Look of the Century [Hardcover]

Michael Tambini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

This unique book illustrates the history and chronology of all the definitive designs of our era.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Michael Tambini, founder of Pentagram Design in London, presents The Look of the Century, a thorough yet concise wrap-up of the most outstanding designs of the last 100 years. A record of human inventiveness, as well as of human consumption, this weighty little softcover volume (512 pages) looks at various stylistic movements, their leaders, and the key developments and innovations that have shaped our aesthetic environment. Chock-a-block with thousands of small color reproductions and written in an extremely accessible style, this book serves as a kind of field guide to the world of products. It is organized into sections on each of the various rooms in a house and chapters on leisure, transportation, the office, graphics, advertising, and packaging. Form, craft, detail, size, longevity, availability, and cost are addressed for each item. And more complex issues like the impact of assembly-line production, the phenomenon of mass consumption, the notion of corporate identity, the consequences of the design industry for the environment, and the effects of computers on product forms and their construction are explored as well. Also included is an A to Z of designers' biographies, as well as a glossary of terms. --A.C. Smith --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

What's amazing, after looking through Michael Tambini's The Look of the Century, is how similar many things are at the two finials of this 100-year period. Clearly, those items most influenced by technology have changed greatly. The 1900 Graphophone, which played a cylinder, looks nothing like the Denon Stacking System D-90, which plays a CD. But design of the century has been marked by modernism, so Jean Puiforcat's 1928 tea service isn't unimaginably far from the Alessi tea set of 55 years later. Nor are watches or vases or chairs or fountain pens. But what's most interesting about this book published by DK Publishing in Association with the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian,is to watch the (sometimes cyclical) development over time. BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT; 1st American ed edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078940950x
• ISBN-13: 978-0789409508
• ASIN: 078940950X
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,685,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pictures Missing from the Softcover Version....., January 13, 2000

By 

D. Firestone (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Look of the Century: Design Icons of the 20th Century (Paperback)

The book itself is great, but the hardcover version which I saw first has more pictures, some of which are instrumental at bringing home the points. Also, the short and fat configuration of the softcover version obscures some of the pictures. Please get the hardcover version, it's worth the extra price.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book, December 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Look of the Century: Design Icons of the 20th Century (Paperback)

I bought this book for a December birthday for a friend of mine, and I loved it so much, that I ended up later buying a copy for myself.

As a business student and a design fan, I just love the way they categorized all the products and then walked your quickly through the looks of the past 100 years.

Great for nostalgia and history buffs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1 Picture = 1000 Words, March 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Look of the Century (Hardcover)

The best way to make a point about how something looks is to simply show it to us, and that's exactly what this book does best. I did percieve a slight European bent in some sections, but that may just be my own pesky American prejudices, and it did nothing to interfere with my reading enjoyment. Fascinating reading or browsing (this book would make a great CD-ROM) for anyone interested in the evolution of so many things we may take for granted