Design Discourse: History, Theory, Criticism

Front Cover
Victor Margolin
University of Chicago Press, Sep 15, 1989 - Art - 291 pages
The editor has gathered together a body of writing in the emerging field of design studies. The contributors argue in different ways for a rethinking of design in the light of its cultural significance and its powerful position in today's society. The collection begins with a discussion of the various expressions of opposition to the modernists' purist approach toward design. Drawing on postmodernist theory and other critical strategies, the writers examine the relations among design, technology, and social organization to show how design has become a complex and multidisciplinary activity. The second section provides examples of new methods of interpreting and analysing design, ranging from rhetoric and semiotics to phenomenology, demonstrating how meaning is created visually. A final section related to design history shifts its emphasis to ideological frameworks such as capitalism and patriarchy that establish boundaries for the production and use of design.
 

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Contents

Introduction by Victor Margolin
3
SECTION I AFTER THE MODERNISTS
29
SECTION II THE INTERPRETATION OF DESIGN
89
SECTION III WRITING DESIGN HISTORY
211
A Preliminary Mapping by Victor Margolin
265
List of Contributors
289
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