Design Anthropology: Theory and Practice

by Wendy Gunn (editor), Ton Otto (Editor), Rachel Charlotte Smith (Editor)

Design is a key site of cultural production and change in contemporary society. Anthropologists have been involved in design projects for several decades but only recently a new field of inquiry has emerged which aims to integrate the strengths of design thinking and anthropological research.

This book is written by anthropologists who actively participate in the development of design anthropology. Comprising both cutting-edge explorations and theoretical reflections, it provides a much-needed introduction to the concepts, methods, practices and challenges of the new field. Design Anthropology moves from observation and interpretation to collaboration, intervention and co-creation. Its practitioners participate in multidisciplinary design teams working towards concrete solutions for problems that are sometimes ill-defined. The authors address the critical potential of design anthropology in a wide range of design activities across the globe and query the impact of design on the discipline of anthropology.

This volume will appeal to new and experienced practitioners in the field as well as to students of anthropology, innovation, science and technology studies, and a wide range of design studies focusing on user participation, innovation, and collaborative research.

Genres: Anthropology, Design, Research, Art Design

284 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Alex Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably something more like 3.5 or 3.7 stars. There is some absolute gold in here that has really shifted my thinking on Design with a capital D. Some of the essay are really well written and the detail really opened the box on are few areas I hadn't gone too deep on myself. However, my quibble with some of the writing here is that it's written in that cumbersome, academic speak that really obscures the key insights. Okay, so maybe it's not written for uneducated unwashed non-PhD folk like me but then isn't this just firing off thoughts into the academic echo chamber?? Either way, less rather than more of the essays are written in this way so I think if you're a designer like me coming to this you will still get a huge amount of value from this book IF, you give it the time.