21st Century Design

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The dawn of the 21st century has witnessed an explosion of creativity in just about every field of design, from the avant-garde to mass market--and this popular book guides the reader through an array of contemporary movements, styles, and trends. Intelligently and provocatively written, "21st Century Design" places the current scene in a historic framework, explores the cultural and economic forces shaping design now and for the future, identifies top designers and trends, and explains the vigorous artistic debates going on among the innovators in architecture, fashion, interiors, and product design.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This updated edition of Fairs's (editor, Dezeen magazine) 2006 encyclopedic volume is divided into sections on architecture, interiors, furniture, lighting, housewares, industrial design, clothing and accessories, visual communication, and urban and landscape design. Each one- to four-page entry offers color photographs and a description that places the work in context, relates it to the designer's other projects, and describes the design process or materials. Brief introductions to the sections outline trends. The impact of new technologies on design and manufacture is apparent across the board, though some designers have sought a return to handcrafted processes or appearances. Many of the designs reject the 20th-century modernist ideal of clean, white lines; they exhibit, instead, a lavish exuberance fueled in part by increasing consumer affluence and the global expansion of wealthy corporations and retailers. Depending on how the ongoing economic retrenchment affects design, this may come to be seen as a history of a fleeting period. Verdict An excellent tour through the modern design world and a natural source for any avid reader of Wallpaper* or similar design magazines.-Amy Trendler, Ball State Univ. Libs., Muncie, IN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.