Design Reviewed is an independent archive and website documenting the history of graphic design.
Documenting the history of graphic design from a personal, growing archive and a series of lectures and workshops.
The Design Reviewed Book
The Design Reviewed Book draws directly from this collection, bringing together a carefully considered selection of artefacts in a format that is both tactile and accessible. The 400-page volume spans rare graphic and architecturally focused periodicals, including Typografia, Architectural Design and Typographische Monatsblätter, alongside posters, stamps and ephemera from across the world. Together they reflect a broad history of styles and practice, with connections across architecture, culture and industry.
Organised into sections that move from Art Nouveau and Early Modernism through to Pop and Postmodernism, the selection is wide. Drawn from across the full archive, artefacts were chosen not for personal preference but for their ability to illustrate wider historical developments, ideas and approaches within graphic design.
Mission
Design Reviewed was created to give designers, researchers, and creatives affordable access to design history.
The archive is free to explore online; all designer profiles, scanned artefacts, country histories, and movement pages are publicly accessible. Membership from £2.49/month unlocks the articles, researched and written by Matt and guest authors, directly from the physical collection.
Graphic Design Archive
Hi, my name is Matt Lamont and I have collected printed matter for over a decade. Design Reviewed is a personal project dedicated to digitally preserving graphic design history and documenting the vast visual culture from the last century.
My current collection of design artefacts contains over 11,000 artefacts of printed matter, spanning 150 years of graphic design history. From rare graphic and architecturally focused periodicals such as Typografia, Architectural Design and Typographische Monatsblatter and National Theatre programmes designed by Ken Briggs. To mid-century colourful folded maps and illustrated German film posters designed by Hans Hillmann.
Historic Graphic Design Articles
By drawing on historical design artefacts, the articles provide valuable insight into the evolution of graphic design as a discipline and its ongoing impact on visual culture.
Graphic Design History Newsletter
Discover more gems from the past and keep up-to-date with all things Design Reviewed, by signing up for the design history newsletter
Design History Workshops
I have inspired students both locally and internationally including Milan from the IED, Istituto Europeo di Design, LABASAD (Barcelona School of Arts and Design). Arts Univeristy Bournemouth, Leeds Beckett and many more educational institutions. They’re meticulously curated with my extensive archive, offered either via live video or in-person settings, featuring hundreds of design artefacts that serve as a catalyst for discourse. In addition to delivering lectures on graphic design history, I provide valuable insights into industry practices and running a design agency.
