Graphic Design: History and Practice

Graphic design history is a territory where multiple interests converge but where views may diverge, especially those of design practitioners and historians. How do historical narratives shape the definition of the field of practice? Conversely, how does graphic design practice contribute, or how can it contribute, to defining the ways of access and disseminate historical knowledge? How does history help to develop critical discourse about the design practice? How do designers use and embed history in their practice? Finally, are the visions and agendas of practictioners and academic historians really incompatible and distant from one another?The proceedings of the conference 'Graphic Design: History and Practice', held at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Faculty of Design and Art, in 2014, attempt to answer to those questions through the voices of both designers and historians who have been extensively involved with the making of design history