Steven Heller

Steven Heller|Essays

Snatching Satire From The Jaws Of Popular Culture

Caricature is Steve Brodner’s weapon of choice.

Steven Heller|Essays

The D Word: Henrik Drescher

What are the acceptable limits of outsider art?

Steven Heller|Interviews

The Swiss Grid

In celebration of the new exhibit at the Poster House, “The Swiss Grid”, Steven Heller interviewed Allon Schoener, the curator of the first "Swiss Graphic Designer" exhibit in the US in 1958.

Steven Heller|Essays

Harsh Words from T.M. Cleland

Design criticism may be comparatively new, but critical designers are not.

Steven Heller|Essays

Christmas Schmaltz

I adore Christmas schmaltz — the sounds, the smells, and the graphics. I don’t mind that the clichés of the season pop up earlier and earlier every year.

Steven Heller|Essays

Why Does John Baeder Paint Diners?

John Baeder's goal for the past three decades has been to record on canvas and paper just about every diner and roadside eatery.

Steven Heller|Essays

Ramparts: Agent of Change

Ramparts magazine has been dead for almost two decades, but to look back at it, it stands out as one to remember.

Steven Heller|Essays

People in Glass Apartments

People in glass apartments shouldn’t throw stones or other projectiles. Nor should they engage in private acts directly in front of their floor to ceiling windows.

Steven Heller|Essays

My First Taste of Political Satire

On the sad day that Ted Kennedy died I came across a tattered copy of MacBird, the 1966 play by Barbara Garson.

Steven Heller|Slideshows

Covering the Good Books

When reading was more fundamental than tweeting, Time Life Books played a significant role in getting the general public to acquire books on almost every subject.

Steven Heller|Essays

A Good Trademark: A Historical Perspective

Textile Brand Names Dictionary, included were more than 4,000 names of fibers, yarns, fabrics, and garments registered with the United States Patent Office between 1934 and 1947.

Steven Heller|Essays

When Satire Was More Than Funny

"L'Impudique Albion," caricature d'Edouard VII by Jean Veber, L'Assiette au Beurre, Septembre 1901At the turn of the century the French Republic was threatened by a military-church-aristocracy coalition and a huge bureaucratic …