Design theory Posts
Consumption: six myths to discard
An article for the Fair Design conference, Warsaw, Poland, May 2018
‘Ethical’ design – or the ethic of progress?
Years ago, I saw the great US graphic design writer Stephen Heller address a big crowd of students in London.
Read the full article...Publicly funded design support for SME manufacturers
Over the years, governments have put very little money into supporting product design among SMEs. Here’s a review of the results of their work.
Read the full article...
The fuzzy front end of product design projects
In innovation, the simple transfer of knowledge isn’t enough – but uncertainty isn’t all bad
Read the full article...
Design alone can’t save UK plc
Making products attractive and user-friendly is a good idea, but it is no substitute for R&D and investment.
Read the full article...
Smart Design: rethinking packaging
How electronic packs for pharmaceuticals work with mobile IT to improve patient adherence to medication regimens
Read the full article...
The craze for design thinking
The historical and social reasons why hip designers talk of little else. Plus: elements of an alternative.
Read the full article...
The Next Trend in Design
Given the alacrity with which design managers uphold and then forget about future trends, it’s worth asking: Where do such trends really come from?
Read the full article...What’s so special about Dutch design?
In design one doesn’t necessarily accept ‘the problem as given’.
Read the full article...Innovation is more than just design; a reply to Virginia Postrel
Early on in her 2003 book The Substance of Style (HarperCollins) Virginia Postrel celebrates our old friend, the Apple iMac.
Read the full article...Toward the global concept
Twenty years ago, design was just beginning today’s upswing – but the US had clearly begun to regain its worldwide prominence in the field
Read the full article...
Political economy: the survival kit for designers in the 1980s
This article was the first leader published under my editorship at Design magazine (1979-82). For all its narrowness and youthful excess, it marked out new territory for thinking about design
Read the full article...
#IOPC IN THE NEWS AGAIN. Pix: DG Rachel Watson; Acting Deputy DG Kathie Cashell;
Amanda Rowe and Steve Noonann, both Acting Directors, Operations.
That's a lot of acting! No wonder the IOPC's report never saw the light of day.
Are we a bit flaccid, perhaps?
A dubious editorial decision by the Daily Mail that risks glorifying one of the most evil men in history. Who cares about his air fryer recipes?