Design Secrets: Products [Paperback]

Industrial Designers Society of America (Compiler)

Book Description

Series: Design Secrets | Publication Date: September 1, 2003

Each project includes complete text describing the designer's insights and inspirations, as well as the evolution of the project illustrated. Working drawings, sketches, process books, computer visuals, storyboards and colour photographs show the story behind the design.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is the voice of the industrial design profession, advancing the quality and positive impact of design.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Rockport Publishers (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564964760
• ISBN-13: 978-1564964762
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,317,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars just a taste of the complexity of the process, April 10, 2003

By 

Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Design Secrets: Products: 50 Real-Life Product Design Projects (Hardcover)

THis is an interesting book about how some very good product designs were done. However, I was not satisfied with the level of detail of each story: not only did each case study make it appear that an optimal design was acheived, but it undercovered the human and organizational dramas that underlie such design processes. In many instances, there is a whiff of the true complexity and it made my mouth water, but then didn't go deep enough. As a result, the whole process comes off too logical and rational, too panglossian if you wish.

From my own experience, I know that the design process is far more difficult than the reader would glean from the book. Designers, like artists, are high strung people who live for and in their work - if you criticise their work, you are criticising them personally and they react. Their egos are as big as their talents. Bitter fights result with engineers and the holders of the corporate largesse, the purse strings that make or break an experiment. THere are difficult compromises, often political, and plenty of ongoing acrimony. How should they be handled and nurtured? Does a separate group need to be insulated? Should they just grow up or would that kill part of the creative process? None of this is sufficiently covered in this book and they all represent key management issues. Moreover, there is not enough about the companies in the book - who they are, what they believe in terms of philosophy, how they calculate and market themselves.

Nonetheless, the stories are exciting and the photography is excellent. Certain common techniques also emerge, such as the importance of rapid prototyping and marketing shortcuts that don't ignore cumstomer needs but rather find way to tap into new ones. These too are fascinating issues that require deeper treatment.

Recommended, but only as a start.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting to have. Would have wanted more info., May 20, 2007

By 

Y. Leisersohn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Design Secrets: Products: 50 Real-Life Product Design Projects (Hardcover)

If you are interested in Product Design, then this book is quite interesting. It gives you a summary of the design process for famous products.

However the fact that it is a summary is a downside, as I would have loved to read more information from the designers mind.

In this book you have good examples of "What the customer wanted", "What the designer suggested" and "What was the outcome".

I would suggest making volume 3 with 10-20 Products and giving each product 10 pages, rather then the 4 pages on this one.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fantastique..., January 22, 2007

By 

Jahanshahi Noureddin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Design Secrets: Products (Paperback)

Well I was looking for a book with some hints for design, and this book is the perfect one with a lot of that goodis.I recommend it strongly for everyone who is looking for a good book in art and design.