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A radical and highly original examination of design and its place in society over the last 200 years

About the Author

Adrian Forty is a Professor of Architectural History at The Bartlett, the Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London, now retired. He is also the former Programme Director of the masters programme in Architectural History. In 2003, he was awarded the Sir Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education. Forty is the author of many highly regarded books on architecture and design, including Objects of Desire and Words and Buildings, both published by Thames & Hudson.

Reviews

'One of the most significant contributions to design history in recent years' - Financial Times

'Readable and argumentative' - Architects' Journal

'One of the most significant contributions to design history in recent years' - Financial Times
'Readable and argumentative' - Architects' Journal

Intriguing for its illustrations of oddities in the history of industrial design (e.g., the Squirrel sewing machine, 1858), Forty's analysis is basically soft-sell Marxist ideology, written for general readers. The author's research is based primarily upon secondary sources, with comments added to demonstrate his thesis: ``To make sense of design, we must recognize that its disguising, concealing, and tranforming powers have been essential to the progress of modern industrial societies.'' Chapters are thematic: ``Hygiene and Cleanliness,'' for example, treats refrigerators, bathrooms, railway coach cars, school chairs, and vacuum cleaners. Recommended, with reservations, for large collections. Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Art Dept., Goucher Coll., Towson, Md.