Design: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) [Paperback]

John Heskett (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0192854461 | ISBN-13: 978-0192854469 | Publication Date: September 22, 2005

John Heskett wants to transform the way we think about design by showing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal, and the car we drive to work in, to the medical equipment used to save lives. Design combines "need" and "desire" in the form of a practical object that can also reflect the user's identity and aspirations through its form and decoration. This concise guide to contemporary design goes beyond style and taste to look at how different cultures and individuals personalize objects. Heskett also reveals how simple objects, such as a toothpick, can have their design modified to suit the specific cultural behavior in different countries. There are also fascinating insights into how major companies such as Nokia, Ford, and Sony approach design. Finally, Heskett gives us an exciting vision of what design can offer us in the future, showing in particular how it can humanize new technology.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Review from previous edition 'Erudite and well-researched...should be essential reading for students, educationalists, practising designers, industrialists and government.'' Terence Conran

About the Author

John Heskett's analysis of design as the result of social and economic influences has earned him an international reputation as an important commentator on design. He is the author of Industrial Design (Thames and Hudson, 1980; published in translation in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, and Japan) widely used as a basic textbook in design courses in many countries, and Philips: A Study of the Corporate Management of Design (Rizzoli, 1989). He has also contributed articles and essays to numerous magazines, anthologies and catalogues, and regularly writes for ID Magazine. In addition to writing and lecturing internationally on design, he has acted as consultant to governmental bodies and educational organizations in many countries. He is an executive consultant for the Hirano Design Group, a major Japanese consultancy, and visiting professor at Tama Art University in Tokyo.

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192854461
• ISBN-13: 978-0192854469
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, August 7, 2009

By 

D. Liu - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Design: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)

I read a few books from the Very Short Introduction (VSI) series such as Law, Economics and Logic, and found them to be clear, systematic, packed with information, and fitting of their titles.
That and curiosity led me to read this book on design. Instead of being interesting and enlightening, I found this book to be boring, poorly written, and confusing.

I'm not very a good writer and that really ought to stop me from making any criticism. But then I thought it is important that others gets a preview of this book before they buy it. The problem with the writing is that it uses many long and big words that carry little meaning, words that are abstract and can mean a number of things, and when crammed together along with five six other abstract words, can mean nothing and everything, e.g. "`Communications' is here used as a shorthand term to cover the vast array of two-dimensional material that plays such an extensive role in modern life."
Then there are those strange metaphors, that I suppose make sense but are really forced, e.g. "design should be the crucial anvil on which the human environment, in all its detail, is shaped and constructed for the betterment and delight of all." of all things, why an anvil, why a monolithic piece of metal that is the antithesis of design. And this is irony.
As you slowly go through the paragraphs, you glean an occasional insight, a fitting example, a powerful well phrased argument, and you wonder if you cut out all the crap in between, all the redundancies and tautologies, all the fluff, whether this wouldn't be a decent book.

At the end of the book however, you realize the answer is no. Of the important, useful information, such as the fundamentals of good design, a list of factors most important to good design, a monographs on some interesting topics such as object design, ergonomics, typography, the use of materials in design, design as related to the visual, auditory and haptic, and so much so much more, are all absent or lacking in this book.

A good question to ask yourself at the end of reading a book is what have I learned. For this one, I doubt anything.

2.0 out of 5 stars Agree with D. Liu's August 7 review, January 21, 2012

By 

a reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Design: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)

Yeah, disappointing. Some interesting thoughts here and there but nothing well developed. An illustrations and photographs -- seeming pretty important in a book on design -- are haphazard and poorly done. Too bad, I was erally looking forward to this.

0 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A college textbook, April 9, 2010

By 

apples2apples (OhiO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Design: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)

What's not to love about a college text which is VERY short?! Actually this was one of my daughter's college textbooks, not mine. Since her prof required it, I assume it is a good book on design.