Design Studies: A Reader [Paperback]

Hazel Clark (Editor), David Brody (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1847882366 | ISBN-13: 978-1847882363

Design Studies: A Reader is the ideal entry point for any student who wants to understand the many complex roles of design--as process, product, function, symbol, and use.

 

Reflecting the diverse range of perspectives on design, the reader brings together over 70 key texts. The essays are presented in themed sections covering history, methods, theory, visuality, identity, consumption, labor, industrialization, new technology, sustainability, and globalization. Each section is separately introduced and each concluded with a guide to further reading.

 

Authors include: Theodor Adorno, Arjun Appadurai, Rayner Banham, Jean Baudrillard, Pierre Bourdieu, Cheryl Buckley, Michel de Certeau, Margaret Crawford, Michel Foucault, Buckminster Fuller, Paul du Gay, Erving Goffman, Donna Haraway, John Chris Jones, Guy Julier, Naomi Klein, Ezio Manzini, Victor Margolin, and many others. In addition, a final section of specially commissioned essays analyzes 10 seminal designs of the 20th Century, from Helvetica to the cell phone.

 

Bringing together the best classic and contemporary writing, Design Studies: A Reader will be invaluable to all students of Design as well as to students of Architecture, Art, Material Culture and Sociology.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Incredibly inclusive, this is essential reading for students and teachers of Design Studies in any context. A superlative collection of authoritative contributions from many of the most influential writers on design, past and present. Paul Atkinson, Sheffield Hallam University, UK A book that works for students or anyone else with the slightest interest in design. New York Daily News A critical snapshot of what's vital now in global comparative critical thinking on Design. The clearly structured and framed sets of key essays disclose the full reach and power of the myriad acts of designing that create our realities and, increasingly, narrow our future options. Lisa Norton, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA The Reader combines new interpretations with influential texts that have shaped Design thinking over the last thirty years. It shows how Design is becoming more complex and how the emerging discipline of Design Studies has risen to this challenge. It will be an essential resource for students. Suzette Worden, Curtin University of Technology, Australia The Reader will become a standard reference for the subject. It establishes the field for all those interested in Design and its impact on the contemporary world. The Reader offers an informed overview of ways of engaging with the central themes of Design such as ethics, globalization, identity and gender. Jeremy Aynsley, Royal College of Art, UK An extraordinarily valuable resource for students in all areas of Design. It opens up endless fields of inquiry and also affirms 'Design Studies' as the only theoretical framework which encompasses all the richness and multiplicity of Design both conceptually and globally. Eduardo Corte-Real, IADE Design School, Portugal A wonderful and richly engaging book that would be invaluable to any student both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study to draw upon as a one-stop companion and reliable point of reference. The Design Journal As a design educator, I've been waiting for a smart compilation of design essays for my graduate 3D design students. Until now, I've used my own mix of 'greatest hits' essays to inform our reading seminars. This year I began using this compilation with my graduate students. I like the way the book is structured by contemporary topics. The content is smart, contemporary and concise - excerpting the most relevant reading from each essay. I'd recommend this book to any student with an interest in the intellectual-big-picture of design. Amazon.com - Scott Klinker (Cranbook Academy of Art, USA) If you're looking to do a little self-education this fall, this just might be the book for you. Amy Azzarito, Apartment Therapy Blog Provides a great deal of food for thought for beginning design students from numerous subdisciplines and is also a good refresher for more advanced scholars. Design Issues ...the project was not merely conceived as a gathering exercise but explicitly seeks to contribute to contemporary design writing. Artefact

About the Author

Hazel Clark is Chair of the Dept. of Art and Design Studies and David Brody is Assistant Professor of Design Studies, both at Parsons the New School for Design, New York. Hazel Clark is co-editor of Old Clothes, New Looks: Second Hand Fashion and The Fabric of Cultures: Fashion, Identity and Globalization. David Brody's forthcoming book is Visualizing Empire: Orientalism and American Imperialism in the Philippines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 658 pages
• Publisher: Berg Publishers (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847882366
• ISBN-13: 978-1847882363
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart Compilation, October 14, 2010

By 

Scott Klinker "Designer-in-Residence, Cranbro... (Bloomfield Hills, MI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Design Studies: A Reader (Paperback)

As a design educator, I've been waiting for a smart compilation of design essays for my graduate 3D design students. Until now, I've used my own mix of 'greatest hits' essays to inform our reading seminars. This year I began using this compilation with my graduate students. I like the way the book is structured by contemporary topics, i.e. sustainability, globalization, post-industrial issues, etc. We've been able to skip around the chapters as needed to support our studio discussions. The content is smart, contemporary and concise - excerpting the most relevant reading from each essay. I'd recommend this book to any student with an interest in the intellectual-big-picture of design. Perhaps today nothing should be designed without a view of the big picture.