Diversity in Design: Books on graphic design

At a time of few opportunities for women in general and even fewer for African American women, Jackie Ormes (1911-85) blazed a trail as a popular cartoonist with the major black newspapers of the day. Her cartoon characters (including Torchy Brown, Candy, Patty-Jo, and Ginger) delighted readers and spawned other products, including an elegant doll with a stylish wardrobe and "Torchy Togs" paper dolls.

A survey of contemporary design outside the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, North America, and Australasia covers the most popular areas of graphic design including posters, album covers, and packaging.

It was not until the 1970s that African American superheroes such as Luke Cage, Blade, and others emerged. But as this exciting new collection reveals, these superhero comics are only one small component in a wealth of representations of black characters within comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels over the past century. The Blacker the Ink is the first book to explore not only the diverse range of black characters in comics, but also the multitude of ways that black artists, writers, and publishers have made a mark on the industry.

This opulently illustrated volume sets out to repair this omission. Women in Graphic Design 1890-2012 presents the most significant female designers and traces their paths to professionalization and acclaim, through short biographies, essays and conversations with well-known contemporary female designers.