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Lester Beall was one of the most prolific and influential designers of the early to mid-twentieth century. Philip Meggs in his A History of Graphic Design, credits Beall with "almost single-handedly launching the Modern movement in American design." He changed the way graphic design was perceived by people both involved in and outside of the profession. Beall felt that designing something simply to make it visually appealing was j ust not good enough; that design …

…it was impossible to for him to separate the aesthetics of his work from its purpose. He taught that to maintain a relevant voice, the designer must drink up knowledge of other art forms and of the culture he existed in. Though most of his design devices have been co-opted and reused to the point of meaninglessness, I think that this philosophy of the design methodology remains his most lasting contribution to modern communication design.