A critical overview of contemporary design and its place within the broader context of art history A Companion to Contemporary Design since 1945 introduces readers to a collection of specially commissioned essays exploring the complex areas of design that emerged through the latter half of the twentieth century, design history, design methods, design studies and more recently, design thinking. The book delivers a thoughtful overview of all design disciplines and also strives to stimulate inter-disciplinary debate and examine unconsidered convergences among design applications in different fields. By offering a new perspective on design, the articles assembled here present a challenging account of the boundaries between design history and its cognate disciplines, especially art history. The volume comprises five sections—Time, Place, Space, Objects and Audiences—that discuss environments for design and how we interact with designed objects and spaces. Notable features include: 24 new essays reflecting the current state of design history and theory, and examining developments on a global basis Contributions by eminent scholars and practitioners from around the globe Enriched throughout with illustrations A Companion to Contemporary Design since 1945 provides a new and thought-provoking revision of our conception and understanding of contemporary design that will be essential reading for students at both undergraduate and graduate levels as well as researchers and teachers working in design history, theory and practice, and in related fields.

The first book to present a comprehensive overview of postwar Japanese design For the Japanese, the concept of design is not limited to functionality or materiality--it is deeply connected with ancient culture and rituals. In this sense, a chair is much more than what you sit on, a cup more than what you drink from: these objects are to be reflected upon, to be touched and cherished. As mass manufacture became widespread in the post-war period, fascinating cross-cultural exchanges began to take place between Japan and the West. And in recent years, a new generation of designers has taken Japanese creativity into entirely new territory, reconceptualizing the very meaning of design. Showcasing over 80 designers, hundreds of objects, and contributions from both Japanese and Western designers inspired by Japan, this volume will remain the definitive work on the subject for many years to come.

"This volume surveys the history, post-1945, of product design (or industrial design) in each of the major industrialized nations in turn. It contains many color illustrations of noteworthy furniture, appliances, tableware, electronics, automobiles, etc"--

Urban Design Since 1945: A Global Perspective reviews the emergence of urban design as a global phenomenon. The book opens with the urgent need to rebuild cities and re-house the millions of refugees living in camps and shantytowns at the end of the Second World War. Against this background, the book traces the collapse of the modernist, comprehensive state-planning schemes on both sides of the Iron Curtain as global corporations emerged, concentrating on networks and enclaves. It describes how Latin America and then Asia began a rapid urbanisation process, shifting the global urban centre away from Europe and overturning existing urban design models. This resulted in global megacities of an unprecedented scale, often with large associated shantytowns. By outlining the dominant models in urban design over the last sixty years - the metropolis, the megalopolis, the fragmented metropolis and the global megacity - the book provides an essential framework for students of the subject. Featured case studies include: the rebuilding of metropolitan capitals in Europe and Asia, such as Berlin, London, Moscow, Tokyo and Beijing the construction of new towns like Nowa Huta, Poland; Harlow, UK; Chandigarh, India; Brasilia, Brazil; Milton Keynes New Town, UK; and Shenzhen, China the megalopolis as a global phenomenon from the American East Coast, Texas, California, Arizona and Florida, with examples from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, such as Caracas, Venezuela the fragmented metropolis as a global phenomenon, with American, Asian and European examples, such as Downtown and Midtown (New York), Shinjuku (Tokyo), Canary Wharf (London), La Défense (Paris) and Potsdamer Platz (Berlin) megacities as a global phenomenon, such as Jakarta in Indonesia or Bangkok in Thailand, that include urban agriculture and urban villages, as do shrinking eco-city regions such as Duisburg, Germany or Detroit, USA World's Fairs such as Brussels 1958 and Osaka 1970 which feature as drivers of innovation, as do Olympic events in Tokyo (1964), Barcelona (1992), Beijing (2008) and London (2012).

Domestic advice literature is rich in information about design, ideals of domesticity, consumption and issues of identity, yet this literature remains a relatively neglected resource in comparison with magazines and film. Design at Home brings together etiquette, homemaking and home decoration advice as sources in the first systematic demonstration of the historical value of domestic advice literature as a genre of word and image, and a discourse of dominance. This book traces a transatlantic domestic dialogue between the UK and the US as the chapters explore issues of design, domesticity, consumption, social interaction and identity markers including class, gender and age. Areas covered include: • the use of domestic advice by historians • relationships between advice, housing and the middle class • links between advice and gender • advice and the teenage consumer Design at Home is essential reading for students and scholars of cultural and social history, design history, and cultural studies.

A Companion to Contemporary Art is a major survey covering the major works and movements, the most important theoretical developments, and the historical, social, political, and aesthetic issues in contemporary art since 1945, primarily in the Euro-American context. Collects 27 original essays by expert scholars describing the current state of scholarship in art history and visual studies, and pointing to future directions in the field. Contains dual chronological and thematic coverage of the major themes in the art of our time: politics, culture wars, public space, diaspora, the artist, identity politics, the body, and visual culture. Offers synthetic analysis, as well as new approaches to, debates central to the visual arts since 1945 such as those addressing formalism, the avant-garde, the role of the artist, technology and art, and the society of the spectacle.

Focusing on design ingenuity, Modern British Furniture pinpoints the most inventive British designers and companies from 1945 to the present - from early postwar pioneers such as Ernest Race, Robin Day and Robert Heritage, to iconoclastic figures such as Peter Murdoch, William Plunkett and Max Clendinning, to today's global superstars led by Tom Dixon, Ron Arad and Jasper Morrison. Exploring the free-spirited and resourceful character of British design, this is a story of entrepreneurs who spearheaded their own companies - Lucian Ercolani at Ercol, Terence Conran at Habitat and Rodney Kinsman at OMK, among others - and the creative alliances between impassioned individuals and enlightened manufacturers, such as Frank Guille at Kandya. The book also looks at collaborations with international companies and foreignborn designers, such as El Ultimo Grito, who have adopted the UK as their base and injected further variety and spice into British furniture design.--

The period covered by this book was one of radical change for the U.S. Navy. When the modern navy first considered buying a submarine in 1887, it was a coast defense force confined to the Western Hemisphere. The United States became a world power just as its new submarines offered a way of defending its most distant possession, the Philippines, without tying down an expensive fleet. World War I found U.S. submarines in an unexpected role, countering German U-boats in British waters. Then the situation changed again with unexpected speed.

This design history of post-war British warship development, based on both declassified documentation and personal experience, is the fourth and final volume in the author’s masterly account of development of Royal Navy’s ships from the 1850s to the Falklands War. In this volume the author covers the period in which he himself worked as a Naval Constructor, while this personal knowledge is augmented by George Moore’s in-depth archival research on recently declassified material. The RN fleet in 1945 was old and worn out, while new threats and technologies, and post-war austerity called for new solutions. How designers responded to these unprecedented challenges is the central theme of this book. It covers the ambitious plans for the conversion or replacement of the bigger ships; looks at all the new construction, from aircraft carriers, through destroyers and frigates, to submarines (including nuclear and strategic), to minesweepers and small craft. The authors pay particular attention to the innovations introduced, and analyses the impact of the Falklands War. At the start of the twenty-first century the Royal Navy is still a powerful and potent force with new and a number of innovative classes, both surface and sub-surface, coming on stream. This book offers a fascinating insight into how the post-war fleet developed and adapted to the changing role of the Navy.