The Conran Directory of Design by Terence Conran

by Terence Conran

Cell phones, watches, coffee cups, grand pianos, light fixtures, even a dog house. Consumer products are brought to life through designers’ imagination and ingenuity, and Terence Conran and Max Fraser present some of the biggest names in the business and the items they’ve created.

Between the covers of Designers on Design are interviews with more than a hundred designers, who answer such questions as:

What was your big break?;
What or who has most influenced your work?;
What elements of the design process do you find particularly frustrating?; and
To what level will you compromise to satisfy your client?

This beautifully illustrated book shows key pieces from each designer, along with a timeline that highlights major developments in the field from the early 1900s to the beginning of this century. Designers on Design provides a rare insight into the creative thought processes of today’s leading designers in their own words.

Genres: Design

Hardcover

First published November 30, 2004

About the author

Sir Terence Conran was educated at Bryanston School, Dorset, and trained as a textile designer at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. Hand in hand with his much-publicized career as an arbiter of good taste for a whole generation goes a career in cookery and restaurant management. Having learned the basic skills in the kitchens of a two-star Parisian establishment, he opened several small restaurants in London.These were later sold to finance his fast-expanding furniture business, from which grew the hugely successful Habitat stores. No-one has had a greater influence on contemporary living style than Conran. From the outset of his career, in the brilliant era of the '60s, he devoted his talents to interpreting the home-making aspirations of the bright, busy people of his generation - and to providing them with an excellence of craftsmanship and design at a price they could afford.

Reviews

[Manintheboat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Designers are boring. Great photos and idea inspiring.