Steven Heller

On January 11, I attended the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington event, Steven Heller, Iron Graphics: Branding Totalitarian States.

Steven Heller gave a historical analysis of the state of the leading twentieth century totalitarian regimes through the lens of graphic design. With research from his upcoming book, Iron Fists: Branding the Totalitarian State, he described how major dictatorships in modern history used graphics and design to propagate their ideologies. From Mussolini to Nazi Germany to Lenin, totalitarian regimes maintain themselves in political power by means of propaganda through their state-controlled mass media. Heller dissects these graphics using the language of contemporary branding.

I learned how truly important design is in the world and how it can convey ideas.