Design history and criticism
Studies design past and present: how its practices emerged, what role objects and images played in the economy and culture, and how to judge them critically.
What it studies
How and why design became what it is. It gives design perspective so it doesn’t unknowingly repeat itself, and helps it understand which values its work conveys.
Principles
Objects tell a story
An object reflects the economy, ideas and customs of its time.
Beyond the famous author
Look also at manufacturing, selling and use, not just at whoever signed the design.
A history of the whole world
Design didn’t start with European industry; each region has its own history.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Look for the precedents of what you’re going to design and ask which values of its time it still conveys.
Avoid
Telling design history only as a list of famous designers and objects.
Don’t fall for it
Check which places and which people your reference talks about: whole regions are almost always missing.
Connections
Campos cercanos
Authors and works
- 1986
Adrian Forty
Studied product design since 1750 as part of commerce and society, starting with how Josiah Wedgwood designed and sold his pottery.
- 1988
Design History Society
Has published the field’s reference journal since 1988, covering the history of furniture, product, graphic and fashion design, craft and exhibitions.
- 2015
Victor Margolin
Wrote a world history of design that starts in prehistory and isn’t limited to the West, because a definition tied to industry leaves many regions without a history.
Sources
Original sources
- Forty, A. (1986). Objects of desire: Design and society 1750–1980. Thames and Hudson.
- Design History Society (1988–). Journal of Design History. Oxford University Press. View source: Design History Society (1988–)
- Margolin, V. (2015). World history of design (2 vols.). Bloomsbury.
Last reviewed: