Product Design
PRODUCT DESIGN
SUPER NORMAL
By Jasper Morrison
Design seems to mean making things noticeable, but is that a good thing? If everything is special, normal gets wiped out. And then what? Read more
IS IRONY KILLING DESIGN?
By Tim Parsons
What makes an object ironic, as opposed to kitsch? Instead of gestures to stand out, can designers bring poetry to products? Read more
RIGHTNESS
By Michael Marriott
In his essay in the Raw Craft exhibition catalogue, Marriott argues that the right products are ones that have evolved through use and ingenuity. Read more
A CAUTIOUS PROMETHEUS?
By Bruno Latour
What is design? All design is redesign, and also something that entails humility, attentiveness to detail and morality. Read more
MANTOWNHUMAN
By Alastair Donald, Richard J Williams, Karl Sharro, Debby Kuypers, Alan Farlie, Austin Williams
Anti-ecological and non-localist, ManTowNHuman is a critical riposte to the concerns of Post Modernism and the green consensus. Read more
MANIFESTO
By John Maeda
"In the next chapter of the future, designers will be designing the centre of their very being – their own mind and their own body." Read more
LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME
By Neil Cummings
This essay from 2002 examines the use, adaptation, subversion and meaning of products and the phenomenon of 'things as spectacle'. Read more
TEN PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD DESIGN
By Dieter Rams
Rams' principles from the late 1970s have stood the test of time. So not only is good design long-lasting, so is good design theory! Read more
MANIFESTO
By Jasper Morrison
"Design makes things seem special, and who wants normal if they can have special? And that’s the problem." Read more
A DANGEROUS BREED
By Peter Maxwell
Technological sustainability is not enough: we need ecologically sustainable design, where secondary use is pre-designed into products. Read more
DISHONOURABLE SUCCESS
By Peter Maxwell
How is crowdfunding changing the nature of design? Peter Maxwell explores this rapidly expanding model in his provocative essay. Read more