Grace Lees-Maffei

Explains how important language is to understanding design, how a range of texts - from design criticism to instructions and labels - shape the appreciation and use of design.

Words and Objects

Writing Design

"By returning to the etymological roots of iconicity and showcasing objects which are distinctive, memorable, internationally recognised and the subject of significant media attention, this text addresses what we mean by 'iconic' and how that aids our understanding of design and of iconicity. 50 compact chapters examine designs ranging from everyday goods to high-end 'designer' objects and explores how iconicity was established and how it contributes to our understanding of iconic design, by considering production, consumption and legacy alongside similar or contemporaneous objects. The book is divided into five parts, each addressing a thematic locus, arranged in a sequence from the public to the personal. This structure demonstrates that icons are not only a public phenomenon but infiltrate our intimate self-identity, in the form of objects which we carry with us and contribute to our sense of self. With significantly longer object entries than standard texts, this is essential reading for students andscholars of design history, design criticism, design studies and material culture studies, museum studies, art and architectural history, architecture and design practice"--

50 Stories about 50 Things

Iconic Designs

Nicolas P. Maffei

Reading Graphic Design in Cultural Context explains key ways of understanding and interpreting the graphic designs we see all around us, in advertising, branding, packaging and fashion. It situates these designs in their cultural and social contexts. Drawing examples from a range of design genres, leading design historians Grace Lees-Maffei and Nicolas P. Maffei explain theories of semiotics, postmodernism and globalisation, and consider issues and debates within visual communication theory such as legibility, the relationship of word and image, gender and identity, and the impact of digital forms on design. Their discussion takes in well-known brands like Alessi, Nike, Unilever and Tate, and everyday designed things including slogan t-shirts, car advertising, ebooks, corporate logos, posters and music packaging.

Reading Graphic Design in Cultural Context

How do we learn about the objects that surround us? As well as gathering sensory information by viewing and using objects, we also learn about objects through the written and spoken word - from shop labels to friends' recommendations and from magazines to patents. But, even as design commentators have become increasingly preoccupied with issues of mediation, the intersection of design and language remains under-explored.Writing Design provides a unique examination of what is at stake when we convert the material properties of designed goods into verbal or textual description. Issues discussed include the role of text in informing design consumption, designing with and through language, and the challenges and opportunities raised by design without language. Bringing together a wide range of scholars and practitioners, Writing Design reveals the difficulties, ethics and politics of writing about design.

Rebecca Houze

The first systematic and comprehensive reader on Design History, this book examines the role of design and designed objects within social and cultural history. Extracts range from the 18th century, when design and manufacture separated, to the present day. Drawn from scholarly and polemical books, research articles, exhibition catalogues, and magazines, the extracts are placed in themed sections, with each section separately introduced and each concluded with an annotated guide to further reading. Covering both primary texts (such as the writings of designers and design reformers) and secondary texts (in the form of key works of design history), the reader provides an essential resource for understanding the history of design, the development of the discipline, and contemporary issues in design history and practice. Selected authors: Judy Attfield, Jeremy Aynsley, Rayner Banham, Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard, Walter Benjamin, Pierre Bourdieu, Christopher Breward, Denise Scott Brown, Ruth Schwarz Cowan, Clive Dilnot, Buckminster Fuller, Paul Greenhalgh, Dick Hebdige, Steven Heller, John Heskett, Pat Kirkham, Adolf Loos, Victor Margolin, Karl Marx, Jeffrey Meikle, William Morris, Gillian Naylor, Victor Papanek, Nikolaus Pevsner, John Ruskin, Adam Smith, Penny Sparke, John Styles, Nancy Troy, Thorstein Veblen, Robert Venturi, John Walker, Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Design History Reader

Kjetil Fallan

Goods made or designed in Italy enjoy a profile which far outstrips the country's modest manufacturing output. Italy's glorious design heritage and reputation for style and innovation has 'added value' to products made in Italy. Since 1945, Italian design has commanded an increasing amount of attention from design journalists, critics and consumers. But is Italian design a victim of its own celebrity? Made in Italy brings together leading design historians to explore this question, discussing both the history and significance of design from Italy and its international influence. Addressing a wide range of Italian design fields, including car design, graphic design, industrial and interior design and ceramics, well-known designers such as Alberto Rosselli and Ettore Sottsass, Jr. and iconic brands such as Olivetti, Vespa and Alessi, the book explores the historical, cultural and social influences that shaped Italian design, and how these iconic designs have contributed to the modern canon of Italian-inspired goods.

Rethinking a Century of Italian Design

Made in Italy

Design and Heritage provides the first extended study of heritage from the point of view of design history. Exploring the material objects and spaces that contribute to our experience of heritage, the volume also examines the processes and practices that shape them. Bringing together 18 case studies, written by authors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, Norway, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the book questions how design functions to produce heritage. Including provocative case studies of objects that reinterpret visual symbols of cultural identity and buildings and monuments that evoke feelings of national pride and historical memory, as well as landscapes embedded with trauma, contributors consider how we can work to develop adequate shared conceptual models of heritage and apply them to design and its histories. Exploring the distinction between tangible and intangible heritages, the chapters consider what these categories mean for design history and heritage. Finally, the book questions whether it might be possible to promote a truly equitable understanding of heritage that illuminates the social, cultural and economic roles of design. Design and Heritage demonstrates that design historical methods of inquiry contribute significantly to critical heritage studies. Academics, researchers and students engaged in the study of heritage, design history, material culture, folklore, art history, architectural history and social and cultural history will find much to interest them within the pages of the book.

The Construction of Identity and Belonging

Design and Heritage

From consumer products to architecture to advertising to digital technology, design is an undeniably global phenomenon. Yet despite their professed transnational perspective, historical studies of design have all too often succumbed to a bias toward Western, industrialized nations. This diverse but rigorously curated collection recalibrates our understanding of design history, reassessing regional and national cultures while situating them within an international context. Here, contributors from five continents offer nuanced studies that range from South Africa to the Czech Republic, all the while sensitive to the complexities of local variation and the role of nation-states in identity construction.

National Design Histories in an Age of Globalization

Designing Worlds

This is the first anthology to address Design History as an established discipline, a field of study which is developing a contextualised understanding of the role of design and designed objects within social and cultural history. Extracts range from the 18th Century, when design and manufacture separated, to the present day. Drawn from scholarly and polemical books, research articles, exhibition catalogues, and magazines, the extracts are placed in themed sections, with each section separately introduced and each concluded with an annotated guide to further reading. Covering both primary texts (such as the writings of designers and design reformers) and secondary texts (in the form of key works of design history), the reader provides an essential resource for understanding the history of design, the development of the discipline, and contemporary issues in design history and practice.Authors include: Judy Attfield, Jeremy Aynsley, Reyner Banham, Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard, Walter Benjamin, Pierre Bourdieu, Christopher Breward, Denise Scott Brown, Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Clive Dilnot, Buckminster Fuller, Paul Greenhalgh, Dick Hebdige, Steven Heller, John Heskett, Pat Kirkham, Adolf Loos, Victor Margolin, Karl Marx, Jeffrey Meikle, William Morris, Gillian Naylor, Victor Papanek, Nikolaus Pevsner, John Ruskin, Adam Smith, Penny Sparke, John Styles, Nancy Troy, Thorstein Veblen, Robert Venturi, John Walker, Frank Lloyd Wright.

Grace Lees-Maffei

Books

Your next favorite book is out there