The Design Book

What makes a design great? What is the difference between good design and design that merely functions? DK’s The Design Book takes five hundred of the most significant objects ever designed — from the Eames chair and the London Underground map to the iPhone and the LEGO brick — and uses them to tell the complete story of modern design: its history, its principles, its practitioners, and its relationship to technology, culture, and everyday life.

Each entry receives a visual treatment that shows the object at its best while explaining what makes it significant — what problem it solved, what aesthetic breakthrough it represented, and why it has endured. The profiles range across furniture, graphics, architecture, product design, and digital interfaces, giving an extraordinarily comprehensive picture of design as a discipline and as a cultural force.

An indispensable reference for design professionals and students, and endlessly fascinating for anyone who has ever wondered why some objects feel right and others don’t. Beautifully produced throughout. Published by DK.