The official tie-in to the major 5-part BBC2 television series of the same name

The series reveals the origins of everyday objects and pay tribute to those who created them.

Synopsis: This landmark book takes a unique, original and engrossing approach to design. Whether or not we are consciously interested in it, design is omnipresent; it affects and influences us all in every aspect of our lives. The Genius of Design illuminates what design is, how it works, and how it has shaped the world we live in.

Taking a broadly chronological approach, the book shows how the story of design has developed and explores major themes, with chapters including the birth of mass-produced design, domestic design and the contemporary home and the legacy of wartime design. The book shows how design reflects the political, cultural and economic themes of our times, how it connects both to the macro forces of history (industrialisation, consumerism, technology) and the micro forces (taste, money, desire) and how it manifests itself everywhere, from battlefield and boardroom to supermarket and schoolroom.

More than anything, though, the book tells the stories that lie behind the iconic designs of our times. It tells how the first fitted kitchen was based on the principles behind the Ford production line, how wartime research ultimately led to the biro, latex condoms and aviator sunglasses. It celebrates the heroes of design and the lesser know people responsible for some of the everyday objects we take for granted.

And it examines the role of the consumer and the issues of taste – what really is good or bad design? Provocative, absorbing and packed with images, this enthralling book reveals what design means to us – the trivial and the mundane, the life-saving and the world-changing.

Buy The Genius of Design from Amazon.co.uk

Hot Brands Verdict
The book takes a historical approach examining from industrialised manufacture in the 19th century; to the Modern movement, the Bauhaus and beyond, through the war years, the potential of new materials and finishing with design in the 21st century. We loved the Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow looking at the last two decades of the twentieth century and what potentially will come next, and the role of tastemakers and the link between design and lifestyle. This is a very comprehensive book and if you are intrigued by design concepts and how the design of today’s products have evolved you will be fascinated by this book and the accompanying television series.