York: Library of Applied Design, 1993.
(With Louise Fili) Italian Art Deco: Graphic Design Between the Wars, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1993.
(With Julie Lasky) Borrowed Design: Use and Abuse of Historical Form, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993.
(With Gail Anderson) American Typeplay, New York: Library of Applied Design, 1994.
(With Steven Guarnaccia) Designing for Children, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1994.
(With Louise Fili) Dutch Moderne: Graphic Design from De Stijl to Deco, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.
(Editor with Michael Bierut, William Drenttel, and D. K. Holland) Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, New York, 1994.
(With Teresa Fernandes) The Business of Illustration, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1995.
(With Seymour Chwast) Jackets Required: An Illustrated History of American Book Jacket Design, 1920—1950, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.
(With Louise Fili) Streamline: American Art Deco Graphic Design, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.
(With Anne Fink) That's Entertainment, Library of Applied Design, 1995.
(With James Fraser and Seymour Chwast) Japanese Modern: Graphic Design Between the Wars, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1996.
(With Anne Fink) Appetite Appeal: Graphic Design for Food and Drink, Glen Cove, New York: Graphic Details, 1996.
(With Louise Fili) Cover Story: The Art of American Magazine Covers 1900—1950, San Francisco: Chronicle Books (San Francisco, California), 1996.
(With Teresa Fernandes) Magazines: Inside and Out, Glen Cove, New York.: PBC International, 1996.
(With Elinor Pettit) Newsletters Now: From Classic to New Wave, New York: Library of Applied Design, 1996.
(Editor with Michael Bierut, William Drenttel, and D. K. Holland) Looking Closer 2, New York: Allworth Press, 1997.
French Modern: Art Deco Graphic Design, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1997.
(Editor, with Marie Finamore) Design Culture: An Anthology of Writing from the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, 'New York: Allworth Press, 1997.
(Interviewer and editor, with Elinor Pettit) Design Dialogues, New York: Allworth Press, 1998.
(Editor) The Education of a Graphic Designer, New York: Allworth Press, 1998.
(With Michael Barson) Teenage Confidential: An Illustrated History of the American Teen, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998.
(With Louise Fili) British Modern: Graphic Design Between the Wars, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998.
(With Louise Fili) German Modern: Graphic Design from Wilhelm to Weimar, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998.
(With Anne Fink) Less Is More: The New Simplicity in Graphic Design, Cincinnati, Ohio: North Light Books, 1999.
Paul Rand, London: Phaidon, 1999.
Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design, New York: Allworth Press, 1999.
(With Teresa Fernandes) Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design, New York: Wiley, 1999.
(Editor with Louise Fili) Typology: Type Design from the Victorian Era to the Digital Age, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999.
(Editor, with Marshall Arisman) The Education of an Illustrator, New York: Allworth Press, 2000.
(Editor, with Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, and Rick Poynor) Looking Closer 3: Classic Writings on Graphic Design, New York: Allworth Press, 2000.
(Editor) Sex Appeal: The Art of Allure in Graphic and Advertising Design, New York: Allworth Press, 2000.
(With Michael Barson) Red Scared!: The Commie Menace in Propaganda and Pop Culture, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000.
(With Michael Barson) Wedding Bell Blues: 100 Years of Our Great Romance with Marriage, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000.
The Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption?, Allworth Press, 2000.
Design Connoisseur: An Eclectic Collection of Imagery and Type, New York: Allworth Press, 2000.
(With Elinor Pettit) Graphic Design Time Line: A Century of Design Milestones, New York: Allworth Press, 2000.
(With Christine Thompson) Letterforms Bawdy, Bad and Beautiful: The Evolution of Hand-drawn, Humorous, Vernacular, and Experimental Type, New York: Watson-Guptill, 2000.
(Editor, with Georgette Ballance) Graphic Design History, New York: Allworth Press, 2001.
(With Mirko Ili?) Genius Moves: 100 Icons of Graphic Design, Cincinnati, Ohio: North Light Books, 2001.
(Editor) Education of an E-Designer, New York: Allworth Press, 2001.
(Editor, with Philip B. Meggs) Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography, New York: Allworth Press, 2001.
(With Louise Fili) Counter Culture: The Allure of Mini-mannequins, New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001.
Graphic Design Reader, New York: Allworth Press, 2002.
(Editor with Michael Bierut and William Drenttel) Looking Closer 4: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, New York: Allworth Press, 2002.
(Editor) Education of a Design Entrepreneur, New York: Allworth Press, 2002.
Merz to Emigre and Beyond: Avant-Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century, Phaidon, 2003.
Also contributor to Graphic Design in America: A Visual Language History, Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 1989. Editor of the American Institute of Graphic Arts Journal of Graphic Design. Contributor to periodicals, including Communication Arts, Mother Jones, and Print.
Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-Century Totalitarian State, Phaidon Press Inc., 2008. (ISBN 0714848468). Review at New York Times.
(with Lita Talarico) "The Design Entrepreneur" Rockport Press 2008.
(Editor) "Design Disasters: Great Designers, Fabulous Failure, and Lessons Learned" New York: Allworth Press, 2008.
(with Veronique Vienne) "Art Direction Explained At Last" London: Laurence King Publishers, 2009.
(with Lita Talarico) "Design School Confidential: Extraordinary Class Projects from International Design Schools" Rockport Pres, 2009.
Paul Rand Laboratory, Baseline 27, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 1999.
Believe It or Else!!, Baseline 29, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 1999.
Sho-cards, Baseline 30, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2000.
Transfiguring the Swastika, Baseline 31, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2001.
Movie tickets — Japanese Style, Baseline 32, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2001.
The Radical Press in Pre-Nazi Germany, Baseline 33, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2001.
Do It Yourself: The Graphic Design of Punkzines, Baseline 34, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2001.
More Than Wham! Bang! Boom!: The Art and Design of Comics Lettering, Baseline 35, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2001.
Close Shaves and Razor Sharp Graphics, Baseline 36, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2002.
Massin's Typographic Voices, Baseline 37, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2002.
Introducing the First Digital Letterting Tool, Baseline 38, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2002.
Cult of the Cradle — Fascist Style for Il Duce's Children, Baseline 39, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2002.
The Missing Link: Graphic Design Trade Magazine, Baseline 40, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2003.
Paper Bombs — The Art of Psychological Warfare, Baseline 41, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2003.
Merle Armitage — Books of His Time, Baseline 42, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2003.
When Paperbacks Went Highbrow, Baseline 43, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2004.
Alvin Lustig — The Lost Adman and His Forgotten Ads, Baseline 44, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2004.
Rudolph de Harak — A Playful Modernist, Baseline 45, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2004.
Erik Nitsche — A Biography of a Design Auteur, Baseline 46, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2005.
OHW Hadank — The Classicist Even a Modernist Could Love, Baseline 47, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2005.
Dancing Type and Music Videos, Baseline 48, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2005.
Willhelm Deffke — Modern Mark Maker, Baseline 49, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2006.
TypoAbsurdo — Viktor Koen's Surrealist Alphabet, Baseline 50, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2006.
Berthold's Hebrew Type Catalog, Baseline 51, edited by Hans Dieter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2007.
