Design: A-Z

Design: A-Z is a dynamic and comprehensive guide for professionals and general readers. Global in scope, this book includes architecture, industrial design, furniture, fashion, cars, clothing, graphics, consumer products, signs and much more -- all lavishly illustrated by 300 full-color photographs. There are also profiles of innovators and visionaries, both past and present, whose achievements have forever changed the way we live and the way we view ourselves and the world.

A series of unique essays outlines the role of design in modern cultural history and includes Terence Conran's memorable definition of the art of design. The heart of the book is its 100-page A to Z directory of the most influential people, products and processes of past and present centuries, which includes biographies of leading designers. The authors also share their personal views in each entry and give Michelin-style ratings of today's up-and-coming designers.

Among the topics examined are:

• The consumer age and mass consumption
  
• The craft ideal of old values
  
• The Modern movement and the romance of the machine
  
• The America of the 1930s
  
• Italy since the 1950s
  
• Symbolism, the language of objects and consumer psychology
  
• Corporate histories and product appraisals
  
• The newest types and categories of design
  
• Postmodern design and looking to the future

Up-to-date, provocative and completely original, Design A-Z is the ultimate sourcebook for professional designers, an essential guide for students of design and a revelation for general readers hungry for information about design and designers.