21st Century Design: New Design Icons from Mass Market to Avant-Garde Book

A fully up-to-date comprehensive survey of the contemporary design landscape, this pioneering publication places the contemporary scene in a historic framework and explores cultural and economic forces shaping design now and in the years to come. Accessible and engaging, it charts the incredible explosion of design worldwide and discusses cross-fertilization between design movements in what is rapidly emerging as one of the most exciting industries in the world.

Library Journal

This updated edition of Fairs's (editor, Dezeen magazine) 2006 encyclopedic volume is divided into sections on architecture, interiors, furniture, lighting, housewares, industrial design, clothing and accessories, visual communication, and urban and landscape design. Each one- to four-page entry offers color photographs and a description that places the work in context, relates it to the designer's other projects, and describes the design process or materials. Brief introductions to the sections outline trends. The impact of new technologies on design and manufacture is apparent across the board, though some designers have sought a return to handcrafted processes or appearances. Many of the designs reject the 20th-century modernist ideal of clean, white lines; they exhibit, instead, a lavish exuberance fueled in part by increasing consumer affluence and the global expansion of wealthy corporations and retailers. Depending on how the ongoing economic retrenchment affects design, this may come to be seen as a history of a fleeting period. VERDICT An excellent tour through the modern design world and a natural source for any avid reader of Wallpaper* or similar design magazines.—Amy Trendler, Ball State Univ. Libs., Muncie, IN