Trained as a lithographer, Joseph entered the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts in 1922. In 1924 he founded the studio Vienna Graphics and made his name with posters and advertisements. He was one of the founding fathers of the association Design Austria, which still organizes a competition for the Joseph Binder Award. As a student he created award-winning posters for the American Red Cross; this allowed him to work for two years in the US. In 1933–35 he was guest lecturer at the Chicago Art Institute and the Minneapolis School of Art. In 1936 he left definitively for New York, and became a US citizen in 1944. He worked with simplified geometric forms, contrasts and high-impact colours. Clients included American Railroads, American Airlines, A&P Iced Coffee. The US Navy appointed him their art director and designer. In the sixties he turned away from commercial work and produced abstract art, which was shown in NY MoMA and the Museum of Applied Art in Vienna.