Graphics Critic
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Description
Book Introduction
This is a research paper that analyzes Korean visual culture since the 1970s through three axes: ‘Hangeul typography,’ ‘publishing,’ and ‘activism.’
This course covers graphic design since the 1970s, a period when the concept of graphic design was fully introduced in Korea, and the cultural and historical context of Korean typography and publishing design, as well as the activist practices of designers who actively intervened in social issues.
Author Jeon Ga-kyung, who has been active as a design writer for 16 years, attempts to construct a multi-layered and complex axis of Korean design history by connecting the fragmented cases of Korean graphic design history that have not been evaluated compared to Western graphic design history.
This course covers graphic design since the 1970s, a period when the concept of graphic design was fully introduced in Korea, and the cultural and historical context of Korean typography and publishing design, as well as the activist practices of designers who actively intervened in social issues.
Author Jeon Ga-kyung, who has been active as a design writer for 16 years, attempts to construct a multi-layered and complex axis of Korean design history by connecting the fragmented cases of Korean graphic design history that have not been evaluated compared to Western graphic design history.
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
introduction
1 Korean typography
① Between Mechanization, Hedonism, and Value Neutrality: Three Scenes from Hangul's Nemo-Tilting
② Multilingual typography since the 2010s as seen through posters
③ Table of Contents Design for Certain Books 1953-1986
2 Publications
① A Brief History of Korean Magazine Art Direction: The 1980s Magazine 『Madang』
② Old Youth: Minumsa's Book Design 1966-2020 292
③ At the Edge of Art Publishing: Exhibition Catalogs from Korea in the 1990s
④ Graphic design infrastructure
3 Activism
① Design Movement as a "Low-Altitude Flight": Activism in the Graphic Imagination 1997-2007
② Korean feminist graphism in the 1980s
③ Exercise method: Daily practice
④ Graphic Design of Liberation: FDSC
References
1 Korean typography
① Between Mechanization, Hedonism, and Value Neutrality: Three Scenes from Hangul's Nemo-Tilting
② Multilingual typography since the 2010s as seen through posters
③ Table of Contents Design for Certain Books 1953-1986
2 Publications
① A Brief History of Korean Magazine Art Direction: The 1980s Magazine 『Madang』
② Old Youth: Minumsa's Book Design 1966-2020 292
③ At the Edge of Art Publishing: Exhibition Catalogs from Korea in the 1990s
④ Graphic design infrastructure
3 Activism
① Design Movement as a "Low-Altitude Flight": Activism in the Graphic Imagination 1997-2007
② Korean feminist graphism in the 1980s
③ Exercise method: Daily practice
④ Graphic Design of Liberation: FDSC
References
Detailed image
Into the book
There is a big question raised by the book "Graphic Critic."
What exactly is Korean graphic design?
This question ultimately leads to the role of graphic design in the 21st century and the place of Korean graphic design in a globalized environment.
Today, Korean graphic design has not only become more sophisticated, but its visual language has also gained global universality and compatibility thanks to the rise of the Internet generation born after the 1990s.
--- p.6
"The Infrastructure of Graphic Design" reminds us that publishing and design practices are in fact indebted to the labor of the printing industry.
From the 1970s to the late 1980s, Korea's printing industry underwent a dramatic transformation from lead type to phototypesetting and digital printing, and the publishing industry also experienced rapid growth during this period.
--- p.9
Over the past decade, Korean graphic design has been a tool and language that has most dynamically supported and visualized the power of movements ranging from feminism to the sexual minority rights movement.
From the publishing activities of 6699 Press and Haetsal Studio, which actively addressed feminism and minority rights, to the book design of Bom Alarm, a publisher that emerged after the feminist reboot, to the publishing of Daejeon-based feminist community Bosch, to Dotface's online queer parade planning and WOO, which first brought the presence of Korean female designers to the forefront, Korean graphic design has always been at the forefront of the movement since the mid-2010s.
--- p.9
Today, the Talnemotl is more 'value-neutral' than ever before.
It is neither liberation from the Chinese character cultural sphere nor a temporary representation of the new generation and electronic culture.
The current Talnemot is being adapted purely from a formative perspective.
The fact that Design Studio Works looks for Talnemot when looking for a “geometric typeface” directly and indirectly explains the status that Talnemot occupied in the 2010s.
--- p.69~70
Typography is an interesting field that allows us to read the language usage patterns of a specific era by inheriting the habits of the language landscape.
In particular, the way the two characters intersect has varied over time.
Above all, what this article wants to focus on is not typography as a dieglossia phenomenon in which a specific character is superior, but the dual character system as an aspect that pursues bilingualism.
Through this, we aim to focus on Korean typography that coexists with Roman letters within a hybrid magnetic field.
--- p.82
AGI grasped the context of the times, inherited the challenges of the 1980s, and overcame them in the late 1990s.
They inherited the 'activism' of the democratization movement of the 1980s, but paid attention to the newfound everyday life that emerged in the 1990s.
Instead of 'democratization' as a representative system, issues closely related to daily life emerged.
From the subway union strike to the Citizens' Coalition for a General Election, children's education, migrant workers, and the movement against the abolition of the screen quota system, AGI's actions have been a way of first examining the ribs supporting the huge umbrella of democratization.
--- p.402
It is undeniable that design in civilized society has contributed to the climate crisis, inequality, and all these problems.
When we recognize that the solution to this lies within design, feminist design methodology can be an attitude and practice that saves our endangered planet.
We have witnessed this possibility through the activities of FDSC.
And the fact that their activities exist here, right here with us, tells us that there is still light left.
The new language has already arrived.
Now more people just need to use that language.
What exactly is Korean graphic design?
This question ultimately leads to the role of graphic design in the 21st century and the place of Korean graphic design in a globalized environment.
Today, Korean graphic design has not only become more sophisticated, but its visual language has also gained global universality and compatibility thanks to the rise of the Internet generation born after the 1990s.
--- p.6
"The Infrastructure of Graphic Design" reminds us that publishing and design practices are in fact indebted to the labor of the printing industry.
From the 1970s to the late 1980s, Korea's printing industry underwent a dramatic transformation from lead type to phototypesetting and digital printing, and the publishing industry also experienced rapid growth during this period.
--- p.9
Over the past decade, Korean graphic design has been a tool and language that has most dynamically supported and visualized the power of movements ranging from feminism to the sexual minority rights movement.
From the publishing activities of 6699 Press and Haetsal Studio, which actively addressed feminism and minority rights, to the book design of Bom Alarm, a publisher that emerged after the feminist reboot, to the publishing of Daejeon-based feminist community Bosch, to Dotface's online queer parade planning and WOO, which first brought the presence of Korean female designers to the forefront, Korean graphic design has always been at the forefront of the movement since the mid-2010s.
--- p.9
Today, the Talnemotl is more 'value-neutral' than ever before.
It is neither liberation from the Chinese character cultural sphere nor a temporary representation of the new generation and electronic culture.
The current Talnemot is being adapted purely from a formative perspective.
The fact that Design Studio Works looks for Talnemot when looking for a “geometric typeface” directly and indirectly explains the status that Talnemot occupied in the 2010s.
--- p.69~70
Typography is an interesting field that allows us to read the language usage patterns of a specific era by inheriting the habits of the language landscape.
In particular, the way the two characters intersect has varied over time.
Above all, what this article wants to focus on is not typography as a dieglossia phenomenon in which a specific character is superior, but the dual character system as an aspect that pursues bilingualism.
Through this, we aim to focus on Korean typography that coexists with Roman letters within a hybrid magnetic field.
--- p.82
AGI grasped the context of the times, inherited the challenges of the 1980s, and overcame them in the late 1990s.
They inherited the 'activism' of the democratization movement of the 1980s, but paid attention to the newfound everyday life that emerged in the 1990s.
Instead of 'democratization' as a representative system, issues closely related to daily life emerged.
From the subway union strike to the Citizens' Coalition for a General Election, children's education, migrant workers, and the movement against the abolition of the screen quota system, AGI's actions have been a way of first examining the ribs supporting the huge umbrella of democratization.
--- p.402
It is undeniable that design in civilized society has contributed to the climate crisis, inequality, and all these problems.
When we recognize that the solution to this lies within design, feminist design methodology can be an attitude and practice that saves our endangered planet.
We have witnessed this possibility through the activities of FDSC.
And the fact that their activities exist here, right here with us, tells us that there is still light left.
The new language has already arrived.
Now more people just need to use that language.
--- p.535
Publisher's Review
Reading through Korean typography, publishing, and design activism
History and Visual Culture of Korean Graphic Design
This book explores the history of Korean graphic design from the 1970s, when the concept of graphic design was first introduced to Korea, to the 2020s, focusing on three keywords: Korean typography, publishing, and activism.
This project aims to critically delve into the inner workings of Korean society and visual culture through a chronology and collection of case studies of Korean publishing design and the social practice of design.
Author Jeon Ga-gyeong aims to reestablish the cultural coordinates of design practices that have been sporadically developed by culminating in 16 years of accumulated experience in design culture research, writing, and teaching.
In particular, it meticulously examines 'Hangeul', Korean publishing culture, and activist practices, which were not covered by existing Roman-centered typography theories or European- and Japanese-centered design history, and extracts cultural meanings related to them.
The first chapter, "Korean Typography," addresses how letter formation is not simply a visual combination, but is formed and evolved under the influence of the demands of the times and ideology.
From the limitations of Hangul typesetting within a 'square frame', the historical debate surrounding the three-set keyboard, and the 'formative' typographic experiments of the 1970s and 1980s to today's digital font design, the Hangul writing system has been a site of constant technical, political, and aesthetic negotiation.
In this history, designers emerge not only as sculptors but also as mediators and editors of language who sense the tension between letters and language and propose a new order.
The second axis, 'Publishing,' revisits the history of designers working as editors, planners, and cultural producers, and traces the cultural landscape created by intellectuals and designers at the time through magazines such as 'Deep-Rooted Tree,' 'Sam-i-Gip-eun-mul,' and 'Madang.'
Publishing design is not just the cover or page design of a book, but is also read as a comprehensive cultural design that encompasses content composition and planning, as well as the political arrangement between language and visuals.
In particular, the publications, series, and exhibition catalogs produced by progressive publishers in the 1980s and 1990s were aesthetic experiments and practical strategies in ‘editorial design.’
The third keyword, ‘activism,’ reexamines the role of designers in organizing and disseminating social agendas through visual language.
The design movement that has gained momentum since the 2010s, such as the activities of the 'Everyday Practice' design studio and the FDSC (Feminist Designers Social Club), has been practicing the process of speaking to, intervening in, and changing society through design.
Designers' responses and solidarity with multifaceted social issues, including labor issues, feminism and queer issues, and the climate crisis, are fundamentally redefining the role and identity of design today.
Rather than simply consuming such trends as 'trendy' designs, this book approaches them as a genealogy of the movement.
『Graphic Critic』 departs from a linear historical narrative that arranges each chapter chronologically, acknowledging the complex temporality of history and addressing various topics in a cross-cutting manner.
Through this, we encounter the multiple aspects of design history that cannot be reduced to a single narrative.
This is the author's methodological proposal to read and write design history with a more flexible and expansive concept of time.
In other words, this book is also another experiment in the book as a critical platform that crosses research and practice.
History and Visual Culture of Korean Graphic Design
This book explores the history of Korean graphic design from the 1970s, when the concept of graphic design was first introduced to Korea, to the 2020s, focusing on three keywords: Korean typography, publishing, and activism.
This project aims to critically delve into the inner workings of Korean society and visual culture through a chronology and collection of case studies of Korean publishing design and the social practice of design.
Author Jeon Ga-gyeong aims to reestablish the cultural coordinates of design practices that have been sporadically developed by culminating in 16 years of accumulated experience in design culture research, writing, and teaching.
In particular, it meticulously examines 'Hangeul', Korean publishing culture, and activist practices, which were not covered by existing Roman-centered typography theories or European- and Japanese-centered design history, and extracts cultural meanings related to them.
The first chapter, "Korean Typography," addresses how letter formation is not simply a visual combination, but is formed and evolved under the influence of the demands of the times and ideology.
From the limitations of Hangul typesetting within a 'square frame', the historical debate surrounding the three-set keyboard, and the 'formative' typographic experiments of the 1970s and 1980s to today's digital font design, the Hangul writing system has been a site of constant technical, political, and aesthetic negotiation.
In this history, designers emerge not only as sculptors but also as mediators and editors of language who sense the tension between letters and language and propose a new order.
The second axis, 'Publishing,' revisits the history of designers working as editors, planners, and cultural producers, and traces the cultural landscape created by intellectuals and designers at the time through magazines such as 'Deep-Rooted Tree,' 'Sam-i-Gip-eun-mul,' and 'Madang.'
Publishing design is not just the cover or page design of a book, but is also read as a comprehensive cultural design that encompasses content composition and planning, as well as the political arrangement between language and visuals.
In particular, the publications, series, and exhibition catalogs produced by progressive publishers in the 1980s and 1990s were aesthetic experiments and practical strategies in ‘editorial design.’
The third keyword, ‘activism,’ reexamines the role of designers in organizing and disseminating social agendas through visual language.
The design movement that has gained momentum since the 2010s, such as the activities of the 'Everyday Practice' design studio and the FDSC (Feminist Designers Social Club), has been practicing the process of speaking to, intervening in, and changing society through design.
Designers' responses and solidarity with multifaceted social issues, including labor issues, feminism and queer issues, and the climate crisis, are fundamentally redefining the role and identity of design today.
Rather than simply consuming such trends as 'trendy' designs, this book approaches them as a genealogy of the movement.
『Graphic Critic』 departs from a linear historical narrative that arranges each chapter chronologically, acknowledging the complex temporality of history and addressing various topics in a cross-cutting manner.
Through this, we encounter the multiple aspects of design history that cannot be reduced to a single narrative.
This is the author's methodological proposal to read and write design history with a more flexible and expansive concept of time.
In other words, this book is also another experiment in the book as a critical platform that crosses research and practice.
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: June 13, 2025
- Page count, weight, size: 544 pages | 514g | 116*184*35mm
- ISBN13: 9791168230996
- ISBN10: 1168230993
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