Jennifer Hudson
Laurence King Publishing, London, 2013, English
Nonfiction, Product/Industrial Design
9.75 x 8.25 inches, paperback, 320 pages, 1200 illustrations
ISBN: 9781780670997
Suggested Retail Price: $30.00

From the Publisher. The Design Book brings together the best in contemporary design for the home, presenting a huge range of striking new products: tables and chairs, sofas and beds, storage, kitchens and bathrooms, tableware, textiles and surfaces, lighting, electronics and more. Works by the finest international talents, including Shin and Tomoko Azumi, Sebastian Bergne, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Piet Hein Eek, Jaime Hayon, Thomas Heatherwick, Javier Mariscal and Patricia Urquiola, are featured. In-depth interviews with twelve key designers explore pivotal projects and approaches to design.

Web addresses of designers and manufacturers are given for every object, along with full captions and color illustrations, making every design easy to source.

A Designers & Books Notable Design Book of 2013
On 1 book list
Stephanie Murg

Like fine art, the world of design can be intimidating territory for newbies. More than once I’ve received an e-mail that essentially asks, “Where do I start?” A new book offers a just-the-objects snapshot of contemporary design that would otherwise require weeks of trawling the web, poring over design and shelter magazines from around the world, and more than one pilgrimage to Milan’s Salone del Mobile. Behold The Design Book, an image-filled survey that promises “1,000 new designs for the home and where to find them.”

Editor and researcher Jennifer Hudson has organized the sourcebook into nine chapters, including tables and chairs, sofas and beds, electronics, and miscellaneous, a catch-all where you’ll find everything from Eero Aarnio’s “Diva” watering can to a sleek coffin (in eco-friendly lacquer) by Timothy Jacob Jensen. Scattered among the objects, which are identified by name, designer, material, dimensions, and manufacturer or vendor (unfortunately the book is oddly devoid of dates), are Q&As with the likes of Jaime Hayon, Piet Hein Eek, Xavier Lust, and Nendo, who notes, “We see our job as being able to give people small ‘!’ moments”—the objects in this book offer many such little epiphanies for those looking to take the pulse of design for the home.

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