Description
Book SynopsisIntroduction to Design Theory introduces a comprehensive, systematic, and didactic outline of the discourse of design. Designed both as a course book and a source for research, this textbook methodically covers the central concepts of design theory, definitions of design, its historical milestones, and its relations to culture, industry, body, ecology, language, society, gender and ideology.
Demonstrated by a shift towards the importance of the sociocultural context in which products are manufactured and embedded, this book showcases design theory as an emerging sub-discipline of design, unique in its practice-based approach and its broad perception of design. It offers an in-depth understanding of the central concepts, such as form and function, theory and practice, through a discussion of key case studies and historical examples, such as the advent of the view of design in antiquity, the introduction of mass production to modernist design or the ideological shifts i
Trade Review
"Michalle Gal and Jonathan Ventura have produced a fascinating historical tour of the complexities of design theory with all its contradictions and reversals. The stumbles and contradictions are important, for they show that the answer to what appears to be a simple question, ‘what is design?’, changes every time new findings and evidence appears. The book should appeal to students and advanced scholars, showing that this confusion is proper and appropriate. Their summary is apt: design is a bricolage of methods and approaches. We should not ask ‘what is design?’ but instead ask ‘what can design achieve?’"
Don Norman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Diego, USA; and author of "Design for a Better World".
"Michalle Gal and Jonathan Ventura provide a wide-ranging and engaging survey of the many facets of Design. Touching on perennial theoretical questions as well as contemporary examples and issues, An Introduction to Design Theory will appeal to theorists and practitioners alike."
Glenn Parsons, Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada.
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Definitions of Design 2. Form and Function 3. Design and (or as) Language 4. Design Between Theory and Practice: Applied Theories of Design 5 Design, Culture, and Social Institutions 6. Design and Industry 7. Design, Ecologies and the Body 8. Design and Ideology
