The Industrial Design Reader

"Design is one of the most powerful fields of study of our time. This anthology not only makes it immediately accessible to a vast audience, but also displays it in all its glory and humanity. It gives design an even better name."--Paola Antonelli, Curator of Design, Museum of Modern Art

Co-published with the Design Management Institute, with input from a diverse range of industry experts/designers, theorists, critics, historians, and curators, this anthology is the first to focus exclusively on the history of industrial design. This pioneering guide traces the entire history of industrial design, industrialization, and mass production from 1850 until today.

Sixty comprehensive essays written by designers, theorists, advertisers, historians, and curators detail the most crucial movements, issues, and accomplishments of industrial design. They combine news reports on the very first design workshops, aesthetic manifestos, lectures, and more from the biggest names in the field: William Morris, Henry Dreyfuss, Henry Ford, Sigmund Freud, Kenichi Ohmae, David H. Rice, and Victor Papanek, to name only a few.

The Industrial Design Reader is an excellent resource for educators, students, and practicing designers. It features design from not only theoretical and aesthetic perspectives, but also from a socio-political point of view, with texts from Karl Marx, Ralph Nader, and others.

Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.