Kerry William Purcell is an English author on graphic design and visual culture. He is a frequent contributor to Baseline, Grafik and Eye Magazine.

Born in Cleethorpes

Cleethorpes

Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...

, Purcell is a writer, design critic and historian. His first book on the celebrated art director and photographer Alexey Brodovitch was published by Phaidon Press in 2002. This has been followed by his concise biography on the renowned photographer Weegee (Phaidon, London, 2004), his comprehensive study of the Swiss graphic designer Josef Müller-Brockmann (Phaidon, London, 2006) and a book on the work of Magnum photographer Steve McCurry entitled In the Shadow of the Mountains (Phaidon, London, 2007). He is also co-editor of the forthcoming Phaidon Archive of Graphic Design (2012). His writing has been published in several anthologies.

He is Lecturer in Design History at The University of Hertfordshire.

Books

• "Alexey Brodovitch", 2002, Phaidon Press. (ISBN 978-0714841632)
• "Weegee" (Phaidon, London, 2004) (ISBN 978-0714842240)
• "Josef Müller-Brockmann", 2007, Phaidon Press. (ISBN 978-0714843490)
• "In The Shadow of the Mountains" 2008 (Phaidon Press, 2007) (ISBN 978-0714846408)
• "Alexey Brodovitch - Ballet. Books on Books 11" (Errata, 2011) (ISBN 1935004220)

Book contributions

• Looking at Class: Film, Television and the Working Class in Britain, edited by Sheila Rowbotham and Huw Benyon, Rivers Oram Press. (ISBN 978-1854891211)
• The Education of a Photographer, edited by Steven Heller
  Steven Heller (graphic design)
  Steven Heller is an American art director, journalist, critic, author, and editor who specializes on topics related to graphic design....
  
   and Charles Traub, Allworth Press. (ISBN 978-1581154504)
• I Heart Design: Remarkable Graphic Design Selected by Designers, Illustrators, and Critics. Edited by Steven Heller, Rockport Publishers Inc. (ISBN 978-1592536825)

Magazine articles

• Alexey Brodovitch
  Alexey Brodovitch
  Alexey Brodovitch was a Russian-born photographer, designer and instructor who is most famous for his art direction of fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar from 1938 to 1958.- Early life in Russia :...
  
  , Baseline 31, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2000.
• Ballet, Baseline 40, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2003.
• Photographie, Baseline 41, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2003.
• The Crafty Linotyper, Eye, No. 55, Vol. 14, edited by Rick Poynor
  Rick Poynor
  Rick Poynor is a British writer on design, graphic design, typography and visual culture. He began as a general visual arts journalist, working on Blueprint magazine in London. After founding Eye magazine , which he edited from 1990 to 1997, he focused increasingly on visual communication...
  
  , Haymarket, Spring 2005.
• Camera, Baseline 46, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2005.
• Westvaco: Inspirations for Printers, Baseline 47, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2005.
• Herbert Matter: The Art of Photo-Graphics, Baseline 49, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2006.
• Alphabet and Image'', Baseline 50, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2006.
• ''The Thackeray Alphabet'', Baseline 51, edited by Mike Daines and Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2007.
• British Football Programmes (Published in Baseline 53, 2007)
• The Art of Psychographics'', Baseline 56, Edited by Hans Deiter Reichert, Bradbourne Publishing, 2008
• Martine Klimas, Grafik Magazine, No.162, 2008)
• "Olympic Pictograms, "Grafik Magazine" 178, 2009
• "Life Class", Grafik Magazine, No. 175, 2009
• "Project Projects" Grafik Magazine, No.182, 2010)
• "Massimo Vignelli", Grafik Magazine, No.181, 2010
• "Frozen Fire", Eye Magazine, No.77, 2010
• "Great Magazine", "Baseline Magazine", No.59, 2011
• "Wim Crouwel", Eye Magazine, No. 79, 2011

External links

• Kerry William Purcell's website
• The Art of Designer Biographies: An Interview Kerry William Purcell, by Steven Heller
  Steven Heller (graphic design)
  Steven Heller is an American art director, journalist, critic, author, and editor who specializes on topics related to graphic design....
  
  , on the AIGA
  Aiga
  ‘Aiga is a word in the Samoan language which means 'family.' The aiga is the family unit of Samoan society and differs from the Western sense in that it consists more than just a mother, father and children. The Samoan family, also referred to as an 'extended family' is based on the culture's...
  
  website