Toothpicks and Logos: Design in Everyday Life - Hardcover

Heskett, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0192803212 ISBN 13: 9780192803214

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2002

Synopsis

The author aims to transform the way we think about design by showing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal to the medical equipment used to save lives. Design, he says, combines both need and desire in the form of a practical object that can also reflect the user's identity and aspirations through its form and decoration. This concise guide to contemporary design goes beyond style and taste to look at how different cultures and individuals personalize objects. Heskett also reveals how simple objects, such as a toothpick, can have their design modified to suit the specific cultural behaviour in different countries. The book offers insights into how major companies such as Nokia, Ford and Sony approach design. Finally, readers are shown a vision of what design can offer in the future and especially in its role in humanizing new technology.

About this title

About the Author

John J. Heskett is Professor of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. A world renowned commentator on design, he is the author ofIndustrial Design, widely used as a basic textbook, and Philips: A Study of the Corporate Management of Design. He has also contributed articles and essays to numerous magazines and anthologies, and regularly writes forID Magazine.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0192803212
• ISBN 13: 9780192803214
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 214