Women Graphic Designers

Rebalancing the Canon

Elizabeth Resnick

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781350349261
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Art General

Women are now the largest student body demographic in graphic design programs, yet in the twenty-first century the professional work of female designers is still underrepresented or ignored in the media and historical canons.

Women Graphic Designers features illustrated essays of 42 undervalued and marginalized female graphic designers from diverse global cultures who worked professionally during the 20th century (1900–1999). Each essay critically explores each subject's challenges and alternative approaches when faced with professional roadblocks or personal and family dilemmas.

With a broad range of contributors from around the world looking at the work of international graphic designers, this new collection is ideal for use on courses that expand the conversation beyond the traditional canon and look at design history holistically. This significantly important publication will celebrate the contribution women have made to the discipline of graphic design and help establish a more comprehensive, diverse and inclusive design history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• CONTENTS
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• SECTION 1
• 1.0 Introduction
• 1.1 Uemura Shōen: The Pine that Stands Alone Yet Which Is One of Many
• 1.2 Jane Atché: The Smoking Woman
• 1.3 Varvara Stepanova: Life under Construction
• 1.4 Fré Cohen: A Dutch Jewish Socially Conscious Feminist Artist
• 1.5 Ans van Zeijst: A Dynamic Designer within Religious and Secular Contexts
• 1.6 Maria Keil: The Polyphonic Work of a Pioneering Portuguese Designer
• 1.7 Sufism and Science in Saloua Raouda Choucair’s Design Work
• 1.8 Dorrit Dekk: Making a Name for Herself in Graphic Design
• 1.9 Roswitha Bitterlich: Between Two or More Worlds
• SECTION 2
• 2.0 Introduction
• 2.1 Anita Klinz: The Art of Book Design
• 2.2 Jacqueline S. Casey: Design and Science
• 2.3 Lora Lamm: Between Swiss and Italian Graphic Design
• 2.4 Claudia Morgagni: Woman, Graphic Designer, Teacher
• 2.5 Nelly Rudin: A Concrete Graphic Designer
• 2.6 Dorothea Hofmann: Patiently Persevering
• 2.7 Karmele Leizaola: The First Woman Graphic Designer in Venezuela
• 2.8 Gülümser Aral Üretmen: A Pioneering Turkish Female Graphic Designer
• 2.9 Tomoko Miho: The Personification of European Modernism
• 2.10 Anneliese Ernst: Graphics for Use
• 2.11 Dolly Sahiar: Layers of Artistry in Editorial Design
• 2.12 Odiléa Toscano: Elegance and Wit for Printed Graphics and Public Architectural Spaces
• 2.13 Thérèse Moll: An Enigma Gone Too Soon
• 2.14 Eiko Emori: Designer, Artist, and Trailblazer
• 2.15 Dorothy E. Hayes: Shaping the Narrative of Black Creatives in Design
• 2.16 Agni Katzouraki: The “Light” of Greek Aesthetics in Graphic Design
• 2.17 Bonnie MacLean: Pioneering Psychedelic Poster Artist
• SECTION 3
• 3.0 Introduction
• 3.1 Eulindra Lim: The Rise of Women in Singapore Design
• 3.2 Elizabeth Fitz-Simon: Professionalizing Graphic Design in Ireland
• 3.3 Anna Monika Jost: A Nomadic Practitioner
• 3.4 Anna Eymont, Myriam Kin-Yee, and Alison Hulett: EKH, the Quiet Australians
• 3.5 Making a Difference: The Graphic Design Work of Trish de Villiers
• 3.6 Mahnoosh Moshiri: Designs as a Poet, Writes as an Illustrator, and Livesas an Artist
• 3.7 Arlette Haddad: An Arabic Type Design Hermit
• 3.8 Farideh Shahbazi: Illustrator, Graphic Designer, and Publisher of Children’s Books
• 3.9 Polly Bertram: From New Wave to AGI
• 3.10 Sylvia Harris: The Enduring Influence of a Resolutely Black and Worldly Citizen Designer
• 3.11 Kyungja Keum: Golden Days
• 3.12 Winnie Wai-kan Kwan: The Nurturer of Museum Design, Public Engagement, and Life Balance
• 3.13 Elisabetta Ognibene: A Militant Feminist Designer
• 3.14 Mara de Oliveira: A Woman Designer from Northern Uruguay
• 3.15 Marjaana Virta: Designer for Text and Textile
• 3.16 Sujata Keshavan: Indian Graphic Design Pioneer
• Notes on Contributors
• Index