Terence Conran on design

This personal view of design covers such areas as the household, clothing, food, travel, work and the outdoors, and discusses their role in contemporary culture.

British designer Terence Conran runs from the ivory tower of much contemporary art and design criticism. Instead of employing impenetrable terms and the doublespeak found in many a dense, academic work of criticism, Conran attempts to understand for himself and convey to the reader why he finds certain objects pleasing--why, for example, he likes to look at some objects and colors but disdains others. He concedes that just because he likes something doesn't mean it's in good taste, but his observations and opinions are well reasoned and fun to read. Design is filled with both his writing and rich color photos of objects ranging from handbags to suspension bridges, tennis balls to traffic signs, blue jeans to restaurant interiors. In Conran's view, not even the ubiquitous paper clip is too mundane to consider. His insight into the design of our world--from the toothbrush we use in the mornings to the computer keyboard many of us work on all day--is lively and enlightening.