Product Description

From Jacobsen to Tupperware, this fascinating new dictionary of Modern Design covers the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth. Both wide-ranging and comprehensive, it covers commercial design mass manufacture, as well as high art terms and aesthetic movements. Over 2,000 entries on names and movements from the past 150 years of design include ceramics, furniture, graphics, industrial design, interiors, and fashion, major museums and heritage sites, as well as biographical entries on designers and manufacturers. The dictionary, international in focus, also covers key design concepts, design terminology, and important design institutions. Other features include timelines of key design events and movements, and an index of author names for easy reference. It also features funky illustrations at every letter's opening page, with zeitgeist design concepts from Action Man and Barbie to Ferrari and Electrolux. Written in a clear, accessible style, and with more comprehensive coverage than any of the other design dictionaries available, the Dictionary of Modern Design is an essential reference tool for students, and a useful addition to every designer's and artist's studio shelf.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #238765 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

From Booklist
Sometimes a book's cover, or in this case, the book jacket, is an indication of what is between the boards. The stylish use of the ISBN number and large colorful bar code are emblematic of good modern design. As well as being a dictionary of modern design, this book is also a concise history. It is filled with biographies of individuals, such as Laura Ashley, Charles Eames, and Robert Venturi, as well as entries for styles (Art deco, Danish modern); materials (Bakelite, Chrome, Formica); companies (IKEA, Tupperware, Prada); and more. Each alphabet letter section, from A through XYZ, is introduced by a classic example of modern design. For example, F is illustrated with a photograph of Fiskars scissors; N with a Nokia mobile phone; R with a Rubik's Cube. There are no other illustrations.

More than 2,000 entries cover world design from the middle of the nineteenth century through 2004. Occasional boxed entries discuss important concepts such as Arts and Crafts movement, Green design, Kitsch, and Modernism. If an entry heading is mentioned within the text of another entry, it is preceded by an asterisk. The dictionary portion of the volume is followed by a topically organized bibliography, time lines, and an index of names.

A wealth of information in a well-designed book makes this a required purchase for libraries supporting design programs and for most academic libraries and large public libraries. Linda Loos Scarth
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
`This marvelously compiled dictionary will answer just about any reference question on modern design. A delight to browse' Library Journal

`There is much here that is new and informative' THES

From the Publisher
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