How Did William Addison Dwiggins Define Graphic Design?

William Addison Dwiggins, best known by his initials W.A. Dwiggins, is widely regarded as one of the most influential graphic designers of the 20th century.

A prolific type designer, printer and book designer, Dwiggins was also a pioneering typographer who developed a modernist style of graphic design that still influences practitioners today. He promoted an approach which emphasised visual communication over purely decorative aspects of design and his ideas have been hugely influential in shaping the modern world of graphic design.

Dwiggins saw graphic design as an important tool for communication and felt that it should be used to convey a message effectively. He believed that a successful design should be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, with the designer working within the limitations of both the medium and message to create an effective visual solution. In his book Layout in Advertising he wrote “the idea is to create something that looks good but also communicates information”.

He was also a pioneer in the field of typography, believing that type should be used to convey meaning as well as merely making text look attractive. His ideas about typeface selection were based on readability and legibility rather than simply choosing fonts based on how they looked. His book Layout in Advertising focused heavily on typography, with sections dedicated to legibility, composition, readability and layout.

Dwiggins was an advocate for simplicity in design. He believed that designers should strip their work back to its essentials while still conveying meaning effectively. He believed that clarity was key and advocated for simple layouts with plenty of white space between elements.

In conclusion, William Addison Dwiggins defined graphic design as being both aesthetically pleasing and functional in order to communicate information effectively through visual solutions such as typography and layout. He believed that simplicity was key, advocating for clear layouts with plenty of white space between elements. His ideas still influence modern practitioners today who continue to use his principles when designing their work.