Queer X Design - by Andy Campbell (Hardcover)

About the Book

The first-ever illustrated history of the iconic designs, symbols, and graphic art representing more than 5 decades of LGBTQ pride and activism--from the evolution of Gilbert Baker's rainbow flag to the NYC Pride typeface launched in 2017 and beyond.0Organized by decade beginning with Pre-Liberation and then spanning the 1970s through the millennium, QUEER X DESIGN will be an empowering, uplifting, and colorful celebration of the hundreds of graphics-from shapes and symbols to flags and iconic posters-that have stood for the powerful and ever-evolving LGBTQ movement over the last five-plus decades. Included in the collection will be everything from Gilbert Baker's original rainbow flag, ACT-UP's Silence = Death poster, the AIDS quilt, and Keith Haring's "Heritage of Pride" logo, as well as the original Lavender Menace t-shirt design, logos such as "The Pleasure Chest," protest buttons such as "Anita Bryant Sucks Oranges," and so much more. Sidebars throughout will cover important visual grouping such as a "Lexicon of Pride Flags," explaining the now more than a dozen flags that represent segments of the community and the evolution of the pink triangle.

Book Synopsis

The first-ever illustrated history of the iconic designs, symbols, and graphic art representing more than 5 decades of LGBTQ pride and activism.
Beginning with pre-liberation and the years before the Stonewall uprising, spanning across the 1970s and 1980s and through to the new millennium, Queer X Design celebrates the inventive and subversive designs that have powered the resilient and ever-evolving LGBTQ movement.
The diversity and inclusivity of these pages is as inspiring as it is important, both in terms of the objects represented as well as in the array of creators; from buttons worn to protest Anita Bryant, to the original 'The Future is Female' and 'Lavender Menace' t-shirt; from the logos of Pleasure Chest and GLAAD, to the poster for Cheryl Dunye's queer classic The Watermelon Woman; from Gilbert Baker's iconic rainbow flag, to the quite laments of the AIDS quilt and the impassioned rage conveyed in ACT-UP and Gran Fury ephemera.
More than just an accessible history book, Queer X Design tells the story of queerness as something intangible, uplifting, and indestructible. Found among these pages is sorrow, loss, and struggle; an affective selection that queer designers and artists harnessed to bring about political and societal change. But here is also: joy, hope, love, and the enduring fight for free expression and representation. Queer X Design is the potent, inspiring, and colorful visual history of activism and pride.

Review Quotes

"Queer X Design highlights and celebrates the many inventive and subversive designs that have helped drive the LGBTQ movement over the years...it's an inspiring and colourful visual history of design harnessed to bring about political and societal change."--CreativeBloq

"[Queer X Design] is an anthology of our trek from invisibility into Pride and beyond. It's a fascinating record that contains images that also predate the Stonewall rebellion by more than a quarter century... Between the covers of Queer X Design, you'll find photos that delight, artwork that seethes with rage, and images that have united the LGBTQ community in victories and setbacks throughout the struggle for equality."--Metrosource

"A beautifully bound, well-researched book that draws a lineage of LGBTQ designs richer than a thousand rainbow Ralph Lauren polos. Campbell's book details an uncut LGBTQ artistry, spanning digital, print, paint, and even ink n' skin work (check out the Phil Sparrow's Tattoo Flash for that good stuff) -- tracing back to the days of pre-liberation and upward into the 21st century."--The Austin Chronicle

"A big, bold, and inspiring collection of the visual imagery that both represented and shaped the identity of the LGBTQ movement."--The Advocate

"A pretty comprehensive illustrated history of the gay rights movement and how it's changed over the years.... Discover the stories behind some of the most memorable symbols of the past five decades."--HeSaid Magazine

"An empowering visual history of the iconic symbols and designs that defined many eras of the LGBTQ movement."--The Globe and Mail

"An entertaining, insightful, beautifully illustrated book that explains and celebrates the role of LGBTQ graphic design, and designers, since the Stonewall uprising in 1969 -- a sort of history of LGBTQ life and activism told through our symbols... [Campbell's] writing is insightful and entertaining and always interesting."--A&U Magazine

"For the first time, a colorful, visual collection coalesces the iconic posters, symbols and graphic designs that have defined 50 years of LGBTQ pride and activism. By decade, Andy Campbell's Queer X Design traces the lineage of lGBTQ artistry through pre-Stonewall to the present day."--Azure Magazine

"Since Queer X Design was published, it has become a touchstone for the modern history of the graphic design that accompanies queer movements."--BookRiot

"Sometimes, a rebellion begins with a rebrand. In Queer X Design, the professor Andy Campbell weaves a telling visual tapestry of an emerging L.G.B.T.Q. language and identity."--The New York Times

"This illuminating compendium by art historian and curator Andy Campbell is a deep dive into more than 50 years of the extraordinary art and design that came to represent the LGBTQ movement...Queer X Design is a must-read for anyone interested in the convergence of design, politics, and activism."--Metropolis Magazine

About the Author

Andy Campbell, PhD, is an art historian, critic, and curator. With more than a decade of experience in higher education and museum institutions, Campbell's projects focus on the juncture of identity-based political movement, visual culture, and art's histories. He is currently Assistant Professor of Critical Studies at USC-Roski School of Art and Design.