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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What is Universal Everything? edited by Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook
What is Universal Everything?
Edited by Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook; designed by Spin
Publisher: Unit Editions
Published: June 2019
Matt Pyke, founder and creative director of Universal Everything, calls his studio a “digital art and design collective.” Now, after 15 years of revolutionary work in the digital realm, the studio has its first book. For anyone interested in the future of digital design, the book features a unique cover for each copy of the book (limited to 2,000)—every buyer owns a one-off.
The Future of Design: Global Product Innovation for a Complex World by Lorraine Justice
The Future of Design: Global Product Innovation for a Complex World
by Lorraine Justice
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
Published: June 4, 2019
Internationally recognized product design expert, TED speaker, and consultant to companies like Microsoft and Levi’s, shares the ten global factors that directly impact product design success and failure.
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