Incomplet Design History

Amanda Horton
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  • Design
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The nature of history is that it is never “complete”, new information is gained every day that changes our understanding an interpretations of history. The mission of Incomplete Design History is to explore areas of graphic design history that are overlooked or ignored; to expand our knowledge in the field and to include all sides of the story. Incomplete design history seeks to be inclusive, inclusive not only of people but of ideas and technologies that advance the field of graphic design. History is messy. History is incomplete.

  1. 6d ago

    Prestige Albums

    This episode includes a brief overview of the book WAIL and the history of album design at Prestige Records during the 1950s, by authors Mark Havens and Chris Entwhistle. From the RIT website: WAIL is the first book devoted exclusively to the pioneering album cover designers of Prestige Records, home to such musical giants as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins. Unprecedented in detail, WAIL documents a vital decade (1949–1960) of creative brilliance. An independent New York City label founded in 1949, Prestige chronicled the vibrant modern jazz scene of the 1950s. At Prestige, the alliance of postwar jazz and modern art found its deepest and most enduring expression. Inspired by some of the most significant music ever recorded, Prestige album covers provide a compelling panorama of midcentury graphic design.  WAIL introduces the graphic designers, photographers, and illustrators who established a visual language for modern jazz. The book is comprised of meticulously photographed album covers, artifacts, and ephemera, as well as profiles of each of the major Prestige figures. Exclusive firsthand interviews and estate materials provide cultural context and singular insight into the creative process. Unseen sketches, personal photographs, and outtakes from album cover shoots impart a vivid picture of art and jazz in mid-1950s New York. Above all, WAIL is a story of creative triumph. Drawn from a wealth of previously unpublished material, the book is an inspirational record of landmark graphic design.

    Prestige Albums

  2. Oct 22

    The History Behind Aunt Jemima

    The Aunt Jemima brand is recognized as the first company to use a living trademark that relied on racist stereotypes. Originating in 1889, the brand relied on the "mammy" archetype, known for depicting black women as docile, faithful slaves meant to soothe white guilt and market a fantasy of the Old South. In 1888, Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood bought a floundering flour mill in St. Joseph, Missouri. In an effort to sell off the excess flour, they developed a pancake mix that they sold in paper bags with their Pearl Milling Company name. Rutt and Underwood wanted a brand name that would set it apart from other products on the market. The Aunt Jemima name is reportedly from a minstrel show and this branding would last until 2021, when Quaker, who now owns the Aunt Jemima brand, announced they would phase out Aunt Jemima and rename the products to the original Pearl Milling Company. TIMELINE 1889 – Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood acquire a bankrupt flour mill and create a self-rising pancake flour and name it Aunt Jemima 1890– Rutt and Underwood go bankrupt and sell the company and recipe to R.T. Davis. 1893 – Nancy Green, a former slave born in Kentucky, debuts as the first Aunt Jemima at the World's Columbian Expo in Chicago. Purd Wright writes the fictional biography "The Life of Aunt Jemima,"  1903 – Robert Clark takes control of the company and renames it Aunt Jemima Mills. 1919 – Illustrator N.C. Wyeth joins the ad campaign under James Webb Young to reshape the brand's image. 1920s – Aunt Jemima becomes a ubiquitous part of American life and grocery stores. 1933 – Quaker Oats resurrects the "living trademark" for the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, hiring Anna Robinson as the new face of the brand. 1955 – Quaker Oats opens "Aunt Jemima's Pancake House" in Disneyland, featuring Aylene Lewis as the face of the restaurant. Early 1960s – The NAACP officially calls for a boycott of the Aunt Jemima brand. 1964 – The Disneyland restaurant is renamed "Aunt Jemima's Kitchen". 1968 – The brand image is revised, though the figure remains depicted as a slave woman with a head rag. 1970 – Disneyland removes the name "Aunt Jemima" from its restaurant. 1989 – Quaker Oats executes a major image overhaul, depicting her as a "working grandmother" rather than a slave. 1990 – The last national television campaign airs before a four-year hiatus. September 1994: The brand launches its first national TV campaign since 1990, hiring singer Gladys Knight to represent the product. 2019 – Quaker Oats significantly reduces marketing for the brand May 25, 2020 – The murder of George Floyd  June 15, 2020 – A TikTok video by Kirby Lauryen criticizing the Aunt Jemima brand goes viral. June 17, 2020 – Quaker Oats announces it will phase out the Aunt Jemima brand name and image. February 9, 2021 – Quaker Oats announces the new brand name: Pearl Milling Company June 2021: – New packaging is launched in grocery stores REFERENCES Gerhardt, D. R. (2022). The Last Breakfast with Aunt Jemima and Its Impact on Trademark Theory. The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts, 45(2), 231-262. ProQuest.  Harris, M. D. (2003). Colored Pictures: Race and Visual Representation. University of North Carolina Press. Kalaitzandonakes, M., Ellison, B., & Lusk, J. L. (2024, August). Goodbye Aunt Jemima: Consumer Preferences for Pancake Mix Following Rebranding. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics; Baton Rouge, 56(3), 445-462. ProQuest.  Kaplan, S. C. (2021). The Black Reproductive: Unfree Labor and Insurgent Motherhood. University of Minnesota Press. Manring, M. M. (1998). Slave in a Box: The Strange Career of Aunt Jemima. University Press of Virginia. McElya, M. (2007). Clinging to Mammy: The Faithful Slave in Twentieth-Century America. Harvard University Press.

    The History Behind Aunt Jemima

  3. Oct 15

    Graphics of the Grateful Dead

    The Grateful Dead occupy a singular place in American music and visual culture, achieving lasting success despite minimal radio play and a radically unconventional approach to performance, distribution, and branding. Founded in California in 1965, the band cultivated its audience through live, improvisational performances in which no two shows were ever the same. This emphasis on experience over reproducibility fostered a devoted fan base, known as Deadheads, and encouraged practices such as concert taping, tape trading, and fan-led circulation that have been described as an early form of viral marketing. Equally distinctive was the Grateful Dead’s approach to visual identity. Rather than relying on a single logo or cohesive corporate identity system, the band embraced a fluid system of symbols that evolved through collaboration with artists, designers, engineers, and fans. The Grateful Dead’s iconography was a decentralized and countercultural model of visual identity, focusing on key symbols such as the “Steal Your Face” (Stealie) skull and lightning bolt, the Skull and Roses (Bertha), the Dancing Bears, and the Terrapins. Created by figures including Owsley “Bear” Stanley, Bob Thomas, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, and Rick Griffin, these icons emerged from practical needs, psychedelic aesthetics, historical references, and fan participation rather than a top-down branding strategy. Permissive attitudes toward taping and unsanctioned merchandise helped expand the band’s visual language through fan creativity on Shakedown Street and beyond. Together, these practices reveal how the Grateful Dead built a powerful and enduring visual identity rooted in collaboration, adaptability, and community. All of which challenge conventional assumptions about branding, authorship, and control in graphic design history. TIMELINE 1938 - Bob Thomas is born 1940 - Phil Lesh is born, Stanley “Mouse” Miller is born, Alton Kelley is born 1942 - Jerry Garcia is born 1945 - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan is born 1946 - Bill Kreutzmann is born 1947 - Bob Weir is born 1965 - The Grateful Dead band formed in Palo Alto, California 1966 - September, Grateful Dead perform at Avalon Ballroom, Kelley and Mouse designed poster 1969 - Steal Your Face or Stealie logo developed by Owsley Stanley & Bob Thomas, Live Dead album released. 1971 - Grateful Dead Live double LP released with Skull & Roses cover by Kelley & Mouse 1973 - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan dies, History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice) album released 1976 - the Steal Your Face Album was released 1985 - Rick Griffin creates minuteman logo for 20th anniversary tour 1993 - Bob Thomas dies 1995 - Jerry Garcia dies, the Band breaks up 2008 - Alton Kelley dies 2024 - Phil Lesh dies 2026 - Bob Weir dies REFERENCES Barnes, B. (2014). Everything I Know about Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead: The Ten Most Innovative Lessons from a Long, Strange Trip. Benson, M. (2016). Why the Grateful Dead Matter (1st ed.). ForeEdge,  an imprint of University Press of New England. Browne, D. (2024, October 30). See the Original Art That Inspired the Grateful Dead’s Classic Logo. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/grateful-dead-original-art-logo-1316160/ Bryant, M. (2015). Sullivan, Edmund Joseph (1869–1933), illustrator and cartoonist. In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Cushway, P. (2012). Art of the Dead. National Geographic Books. Edgers, G. (2015, May 22). Meet the artist who invented the Grateful Dead’skull and roses logo: Stanley “Mouse” Miller talks Dead, monsters on hot rods and dung-eating beetles on Journey albums. The Washington Post (Online). Fabulous, M. (2025, January 30). Grateful Dead Art: The Stories and Inspiration Behind the Icons we Love. Meghan Fabulous. https://www.meghanfabulous.com/blogs/the-daily-fab/grateful-dead-art-the-stories-and-inspiration-behind-the-icons-we-love?srsltid=AfmBOopyfVHYjIyIqIu0BEPWGHw6gHDeFEmNIDLxN5qGrFJ5lfb376j4 Fricke, D. (2011, Apr 14). The Grateful Dead remember LSD guru Owsley Stanley. Rolling Stone, 26.  Grushkin, P. (1987). The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk. Jackson, B., McNally, D., Peters, S., & Wills, C. (2003). Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip. DK Publishing Kapoor, M. (n.d.). Why Edward FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam is One of the Most Controversial Translations Ever | Sahapedia. Sahapedia. https://www.sahapedia.org/why-edward-fitzgeralds-rubaiyat-omar-khayyam-one-most-controversial-translations-ever#:~:text=While%20there%20have%20been%20many,never%20wrote%20to%20the%20Rub%C3%A1iy%C3%A1t. McNally, D. (2002). A long strange trip: inside the history of The Grateful Dead. Broadway Books. OBITUARIES: Owsley "Bear" Stanley. (2011, 05). Goldmine, 37, 93.  Patton, A. (2023, February 17). A guide to Grateful Dead Iconography. American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/a-guide-to-grateful-dead-iconography/ Richardson, P. (2015). No Simple Highway: A Cultural History of the Grateful Dead. Macmillan. Scott, D. M., & Halligan, B. (2010). Marketing lessons from the Grateful Dead : what every business can learn from the most iconic band in history (1st edition). Wiley. Skull and Roses/Grateful Dead, Oxford Circle, Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco | Denver Art Museum. (n.d.). https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/edu/object/skull-and-rosesgrateful-dead-oxford-circle-avalon-ballroom-san-francisco Stanley, O. (n.d.). Grateful Dead Logo. The Bear. http://www.thebear.org/GDLogo.html

    Graphics of the Grateful Dead

  4. Oct 8

    Queer Symbols

    Throughout history, LGBTQ+ communities have used a wide range of icons, colors, badges, and symbols to communicate identity, resistance, and belonging, often under conditions of surveillance, persecution, and criminalization. Queer symbols as both coded language and visible markers, shifted in meaning as social conditions changed. Oscar Wilde used subtle visual cues like the Green Carnation of the Victorian Aesthetic Movement to signal queer identity in an era when homosexual acts were criminalized in Britain and beyond. The Pink Triangle, a symbol imposed by the Nazi regime to mark gay men as “other.” While it began as a tool of oppression, the Pink Triangle was later reclaimed as a sign of resilience, survival, and protest. The color lavender was an early twentieth-century coded reference, though it was weaponized during the McCarthy-era Lavender Scare before being reclaimed by lesbian activists such as the Radicalesbians and the Lavender Menace. Additional symbols, including the Lavender Rhinoceros and the Lambda, demonstrate how queer communities have repeatedly transformed stigma into empowerment through visual culture. The Pride Flag, arguably the most iconic queer symbol today, was designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978, and it has adapted and changed over the years to better reflect the diversity of LGBTQ+ identities. Together, these histories reveal how queer symbols function as tools of survival, protest, and self-definition, illustrating that visual identity within LGBTQ+ culture is neither fixed nor singular, but continually reshaped through struggle, reclamation, and collective action. TIMELINE 1871 - Criminal codes enacted in Germany defined homosexual acts between men as a criminal offense. 1885 - Gross indecency laws were enacted in the UK to prosecute sexual acts between men 1892 - Oscar Wilde wears a green carnation as a coded symbol of sexuality 1894 - The Green Carnation is published 1895 - Oscar Wilde is convicted of Gross Indecency  1938 -  Nazis force gay men to wear a pink triangle in concentration camps 1950s-1960s - Lavender Scare 1952 - Alan Turing  is convicted of Gross Indecency  1969 -  June 28, the Stonewall riots were LGBTQ demonstrations in response to a police raid at the Stonewall in. 1969 -  Author and activist Betty Friedan warns of the Lavender Menace (Lesbians) 1970 - on the 1st anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the first Pride Parades take place. 1970 - Tom Doerr  introduced the lambda as a symbol for the Gay Activists Alliance 1974 - The Lavender Rhinoceros is introduced in Boston, Massachusetts, as a symbol of visibility for the LGBTQ community 1978 - Gilbert Baker designs the rainbow flag, 8 colors 1979 - The Rainbow flag is reintroduced with 6 colors 1986 - The Silence Equals Death Collective adopts an inverted version of the pink triangle for their  message 1987 - National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights poster uses pink triangle 1987- Gross Indecency laws were repealed in Canada 1988 - The National Coming Out Day logo is very geometric and includes multiple references to Lavender triangles  and at least one pink triangle 1994 -  Mile-long Pride flag, created by Gilbert Baker, is carried down 5th avenue in Manhattan 1999 - Transgender flag introduced 2003 - The gross indecency provisions were repealed in UK 2005 - Black and pink organization in Massachusetts adopts a variation of the pink triangle for its logo 2021 - Progress Pride flag introduced REFERENCES Campbell, A. (2019). Queer X design : 50 years of signs, symbols, banners, logos, and graphic art of LGBTQ (First edition.). Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. Cole, S. (2000). Invisible Men?. In ‘Don We Now Our Gay Apparel’: Gay Men’s Dress in the Twentieth Century (pp. 59–70). Oxford: Berg. Retrieved October 1, 2025, from http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/9781847888679/DWNOGA0008 Gray, A. (2019, June 3). How a lavender rhino became a symbol of gay resistance in ’70s Boston | WBUR News. WBUR.org. https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/06/03/lavender-rhino-gay-resistance-boston Hastings, C. (2020, June 4). _How lavender became a symbol of LGBTQ resistanc_e. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/style/article/lgbtq-lavender-symbolism-pride Jewish Badge: During the Nazi era | Holocaust Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Holocaust Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jewish-badge-during-the-nazi-era Mark, J. J., & Sailko. (2025). LGBTQ+ in the ancient world. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1790/lgbtq-in-the-ancient-world/ Matthews David, A. (2018). Tainted Love: Oscar Wilde’s Toxic Green Carnation, Queerness, and Chromophobia. In J. Faiers & M.W. Bulgarella (Ed.). Colors in Fashion (pp. 127–142). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved October 1, 2025, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474273701.ch-012 McMillan, K. (n.d.). Violet delights: A queer history of purple. V&A Dundee. https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/articles/violet-delights-a-queer-history-of-purple?srsltid=AfmBOoq3ibyH5gRqwjaw0Azk0G2-e9BEV2q1EkbRYHth9Cay-_Cnpyg8 Meyers, J. (2019). 'Green Carnation'. TLS. Times Literary Supplement, (6080), 6. Mordden, E. (1991, October 21). Rock and Cole. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1991/10/28/rock-and-cole Mullen, M. (2025, May 28). The Pink Triangle: From Nazi label to symbol of gay Pride | HISTORY. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/articles/pink-triangle-nazi-concentration-camps Newsome, W. (2019). Pink Triangle. In Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History (pp. 1238–1243). Stewart, J. (2008). Pink is for Boys. Step Inside Design, 24(1), 28-31,12. The New York Public Library. (n.d.). Radicalesbians. NYPL, 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation. http://web-static.nypl.org/exhibitions/1969/radicalesbians.html Online exhibition - Gilbert Baker — GLBT Historical Society. (n.d.). GLBT Historical Society. https://www.glbthistory.org/gilbert-baker

    Queer Symbols

  5. Oct 1

    Saving Languages

    Graphic design is not merely decorative but operates as a powerful form of cultural and linguistic activism in the fight against language extinction. The relationship between design and language is not new. Dating back to the earliest forms of writing, it is an exercise in taking a spoken language and giving it a physical shape, whether it’s inscribing on soft clay tablets, or writing on papyrus or printing on paper. Languages must be visible, used, and emotionally valued to survive, and graphic design provides the tools to make that possible. Through tools such as typography and infographics, designers can ensure visibility, foster pride, and transform endangered languages into living, public, and emotionally resonant systems. Design is an active force of resistance, revitalization, and cultural survival in the realm of language preservation. REFERENCES Busby, J. (2024, September 11). Reclaiming a Language: Contextualizing John Eliot’s Genesis. King's Collection. https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/kingscollections/2024/09/11/reclaiming-a-language-contextualizing-john-eliots-genesis Daniels, B., & Andrea, S. (2022). Indigenous Language Revitalization and Applied Linguistics: Conceptualizing an Ethical Space of Engagement Between Academic Fields. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 25, 1-18. 25. 1-18.  Fishman, J. A. (Ed.). (2001). Can Threatened Languages be Saved? Channel View Publications. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853597060 Janse, M., & Tol, S. (Eds.). (2003). Language Death and Language Maintenance: Theoretical, Practical and Descriptive Approaches. John Benjamins Publishing Company.  McIvor, O. (2020). Indigenous Language Revitalization and Applied Linguistics: Parallel Histories, Shared Futures? Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, (40), 78-96. Cambridge University Press.  Office of the Attorney General of Oklahoma. (2025, October 30). Drummond to dismiss Native American hunting case. oklahoma.gov. https://oklahoma.gov/oag/news/newsroom/2025/october/drummond-to-dismiss-native-american-hunting-case.html Ọladeji, T. M., Adelana, O. P., & Atolagbe, O. D. (2023). Language preservation: The role of infographics. Journal Of ICT In Education, 10(2), 74-97. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376893524_Language_preservation_The_role_of_infographics Olko, J., & Sallabank, J. (Eds.). (2021). Revitalizing Endangered Languages: A Practical Guide. Cambridge University Press. https://doi-org.libproxy.uco.edu/10.1017/9781108641142 Skillern, C. (n.d.). TulseyType. https://www.tulseytype.com Tapp, N. (1989). The Impact of Missionary Christianity Upon Marginalized Ethnic Minorities: The Case of the Hmong. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 20(1), 70-95. Cambridge University Press.  UNESCO. (2024, April 19). Digital preservation of Indigenous languages: At the intersection of technology and culture. UNESCO. Retrieved November 3, 2025, from https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/digital-preservation-indigenous-languages-intersection-technology-and-culture Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization. (2016, July 5). Amazigh: Morocco Upholds Ban of Traditional Names. unpo.org. https://unpo.org/amazigh-morocco-upholds-ban-of-traditional-names Ṿardi, ʻA. (Ed.). (2016). New Types: Three Pioneers of Hebrew Graphic Design. Israel Museum. Wang, I., & Tedx Talks. (2016). Designing for endangered languages | Irina Wang | TEDxUniversityofBristol [Youtube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvS5B-xMp1Y

    Saving Languages

  6. Sep 24

    Medical Design

    Medical design and illustration is a relatively new field, but medical practices and documentation have roots in ancient civilizations, such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Greece, and Rome. Texts like the Edwin Smith Papyrus (1600 BCE) and the Sushruta Samhita (600 BCE) show early practices in medical documentation, observation, and treatment. Though religious restrictions on human dissections would greatly limit medical advancements, eventual implementation would lead polymaths like Leonardo Da Vinci and Andreas Vesalius to contribute to the implementation of illustrations in medical texts. Rapid medical advancements in the 19th century would create a drastic shift in the approach, and demand of medical illustrations. This need led to the establishment of the field by German Illustrator Max Brödel, whose Carbon Dust technique and training program at Johns Hopkins established lasting principles of accuracy, clarity, and collaboration between physicians and illustrators. His influence extended through WWI and WWII, and to illustrators like Eleanora Fry, who helped define the visual identity of institutions such as the Mayo Clinic. Medical design would also find its place in public health communication, from medieval plague tractates to emotionally driven wartime posters, and large-scale public health campaigns from the Works Progress Administration. These visual strategies laid the groundwork for modern health communication, now seen in digital media, infographics, and global awareness campaigns. TIMELINE 10,000 – 4500 BCE – Early evidence of medical practices like trepanation 1600 BCE – Edwin Smith Papyrus was created,  documenting 48 injuries 600 BCE – Sushruta Samhita in India details surgical techniques and human dissection practices 4th Century  – Miasma theory arises, suggesting diseases come from “bad air” 13th Century – Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire permits physicians to perform one human dissection every five years 1348 – James of Agramont creates plague tractates intended for the general public 1440 – Gutenberg invents the printing press, enabling mass production of books and illustrations 1481 – Marsilio Ficino publishes Advice Against the Plague 15th – 16th century – Leonardo da Vinci produces detailed anatomical illustrations 1542 – Andreas Vesalius publishes De Humani Corporis Fabrica, a detailed, illustrated anatomical text 19th Century – Germ theory revolutionizes public health; bacteria and pathogens identified as primary causes of disease 1870 – Max Brödel born in Leipzig, Germany 1885 – Brödel enrolls at Leipzig Academy of Fine Arts at age 15 1888 – Illustrates a detailed anatomical cross-section for physiologist Carl Ludwig at the University of Leipzig 1891 – begins freelance work for Dr. Howard Kelly at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 1894 – Develops the Carbon Dust technique for realistic medical illustration 1911 – Medical illustration formally recognized as an academic discipline 1912–1920s – Eleanora Fry joins Mayo Clinic, producing highly detailed medical illustrations. 1914–1918 (WWI) – Medical illustrators document battlefield injuries, standardizing treatments and surgical techniques. 1930s–1940s – WPA commissions posters for public health campaigns in the U.S. 1939–1945 (WWII) – Public health and military posters illustrate hygiene, disease prevention, and venereal disease awareness Late 20th Century – Medical illustration incorporates 3D modeling, digital rendering, and animations 21st Century – Public health campaigns utilize digital media for awareness. REFERENCES Archaeology. (2025, January 9). Tomb of Pharaoh’s physician explored in Saqqara. Archaeology Magazine. https://archaeology.org/news/2025/01/09/tomb-of-pharaohs-physician-explored-in-saqqara Association of Medical Illustrators. (2025). A brief history of medical illustration. AMI. https://www.ami.org/medical-illustration/learn-about-medical-illustration Backus, G. (2023, October 5). Changes in medicine during the 19th century. American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/changes-medicine-during-19th-century Bergstrom, T. (2020, April 27). Marsilio Ficino’s consiglio contro la pestilentia. RBSC. https://sites.nd.edu/rbsc/marsilio-ficinos-consiglio-contro-la-pestilentia/#:~:text=Following%20the%20last%20of%20these,)%2C%20we%20might%20best%20avoid Bhattacharya, A. (2022, October 7). Sushruta—the very first anatomist of the world. Indian Journal of Surgery, 84, 901-904. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12262-022-03578-y Brenna, C. T. A. (2021). Post-mortem pedagogy: A brief history of the practice of anatomical dissection. Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, 12(1). https://www.rmmj.org.il/issues/48/articles/1152 Brown University. (2010). Religious interpretations of the causes of the plague. The Decameron Web. https://webhelper.brown.edu/decameron/plague/causes/religious.php Dalton, K. (2020, June 29). Germ theory from antiquity to the antebellum period. N_ational Museum of Civil War Medicine_. https://www.civilwarmed.org/germ-theory-antebellum/#:~:text=A%20major%20advancement%20came%20in,now-famous%20Broad%20Street%20Pump. Dray, D. (2023) Women in medical art. Surgeons' Hall Museums. https://surgeonshallmuseums.wordpress.com/2023/03/08/women-in-medical-art/#:~:text=During%20the%20war%2C%20thousands%20of,knowledge%20as%20widely%20as%20possible. Gandhi, M. A., & Patil, B. K. (2024). Sushruta: the father of surgery and ancient medical innovations. Cureus, 16(9). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11527508 Gase, J. (2020, February 6). The battle against germs: World war II public health posters. The National Museum of Health and Medicine. https://medicalmuseum.health.mil/micrograph/index.cfm/posts/2020/the_battle_against_germs#:~:text=Due%20to%20these%20conditions%2C%20with,in%20producing%20public%20health%20posters Green, J. (2021, March 18). Revisiting the miasma theory. The Dirt. https://dirt.asla.org/2021/03/18/the-miasma-theory-was-wrong-but-led-to-smart-sanitation/ Gross, C. G. (2021, June 11). A hole in the head: A history of trepanation. The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/hole-in-the-head-trepanation/ Hoe, R. (1902). A short history of the printing press. Project Gutenberg. Immerse. (2025). What does illustration mean? Immerse Education. https://www.immerse.education/beyond-syllabus/art-and-design/what-does-illustration-mean Johns Hopkins University. (2011, July 18). A century of medical illustration. The JHU Gazette. https://gazette.jhu.edu/2011/07/18/a-century-of-medical-illustration Jones, R. (2012). Leonardo da Vinci: anatomist. British Journal of General Practice, 62(599). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3361109 Kannadan, A. (2018). History of the miasma theory of disease. ESSAI, 16(18). https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/18 Kumar, A., & Kumar, B. N. (2020, January 31). The principles of surgical practice: Sushruta Samhita and its importance to present day surgery. Journal of Surgery 6(2). https://sciforschenonline.org/journals/surgery-open-access/article-data/JSOA207/JSOA207.pdf Magee, P. (2021, February 1). Plague era woodcuts shed light on shared beliefs in action. Fugitive Leaves. https://histmed.collegeofphysicians.org/plague-woodcuts/ For the full list of references, contact hello@idh.fm

    Medical Design

  7. Sep 17

    Matchbook design

    Matchbooks and matchboxes became influential artifacts in design and visual culture, beginning with early fire-starting tools in sixth-century China, all the way through the development of matches from simply functional to globally standardized packaging shaped by technological innovation. The Swedish safety match and the sliding-drawer box established the foundations of modern match design, while improvements in printing turned matchboxes into miniature canvases for illustration, typography, and branding. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, matchbooks evolved into pocket-sized billboards, showcasing advertisements for hotels, airlines, restaurants, and more. Their designs reflected broader movements like Art Deco and Modernism, capturing cultural identities across countries, from Soviet propaganda to Indian folk imagery and American corporate aesthetics. Although their popularity declined in the mid-twentieth century with the rise of lighters and anti-smoking campaigns, matchbooks have re-emerged as nostalgic design objects. Matchbooks ultimately shifted from ephemera to collectible artifacts, drawing on critic Arthur Danto’s ideas about collecting, matchbooks gained meaning as personal and cultural artifacts, valued for the stories they hold about people, places, and design. Today, boutique hotels, artists, and designers revive matchbooks as historic symbolism. This study shows that matchbooks reveal how design lives in ordinary objects. They demonstrate the power of small-scale design to communicate history and culture in ways that continue to resonate long after their original purpose has faded. TIMELINE 1827 – The First Friction Matches 1830s–1850s – Industrial Production Begins 1870s – Branded Labels on Matchboxes 1892 – The Paper Matchbook is Patented 1890s–1910s – Rise of Advertising Matchbooks 1920s–1930s – Golden Age of Matchbook Advertising 1940s – Wartime Utility 1950s–1960s – Midcentury Modern & Pop Culture 1970s–1980s – Iconic Branding & Collectibility 1990s – Decline Begins 2000s–Present – Retro Appeal & Niche Design REFERENCES Adler, B. (2014). The Matchbook: From flame to miniature billboard. Pennsylvania Center for the Book. https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/feature-articles/matchbook-flame-miniature-billboard Beauchamp, M. (2006). Striking images: Vintage Matchbook Cover Art. Chronicle Books. Biener, L., Nyman, A. L., Kline, R. L., & Albers, A. B. (2004). Adults only: The prevalence of tobacco promotions in bars and clubs in the Boston area. Tobacco Control, 13(4), 403. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.2004.007468 Creative spark: Vintage matchbook art in pictures. (2017, May 20). The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/may/20/creative-spark-vintage-matchbook-art-in-pictures-aaron-kasmin-sims-reed Danto, A. C. (1991). From matchbooks to masterpieces: Toward a philosophy of collecting. Aperture, 124, 2–3. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24472389 Greene, R. (n.d.). Matchless beauties: The art of pin-up matchbook covers. Yoe Books. Heller, S. (2003). Boxes of light. Print, 57(1), 97–98.  Heller, S., Fili, L., & Nadel, D. (2006). Stylepedia : a guide to graphic design mannerisms, quirks, and conceits. Chronicle Books. Heron, K. (2009, October 21) A New Old Freebie: Restaurant Matches Return. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/dining/21match.html Jones, B. (2004). Matchbox cover design: The evolution of and the influences on the graphical design of matchboxes [PDF]. Kosinski, J. (2017). Antiques Peek: October 2017. Journal of Antiques and Collectibles. https://journalofantiques.com/columns/antiques-peek-october-2017/ Lee, A. G. (2024). We’re in a matchbook renaissance; As a younger generation takes up match collecting, matchbooks are taking on a new life as a design motif and an emblem of worldliness. The Wallstreet Journal. https://www.wsj.com/style/fashion/matches-matchbooks-collectors-tiktok-prints-kate-spade-110d6b07?eafs_enabled=false Lewis, J. (1962). Printed ephemera; the changing uses of type and letterforms in English and American printing. W.S. Cowell; distributed by Faber and Faber, London. Novin, G. (2012). Chapter 51: A history of matchboxes. A History of Graphic Design. https://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2012/02/chapter-51-history-of-matchboxes.html Oatman-Stanford, H. (2014, October 24). Circling the globe with the mid-20th century’s most brilliant matchbox art. Collectors Weekly. https://medium.com/hunter-oatman-stanford/circling-the-globe-with-the-mid-20th-centurys-most-brilliant-matchbox-art-d3a82c14ee03 Promotions tied in with matchbooks. (1954). Women’s Wear Daily, 88(67), 3.  Saeed, Y. (n.d.). Lives in a Matchbox: Gautam Hemmady's Collection of Matchbox Labels [Online exhibit]. Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/lives-in-a-matchbox-tasveer-ghar/nAUxYaf8n-hyWw?hl=en Tres Bohemes. (2015, September 14). Czech matchbox graphics. Tres Bohemes. Wagner Match. (2019, December 17). Phillumeny: Interesting facts about matchbox collecting. Wagner Match. Woodcock, V. (2021). Lucky strikes: The art of the matchbox. FT.com. https://www.ft.com/content/92a45a71-c811-4dda-af85-f371b8dce667

    Matchbook design

  8. Sep 10

    The Hobo Code

    The Hobo Code was a shared visual language used by itinerant workers, okies, bohemians, and some famous blues artists in America. In the late 1800s, people (usually men) hopped onto trains and headed into the American West looking for work wherever they could find it. These people, called hobos, developed and used a system of pictograms to leave notes for other hobos passing through. Whether it was to signal that water and food was available in an area, or to alert Hobos of police enforcement, this shared language strengthened a marginalized community. Not all hobos were men. The documentation is sparse, but there are some records of women hopping trains. As some of them were fleeing situations of domestic violence, for them, the hobo code was a lifeline for finding sanctuary in unfamiliar towns and cities. As more people took to traveling the train lines looking for work, a worker’s union emerged along with a publication and what were known as hobo colleges. During and after WWII, there were far fewer itinerant workers and the need for the hobo code declined, but it didn’t go away. It evolved into some of the train graffiti we see today. TIMELINE 1865 - Civil War ends and discharged soldiers are looking for work becoming the original itinerant laborers. 1869 - Transcontinental Railroad is completed by immigrant laborers which creates a source of transportation for transient workers (hobos and tramps). 1873 - The Panic of 1873 forces large amounts of stable workers onto the road in search of new jobs. 1880s - “Hobo” becomes a formal group to distinguish themselves from tramps. 1890 - The Hobo Code begins to spread across different parts of the west. 1900s - The term Hobohemia becomes a part of white hobo culture 1905 - Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) founded. 1909 - The Little Red Songbook was published by the IWW in Spokane Washington. 1910-1920 - New Immigration (European immigrants join migratory labor and add to hobo population). 1920s - African American hobos and itinerant works express hardship through music which leads to the start of the blues. 1929 - Stock market crashes leading to the Great Depression (Hobohemia Golden Age) 1930s - Dust Bowl storms displace midwest families and lead to more migration to the west. 1940s - World War II begins, allowing workers to find stable war industrial jobs marking the end of the hobohemian era. REFERENCES Allsop, K. (1967). Hard travellin’; the hobo and his history. New American Library. Clayton, O. (2023). Vagabonds, Tramps, and Hobos. In Vagabonds, Tramps, and Hobos: The Literature and Culture of U.S. Transiency 1890–1940 (pp. i–i). half-title-page, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dreyfuss, H. (1972). Symbol sourcebook : an authoritative guide to international graphic symbols (First edition.). McGraw-Hill. Dyl, J. (2014). Transience, Labor, and Nature: Itinerant Workers in the American West. International Labor and Working Class History, 85(85), 97–117. Hall, J. (2010). Sisters of the Road?: The Construction of Female Hobo Identity in the Autobiographies of Ethel Lynn, Barbara Starke, and “Box-Car” Bertha Thompson. Women’s Studies, 39(3), 215–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/00497871003595828 Hobo Communications: A Brief History of Hobos and Their Signs. (2021, August 4). National Security Agency/Central Security Service. https://www.nsa.gov/History/National-Cryptologic-Museum/Exhibits-Artifacts/Exhibit-View/Article/2718897/hobo-communications-a-brief-history-of-hobos-and-their-signs/ https://www.folkschool.org/author/cory. (2017, January 13). What’s a Hobo Nickel? JCCFS. https://www.folkschool.org/2017/01/13/whats-hobo-nickel/ NPR. (2016, June 11). Anthropologist Discovers 100-Year-Old Graffiti By “America’s Most Famous Hobo.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2016/06/11/481695146/anthropologist-discovers-100-year-old-graffiti-by-americas-most-famous-hobo Liungman, C. G. (1991). Dictionary of symbols. ABC-CLIO. Joffe-Block, J. (2025, November 8). Immigration agents have new technology to identify and track people. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/11/08/nx-s1-5585691/ice-facial-recognition-immigration-tracking-spyware Volk, T. M. (2001). Little Red Songbooks: Songs for the labor force of America. Journal of Research in Music Education, 49(1), 33-48. https://libproxy.uco.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/little-red-songbooks-songs-labor-force-america/docview/214489163/se-2 Wanderer, J. J. (2001). Hobo Signs: Embodied Metaphors and Metonymies. American Journal of Semiotics, 17(4), 131–146. https://doi.org/10.5840/ajs200117476

    The Hobo Code
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The nature of history is that it is never “complete”, new information is gained every day that changes our understanding an interpretations of history. The mission of Incomplete Design History is to explore areas of graphic design history that are overlooked or ignored; to expand our knowledge in the field and to include all sides of the story. Incomplete design history seeks to be inclusive, inclusive not only of people but of ideas and technologies that advance the field of graphic design. History is messy. History is incomplete.

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