Overlooking the Visual: Demystifying the Art of Design

by Kathryn Moore

Making tangible connections between theory and practice, ideas and form, this book encourages debate about the artistic, conceptual, and cultural significance of the way things look. What are the metaphysical concepts at the heart of design education, theory, and philosophy? Why do we assume that design is impossible to teach?

This book challenges the traditional foundations of perception and takes an imaginative, radical approach, setting itself apart from the traditions of analytical philosophy, evolutionary psychology, and phenomenology which underpin much of current design theory and discourse. The new definition of perception produces startling consequences for conceptions of language, intelligence, meaning, the senses, emotions and subjectivity. This is an innovative, fresh view on design and how we can improve it for both practitioners and students in the architecture and design fields as well as philosophers.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Marcus Leis Allion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoughtful book on design pedagogy and practice. Unfortunately, for me, the reliance on pragmatists (Dewey and Rorty are frequently cited) means that little attention is paid to any economic, ideological or political arguments. That does not mean those aspects are ignored, but that they are understood solely from a designers perspective. Design thus remains a problem solving discipline rather than a methodology available for particular directives.

[Lurchello Photography · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.