Books Every Product Designer Should Read
My position is that a designer is—or should be—first a poet. For that reason the books I have listed refer to a wide spectrum of human activity. They can be especially helpful and interesting to read for almost all activities having to do with creating products (industrial products) in our society of consumption.
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My main maestro. A personal memories book. “Goodbye Architecture” shows Mendini’s primary interest in anthropology, but related to design and architecture.
Aldo was one of my maestros when I was much younger. A good thinker. He brought a strong poetic approach to the discipline of architecture, opening that angle of view to product designers. His Nietzschean thinking made his life too short. I particularly like the picture with his daughter Vera on the bridge at Lake Mergozzo in northern Italy.
Nietzsche’s remarks on the difference between humans and animals are useful for understanding why designers continue to design objects that people actually do not need.
A text that influenced a generation of architects and designers, opening the door to a deeper consciousness of our profession.
This book expanded my view of contemporary architecture and prompted my experiments with translating some of the issues raised into industrial design.
A basic text for understanding the present stage of consumer society. Aids designers in becoming more conscious of their role and responsibility.
A poetic overview of our world—which a designer should always have!
“My Favorite Flops, Followed by a Magazine of Ideas.” Praise for fiasco as an essential element in the learning process coincides with one of my fundamental beliefs.
Contains “La notion de dépense” (“The Notion of Expenditure“)—sharp and disenchanted, difficult but amazing to read. May be very useful for designers in positioning their activity in a proper way.
Winnicott's theory of transitional phenomena and transitional objects enlightened my understanding of design as play and as a new form of contemporary art.
Contains “The Thing.” “The thingness of things”—jug-ness of a jug, or pot-ness of a pot. The reason for an object or a design to be. Some very useful thoughts by the German philosopher for every designer in search of new archetypes.
Not only one of the best designers, but also one of the best storytellers. This recent autobiography (which translates as “Written at Night”) reminds us that a designer is also a man with a poetic sensibility.
Tells of the six fundamental qualities in human activity: good not only for novelists, but for life in general and very much for design in particular today (see “Lightness” and “Consistency”).
One of the best Tintin books. I reread the cartoons frequently. Inspirational for the extraordinary attention to details: a must for every good designer!
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Announcements
New Book Release, June 30, 2014: Supernew Supergraphics
Shows how the current generation of designers and architects are blasting typography and graphic forms across walls—even landscapes. A compendium of graphic excess on a monumental scale, it features new work from around the globe, and interviews with leading practitioners Felice Varini, Sascha Lobe, Sara De Bondt, and Boa Mistura.
Tony Brook, Adrian Shaughnessy, and Sarah Schrauwen, eds.
Published by Unit Editions
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New Book Release, May 27, 2014: Type on Screen
The long awaited follow-up to graphic designer Ellen Lupton’s best-selling Thinking with Type is here. The definitive guide to using classic typographic concepts of form and structure to make dynamic compositions for screen-based applications.
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Ellen Lupton
Published by Princeton Architectural Press
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New Book Release (U.S.), June 30, 2014: BMW Art Cars
Traces the development of the BMW Art Cars, the so-called “rolling sculptures” designed by artists including Alexander Calder, David Hockney, and Andy Warhol over the last 40 years.
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Thomas Girst, editor
Texts by Carl Magnusson, Phil Patton, et al.
Published by Hatje Cantz
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New Book Release, July 1, 2014: The Good Life: Perceptions of the Ordinary
Just what is it that catches the eye, and why? What’s the significance of a broken flowerpot, a pair of identical tables side by side, a garden hose wrapped around an old car wheel? In this collection of photo essays, designer Jasper Morrison examines and imagines the life behind a series of seemingly ordinary situations.
By Jasper Morrison
Published by Lars Müller Publishers
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New Book Release, August 5, 2014: What We See When We Read
How we visualize images from reading works of literature, from one of our very best book jacket designers, himself a passionate reader.
Peter Mendelsund
Published by Vintage/Random House
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New Book Release, August 5, 2014: Cover
Designer Peter Mendelsund’s completed book jackets along with ephemera from his previously unseen creative method, including jacket sketches, interior art and editorial illustrations, and scores of rejected drafts. These images are punctuated by Mendelsund’s reflections on his work and his process, as well as by texts from writers with whom he has worked and designed.
Peter Mendelsund
Published by powerHouse Books
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