Moving beyond the usual genres of form in graphic design’s canonical history, ‘Designing History’ proposes a model centred on bureaucratic instruments of identity, ownership, value, and permission: money, passports, certificates, property deeds, etc. It considers the implications of a design history of the document, where the designer shifts from being a practitioner of conventional design histories to become subject and agency of bureaucratic authority. The book is a revised edition of...

Talking Things is het levensverhaal van Nederlands designicoon Gijs Bakker (1942), verteld door hemzelf aan de hand van zijn baanbrekende product- en sieraadontwerpen. Hoogstpersoonlijk voert hij de lezer langs zijn inspiratiebronnen: zijn grote liefde en partner Emmy van Leersum (1930−1984), zijn jaren aan de Design Academy in Eindhoven, zijn samenwerking met Renny Ramakers voor Droog Design, zijn vele succesvolle ontwerpen en de internationale contacten.

Talking Things is een levensversl...

IT is much easier to understand and remember a thing when a reason is given for it, than when we are merely shown how to do it without being told why it is so done; for in the latter case, instead of being assisted by reason, our real help in all study, we have to rely upon memory or our power of imitation, and to do simply as we are told without thinking about it. The consequence is that at the very first difficulty we are left to flounder about in the dark, or to remain inactive till the ma...

In this post-digital age, digital technology is no longer a revolutionary phenomenon but a normal part of everyday life. The mutation of music and film into bits and bytes, downloads and streams is now taken for granted. For the world of book and magazine publishing however, this transformation has only just begun. In this book, Alessandro Ludovico re-reads the history of media technology, cultural activism, and the avantgarde arts as a prehistory of cutting through the so-called dichotomy be...

This book explores the origins, evolution, and practice of design fiction—creating tangible, evocative prototypes from possible near futures to examine decision-making consequences. As the world grows more complex and unpredictable, anticipating the future is no longer optional—it is essential. From climate change and economic instability to rising inequality and fragile institutions, uncertainty is everywhere. For too long, major decision-makers have viewed the future as a business exerc...

When visiting Japan, one of the first things that stand out is the calm and respectful way the Japanese behave. A weaver meditatively repeats the exact same movement a thousand times a day, while the tea master dedicates every serene gesture to the harmony of the room. Although in the West we might find it hard to explain this mindful way of moving, the Japanese have a word for it: shosa.

In this book, design journalist Ringo Gomez and photographer Rob Walbers, who share a long-standing fasci...