In this new series, the Design Museum looks at the fifty design icons of major cities around the world - icons that, when viewed together, inherently sum up the spirit of their city. Covering anything from buildings and monuments to a graffiti mural or an item of clothing, we are able to build up an intricate portrait of a city, layer by layer. From its long-serving Routemaster buses and world-famous tube map to the miniskirts of the swinging sixties and the imposing silhouette of Battersea Power Station, London is a tapestry of design masterpieces. Join Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum, as he unravels the visual history of one of our most complex and intriguing cities. Contents include: The Times masthead Abbey Road Battersea Power Station Tate Modern Turbine Hall Banksy graffiti mural Mary Quant miniskirt Tube map Christopher Kane flourescent dress Lloyd's of London London Aquatics Centre ...and many more.

This book is about the impact of literature upon cities world-wide, and cities upon literature. It examines why the city matters so much to contemporary critical theory, and why it has inspired so many forms of writing which have attempted to deal with its challenges to think about it and to represent it. Gathering together 40 contributors who look at different modes of writing and film-making in throughout the world, this handbook asks how the modern city has engendered so much theoretical consideration, and looks at cities and their literature from China to Peru, from New York to Paris, from London to Kinshasa. It looks at some of the ways in which modern cities – whether capitals, shanty-towns, industrial or ‘rust-belt’ – have forced themselves on people’s ways of thinking and writing.

Bruno Latour is one of the leading figures in Social Sciences today, but his contributions are also widely recognised in the arts. His theories ‘flourished’ in the 1980s in the aftermath of the structuralism wave and generated new concepts and methodologies for the understanding of the social. In the past decade, Latour and his Actor-Network Theory (ANT) have gained popularity among researchers in the field of architecture. Latour for Architects is the first introduction to the key concepts and ideas of Bruno Latour that are relevant to architects. First, the book discusses critically how specific methods and insights from his philosophy can inspire new thinking in architecture and design pedagogy. Second, it explores examples from architectural practice and urban design, and reviews recent attempts to extend the methods of ANT into the fields of architectural and urban studies. Third, the book advocates an ANT-inspired approach to architecture, and examines how its methodological insights can trace new research avenues in the field, reflecting meticulously on its epistemological offerings. Drawing on many lively examples from the world of architectural practice, the book makes a compelling argument about the agency of architectural design and the role architects can play in re-ordering the world we live in. Following Latour’s philosophy offers a new way to handle all the objects of human and nonhuman collective life, to re-examine the role of matter in design practice, and to redefine the forms of social, political and ethical associations that bind us together in cities.

Symbols matter, and especially those present in public spaces, but how do they exert influence and maintain a hold over us? Why do such materialities count even in the intensely digitalized culture? This book considers the importance of urban symbols to political revolutions, examining manifold reasons for which social movements necessitate the affirmation or destruction of various material icons and public monuments. What explains variability of life cycles of certain classes of symbols? Why do some of them seem more potent than others? Why do people exhibit nostalgic attachments to some symbols of the controversial past and vehemently oppose others? What nourishes and threatens the social life of icons? Through comparative analyses of major iconic processes following the epochal revolution of 1989 in Berlin and Warsaw, the book argues that revolutionary action needs objects and sites which concretize the transformative redrawing of the symbolic boundaries between the "sacred" and "profane," good and evil, before and after, and "progressive" and "reactionary"—the symbolic shifts that every revolution implies in theory and formalizes in practice. Public symbols ensconced within actual urban spaces provide indispensable visibility to human values and social changes. As affective topographies that externalize collective feelings, their very presence and durability is meaningful, and so are the revolutionary rituals of preservation and destruction directed at those spaces. Far from being mere gestures or token signifiers, they have their own gravity with profound cultural ramifications. This volume will appeal to sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, and social theorists with interests in urban studies, public heritage, material culture, political revolution, and social movements.

Fashion is a powerful thing. It can be used for self-expression, to make a political statement, or simply to attract attention. Through this stunning collection, discover how these 50 trendsetters - from Twiggy to Wallis Simpson, Tilda Swinton to Michelle Obama - have used fashion to assert their position in the world and become iconic. With stunning photography selected by the Design Museum, in conjunction with Lauren Cochrane, Assistant Fashion Editor at the Guardian, Fifty Women's Fashion Icons is the perfect gift for design lovers and fashion followers of all ages.

Iconic Designs is a beautifully designed and illustrated guide to fifty classic 'things' – designs that we find in the city, in our homes and offices, on page and screen, and in our everyday lives. In her introduction, Grace Lees-Maffei explores the idea of iconicity and what makes a design 'iconic', and fifty essays by leading design and cultural critics address the development of each iconic 'thing', its innovative and unique qualities, and its journey to classic status. Subjects range from the late 19th century to the present day, and include the Sydney Opera House, the Post-It Note, Coco Chanel's classic suit, the Sony WalkmanTM, Hello KittyTM, Helvetica, the Ford Model T, Harry Beck's diagrammatic map of the London Underground and the Apple iMac G3. This handsome volume provides a treasure trove of 'stories' that will shed new light on the iconic designs that we use without thinking, aspire to possess, love or hate (or love to hate) and which form part of the fabric of our everyday lives.

The Design Museum and fashion guru Paula Reed present Fifty Fashion Looks that Changed the 1950s. The most exciting, influential and definitive looks of one of the most significant decades in fashion! The Design Museum's mission is to celebrate, enterain and inform. It is the world's leading museum devoted to contemporary design in every form from furniture to fashion, and carchitecture to graphics. It is working to place design at the centre of contemporary culture and demonstrates both the richness of the creativity to be found in all forms of design, and its importance. This beautiful reference work showcases 50 iconic outfits from one of fashion's most influential and exciting decades. From the bombshell glamour of Marilyn Monroe in 'How to Marry a Millionaire' to the immergence of teenage style, via the sculptural forms of Christian Dior's New Look and Balenciaga's double A-Line, it celebrates all of the important looks that revolutionised modern fashion. With Paula Reed's lively and informative text and a wealth of fabulous photography, it is vital reading for design students, collectors of vintage, and everyone who truly loves fashion.

Iconic Designs is a beautifully designed and illustrated guide to fifty classic 'things' – designs that we find in the city, in our homes and offices, on page and screen, and in our everyday lives. In her introduction, Grace Lees-Maffei explores what makes a design 'iconic', and fifty essays by leading design and cultural critics tell the story of each iconic 'thing', its innovative and unique qualities, and its journey to classic status. Subjects range from the late 19th century to the present day, and include the Sydney Opera House, the Post-It Note, Coco Chanel's classic suit, the Sony WalkmanTM, Hello KittyTM, the typeface Helvetica, the Ford Model T, Harry Beck's diagrammatic map of the London Underground and the Apple iMac G3. This handsome volume provides a treasure trove of 'stories' that will shed new light on the iconic designs that we use without thinking, aspire to possess, love or hate (or love to hate) and which form part of the fabric of our everyday lives.

The author of The Language of Things “takes readers on an engrossing tour of Foster’s life” from childhood to the world-renowned buildings he designed (Publishers Weekly, starred review). A leading pioneer of high-tech architecture, Norman Foster has worked across the globe, collaborating with luminaries such as R. Buckminster Fuller to Steve Jobs. Born in Manchester, England, Foster grew up in poverty, the son of a machine painter. He served in the Royal Air Force and worked in a local architect’s office before returning to school for architecture. Foster went on to design the Reichstag, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banks headquarters in London and China, the new Wembley stadium and the British Museum's new court. He is also responsible for the design of Beijing's new airport, the Rossiya tower in Moscow, one of the towers at Ground Zero in Manhattan, as well as numerous other buildings around the world. In this insightful biography, Deyan Sudjic charts Foster’s remarkable life and career.

Everything around us is designed and the word 'design' has become part of our everyday experience. But how much do we know about it? Fifty Dresses That Changed the World imparts that knowledge listing the top 50 dresses that have made a substantial impact in the world of British design today. From the 1915 Delphos Pleated dress to Hussein Chalayan's 2007 LED dress, each entry offers a short appraisal to explore what has made their iconic status and the designers that give them a special place in design history.