Terence Conran on Design - Hardcover

Conran, Terence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0879516860 ISBN 13: 9780879516864

Publisher: Overlook Books, 1996

Synopsis

A manifesto on what makes a classic design, written by a leading figure in the international design community, provides examples of this century's most significant innovations and more than 350 color photographs to illustrate important moments in design history. Newbridge Designer's Bk Club.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Using such iconic examples as the Jacobsen "Egg" chair, the Concorde airplane and wartime innovations such as the Burberry trenchcoat and the Zippo lighter, Terence Conran presents the century's most significant design innovations. From such early century movements as the Wiener Werkstatte, the Bauhaus and the Arts and Crafts Movement to the currently hot Mid-century Modern and present-day Post-modern examples, he argues the case for design as an intrinsic and creative force in the modern world. He writes on the place of kitsch in the design universe, examines the respective roles of aesthetics and practicality - the eternal form/function argument - and argues that the designer's role, even mission, is to help add a spiritual dimension to life, to make life worth living. Illustrated with 329 full color and 70 black and white photographs representing all the important moments in modern design, Conran on Design is a superb visual sourcebook that will provide inspiration for art students, designers, architects and all those who appreciate the value of good design in this increasingly design-aware age.

Reviews

Terence Conran (prefaced by "Sir" by those who revere the order of knighthood) is once again larger than life. Without the smallest puff on his oh-so-trendy cigar, the self-professed doyen of design delivers his opinion on just about every particle that touches our lives, not simply on home furnishings. His universe embraces the world; design, to him, should be examined both at home and outdoors, while eating or moving, during relaxation and work. The usual suspects are held up for view: Coco Chanel, Frank Lloyd Wright, the Apple computer icons, the work of industrial designer Raymond Loewy, among many others. The prose, though occasionally pretentious, does flow; sometimes readers will catch themselves nodding at such sentences as "New media create new visual language." And, naturally, the graphic design amazes, astounds, and impresses. Barbara Jacobs

Edition details

• Publisher: Overlook Books
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0879516860
• ISBN 13: 9780879516864
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288