The designer, collector and author David King was a unique figure with a body of work that spanned graphic design, journalism, photography and visual history. In this extensively illustrated monograph – the first detailed study of King – Rick Poynor explores King’s early achievements as a designer for The Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s; his incisive activist graphics for the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the Anti-Nazi League; and his enormous and eclectic collection of materials from revolutionary Russia, which was acquired by Tate in 2016. With iconic images such as King’s photographs of Muhammad Ali, his layouts of Don McCullin’s war photography in The Sunday Times Magazine, and his paperback cover designs for Penguin, this book traces King’s evolution from engaged visual journalist to a new kind of graphic author able to create compelling, image-led narratives of history. 

Reviews

“An exceptional book in its informative text and well edited images (smartly designed by Simon Esterson), worthy of its protagonist and extra valuable to graphic design and political graphics history.”

Steven Heller, Print

“A vital addition to the King collection, assembling for the first time work from across his fields. It is a link, through the artist and archivist, to a history that continues to inspire today.”

Yuri Prasad, Socialist Worker

“Poynor’s David King lives up to its subject’s magnificent achievement.”

James Woudhuysen, Spiked

“An enthralling visual document of King’s work . . . The book gives access to a wealth of material I had never seen, lovingly curated and meticulously reproduced. It shows what a joy a printed monograph, conceived, edited and designed by enthusiasts, can be.”

Mark Porter, Eye

“A rich and comprehensive look at one of our finest visual communicators and it deserves to be in the library of every design school.”

Mark Noad, Forum 41

“Excellent . . . A richly illustrated biography and monograph.”

AIGA Eye on Design

“The perfect homage to King.”

Jeremy Leslie, magCulture