Buildings can tell stories. They do this by signifying an event, ex-
pressing the mission of an institution, and conveying the nature of
a process. Fully achieving any of these intentions requires a syn-
thesis of graphic design and architecture. Richard Poulin has, in his
professional work and teaching, dramatically demonstrated how
architecture can be enriched by symbols and typography. This book
contains many examples—some as exaggerated as Venturi Scott
Brown’s Institute for Scientific Information in Philadelphia, others as
subtle as Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Graphic Design and Architecture: A 20th-Century History will
be mandatory reading for every graphic designer and architect, as
well as all those that aspire to these two ...