Description
Book SynopsisThe most famous designs of the twentieth century are not those in museums, but in the marketplace - such as the Coca-Cola bottle and the McDonald's logo. Drawing on the most up-to-date scholarship, Jonathan Woodham takes a fresh look at the wider issues of design and industrial culture and explores themes such as national identity, the rise of multi-nationals, Pop and Postmodernism, and contemporary ideas of nostalgia and heritage. In the history which emerges designis clearly seen for what it is: the powerful and complex expression of aesthetic, social, economic, political, and technological forces.
Trade ReviewTwentieth-Century Design is extremely thoroughly researched * Art Review, April 1997 *
for a good general introduction to the subject you could not go very far wrong with Jonathan Woodham's excellent Twentieth Century Design ... Yet another example of the impressive new Oxford History of Art series. * The Bookseller *
Fully and often surprisingly illustrated, carefully annotated and captioned, each combines a historical overview with a nicely opinionated individual approach. * Independent on Sunday *
Woodham gives a deftly organised, extremely cool-headed account of the ideological spoon-fights behind the product ranges of modern capitalism: his range of reference and eye for detail are superb. * The Guardian *
a superb piece of publishing * Rupert Christiansen, Spectator *
...a valuable contribution to the field of design studies, and it deserves careful attention. Woodham is one of many intelligent writers in the new wave of British design history. His book...is likely to become a benchmark for measuring the aspirations and accomplishments of the movement. His book is a reasonable and valuable exploration of design history that is not easily falsified. - Richard Buchanan. Journal of Design History. Vol 11 1998.
