Synopses & Reviews
Essential facts, authoritative opinions and a provocative list of the most influential designers.
Design: The Definitive Directory of Modern Design is a dynamic and comprehensive guide to the subject. Global in scope, this book includes architecture, industrial design, furniture, fashion, cars, clothing, graphics, consumer products, signs and much more -- all complemented by 300 color photographs. There are also up-to-date profiles of the innovators and visionaries past and present whose achievements have forever changed the way we view ourselves and the world.
A series of essays outlines the role of design in modern cultural history and includes Terence Conran's definition of design. The main section of the book is an A-Z directory of the most influential people, products and processes of the past and present centuries and includes biographies of leading designers. The authors also share their personal views on today's newest achievers.
Among the topics examined: Art, industry and the beginnings of designThe consumer age and mass consumptionThe craft ideal of old valuesThe Modern movement and the romance of the machineAmerica of the thirtiesItaly since the fiftiesSymbolism, the language of objects and consumer psychologyPostmodern design, and looking to the future.
Up to date, provocative and completely original, Design will be a sourcebook for professional designers, an essential guide for students of design, and a revelation for general readers hungry for information about design and designers.
Highlights: 100-page A-Z directory for easy look-up300 full-color illustrations with detailed captionsBiographies of designers past and presentCorporate histories and product appraisalsThe influence of management, cultural and social theoriesMichelin-style ratings of today's up-and-coming designersBrand identity and assessing brand valueThe newest types and categories of design.
The featured subjects include, among many others: BauhausIBMSonyBenettoniPodTom WolfeCharles EamesItaly's AutostradeVictorinoxEric GillPhilippe StarckVogueFerrariPorscheWalt DisneyFrank Lloyd Wright.