Rebecca Houze is Associate Professor of Art History at Northern Illinois University, USA, where she teaches courses on the history of design and the decorative arts. She is the co-editor, with Grace Lees-Maffei, of 'The Design History Reader' (Bloomsbury 2010).

From the arches of McDonald's to the bull's eye of Target, signs and symbols have rich stories to tell. In these smart, engaging essays, Rebecca Houze unlocks the tensions that dwell just beneath the surface of commercial iconography.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. Green: Thoughts on Sustainability2. Gateway: Transportation, Triumph, and Striking Gold3. Bull’s-Eye! A Meditation on Targets4. I is for Indian: Learning to Read Race in America5. The False Mirror: Voyeurism, Surveillance, and the Uncanny6. Red State Blue State: Totem and Taboo7. DS: Touchscreen Goddess8. Just Do It: Imperative and Empowerment in the Athletic Shoe9. The Grid: Design in PlaySelect BibliographyIndex

Rebecca Houze is Associate Professor of Art History at Northern Illinois University, USA, where she teaches courses on the history of design and the decorative arts. She is the co-editor, with Grace Lees-Maffei, of 'The Design History Reader' (Bloomsbury 2010).

From the arches of McDonald's to the bull's eye of Target, signs and symbols have rich stories to tell. In these smart, engaging essays, Rebecca Houze unlocks the tensions that dwell just beneath the surface of commercial iconography.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. Green: Thoughts on Sustainability2. Gateway: Transportation, Triumph, and Striking Gold3. Bull’s-Eye! A Meditation on Targets4. I is for Indian: Learning to Read Race in America5. The False Mirror: Voyeurism, Surveillance, and the Uncanny6. Red State Blue State: Totem and Taboo7. DS: Touchscreen Goddess8. Just Do It: Imperative and Empowerment in the Athletic Shoe9. The Grid: Design in PlaySelect BibliographyIndex

Rebecca Houze is Associate Professor of Art History at Northern Illinois University, USA, where she teaches courses on the history of design and the decorative arts. She is the co-editor, with Grace Lees-Maffei, of 'The Design History Reader' (Bloomsbury 2010).

From the arches of McDonald's to the bull's eye of Target, signs and symbols have rich stories to tell. In these smart, engaging essays, Rebecca Houze unlocks the tensions that dwell just beneath the surface of commercial iconography.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. Green: Thoughts on Sustainability2. Gateway: Transportation, Triumph, and Striking Gold3. Bull’s-Eye! A Meditation on Targets4. I is for Indian: Learning to Read Race in America5. The False Mirror: Voyeurism, Surveillance, and the Uncanny6. Red State Blue State: Totem and Taboo7. DS: Touchscreen Goddess8. Just Do It: Imperative and Empowerment in the Athletic Shoe9. The Grid: Design in PlaySelect BibliographyIndex