Design: The Definitive Visual Guide

The Definitive Visual History

by D.K. Publishing, Judith Miller (Foreword)

Design: The Definitive Visual History lays out the complete evolution of design, from its origins in early cultures to the contemporary design -- physical and digital -- of today. This comprehensive volume covers every major design movement, along with the iconic designers and manufacturers who influenced everyday life through the objects and buildings they created.

Arranged chronologically, Design moves decade-by-decade from the 1850s onward to explore the cultural, social, political, economic, and technological forces in the world at large and shows how these factors influenced movements and styles in design. Gorgeous catalogues of objects demonstrate how design in turn has influenced the everyday life, through architecture, fashion, furniture, ceramics, glassware, lighting, fabrics, electronic equipment, and more.

With profiles of famous designers such as Alvar Aalto, Frank Gehry, and Philippe Starck and stunning images of buildings and interiors, Design: The Definitive Visual History is a true celebration of classic design across the centuries.

Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution.

Genres: Design, Art, Nonfiction, History, Reference, Art Design, Architecture

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Mathew Smith]

A big coffee table book that weighs at least five pounds - so not ideal for reading in bed or in the bathtub.
A very visual trip through the history of design - everything from generic looking waiting room chairs to funky modern (uncomfortable looking) Scandanavian designer furniture. The book pokes its way through everything; lighting, architecture, home goods, textiles, graphic design...there is a bit of everything.
The absolute best part of the book is the visual content. There are thousands of pictures. The Visual aspect is essential to design, and talking about it just doesn't work. You need to see pictures. Which they deliver in spades.
The content is not deep, but, interesting enough to make it enlightening. And, the variety of topics keeps the reading on their toes. Write ups about specific designers, movements, specific chairs, even fonts! I found it all very interesting.
This is a must read in my book of must read books. It is also a great book to put out on your coffee table - https://amzn.to/3jVyGjg

[Arturo Herrero]

Design is thinking made visual.

[Vi]

Design: The EuroAmerican Visual History

[Patricia]

Really informative, loved all the pictures

[Itzy Vitzy]

Me encanto, toda la serie es muy buena pero este lo disfrute como nada

[K. 🦉]

With over 450 pages, this book truly encompasses various design movements and provides gorgeous photographs to show how design has changed over the years.

What I really enjoyed about this book were the photographs, as there were just so many of them and they highlighted individual designers, some of whom I have never heard of before.

There were highlights of more famous designers, but this book really emphasized how lesser known individuals really helped designs to begin and continue to evolve.

I would recommend this oversized book for anyone who wants to learn more about design, but would encourage everyone to read it. You really do get to see how objects from typewriters to telephones have evolved over the years, as well as learn more about design movements.

[Taija]

Mielenkiintoinen katsaus teollisuusmuotoiluun ja ajattomiin klassikoihin huonekaluista julisteisiin, autoista fontteihin. Laadukas, hyvin jäsennelty kirja esittää kunkin aikakauden merkittäviä design-tuotteita, niiden yksityiskohtia, taustaa ja tekijät. Isot värikkäät kuvat sekä selkeä rakenne tekevät kirjasta houkuttelevan lukea.

[Jeanie]

I skimmed through this book. It has beautiful photographs.