Design: The Whole Story

A revised edition of this popular history of design, updated to reflect innovations since the book was first published in 2016. Design: The Whole History takes a close look at key developments, movements, and practitioners of design around the world, from the beginnings of industrial manufacturing to the present day. Organized chronologically, it places design within its technological, cultural, economic, aesthetic, and theoretical contexts. From the high-minded moralists of the 19th century to the radical thinkers of modernism, and from the rise of showmen like Raymond Loewy in the 1930s to today’s superstars like Philippe Starck, the book offers in-depth coverage of a topic that touches all of our lives. Iconic works that mark major steps forward or that characterise a particular era or approach – such as Marcel Breuer’s Chair of 1925, Eliot Noyes’ corporate identity work for IBM in the 1950s, and Matthew Carter’s Verdana typeface – are designed to be read on screen. Analysed in detail, while the text sets the framework of ideas, intentions and technology within which different approaches to design have evolved. From the cars we drive and the products we buy to the graphics that surround us, we are all consumers of design. Design: The Whole Story provides all the information needed to decode the material world.