Customer Reviews

Material ConneXion: The Global Resource of New and Innovative Materials for Architects, Artists and Designers

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the book is great IF you like looking at pictures. however, i purchased to book as a resource guide for where to find these materials, not just pictures of them. i ended up purchasing a subscription to their website (at the steep price of $200/year). The website is good, there are some flaws and some incorrect links and product codes but all in all its a good resource.

The point of this review is: if you need products, use the website and leave the book alone.

I agree completely with the previous review . . . this book doesn't provide information about where to actually purchase the materials because they are trying to get you to sign up for their membership. If you would like a simiar book with great resources you are better off with "Transmaterial: A Catalog of Materials that Redefine our Physical Environment".

To be clear, this book is a not a directory or telephone book. It's a REFERENCE BOOK. Essentially it's a encyclopedia of materials, specifically focusing on material properties (durability, flexibility, conductivity, etc.). It's a quite useful resource for designers of all kinds who wish to understand which materials are best suited for their design. Most designers already have contact information for manufacturers or distributors from whom they can purchase materials, if that is what they are looking for, but I imagine most people who are interested in the book are really just looking for information about the materials and not where to buy them--and this book does that. The book mostly focuses on 'emerging materials', not materials that are already widely known and understood (like wood and glass).

If there are any complaints I would have about the book, it is that the book's focus is very broad. The author's intent is to encourage cross pollination of ideas between all kinds of designers--shoe designers with interior designers, architects with jewelry designers, etc--and I completely understand that. But the result is almost information overload. Also, the photos are all very close-up. This does help free the material (and the designer) from prescribed uses, and also helps the reader understand the construction of each material. But a few wide-angle or even installation photos would be helpful I think, too.