W. A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design

“A book to spend a year with … Dwiggins did more to promote, diversify, and integrate the graphic, typographic, and printing-arts disciplines than anyone of his generation.” —Steven Heller, design historian

Often credited with inventing the term “graphic design,” W.A. Dwiggins was a quintessential maker—fabricating his own tools and experimenting with design in areas as wide-ranging as stamps, currency, books, kites, marionettes, theatrical sets and lighting. While he began his career in advertising, Dwiggins became a book designer. He also created several typefaces including Electra and Caledonia, which are still used in publishing today. More than any of his contemporaries, Dwiggins united the full range of applied arts into a single profession: designer. Despite this feat, a thorough study of this revolutionary figure has never been published widely in the trade—until now.
At nearly 500 pages and with over 1,000 color illustrations, W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design offers an engaging overview of the designer’s wide-ranging creative output and lasting impact on the graphic arts. Filled with colorful book covers and intricate stencil designs, W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design is a worthy testament to Dwiggins’ consistent innovation. Designer and author Bruce Kennett’s careful research, warm prose and inclusion of personal accounts from Dwiggins’ friends portray not only a brilliant designer but a truly likable character.
W.A. Dwiggins (1880–1956) studied printing and typography under Frederic Goudy in Chicago. He designed four widely used Linotype faces: Caledonia, Eldorado, Electra and Metro. As a book designer for Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., he designed 329 books, of which 17 were honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts.