Customer Reviews

George Nelson On Design

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We all know the designs of George Nelson, but I was amazed at the depth of understanding revealed in this book. Mr. Nelson ranges far and wide on why design is so important in elements much larger than a piece of furniture. Nothing less than society and cities is fair game for his take on the world. Mr. Nelson asks why things are the way that they are and examines urban centers to see what works and what fails. If all you expected was a set of pretty pictures of his chairs, then you should pick one of the many other books that cover his designs. But if you want to know the WHY's of what he designed, then this book will begin to explain the far-reaching approach of one of the greatest designers of the 20th century. Highly recommended!

This is an easy 5 star rating for me. George Nelson was a legendary Designer and Design Leader. In this book he covers so much ground with amazing insight. His essays anticipate so many of the realities that we face today. some good, many more not so good. For example, he writes with amazing clarity on the growth of agribusiness and the disappearance of the family farm; and all the maladies inherent in that reality (soil depletion, petrochemicals, pollution, etc.) This book was published in 1979! I have admired Nelson's work with Herman Miller and the incredible design teams he developed there, The many great products that his office produced, and his knack for writing about Design and architecture for quite some time. I am blown away by his vision and understanding of the world and where it was heading. He also, with others, set the stage for companies like IDEO and Fuseproject and their collaborative anti-hierarchical approaches to design; Not to mention the fact that Pentagram grew right out of his office in his last years.