By Design 2nd Edition: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis XIV and Other Object Lessons

By Ralph Caplan

Book Overview

An inspiring resource for design students, professionals or anyone else who could benefit from a fuller appreciation of the design process, By Design vividly shows how design affects our most significant human activities. A network of engrossing stories illuminate the process as it applies to industrial design, interior design, fashion design, graphic design and the design of business and social situations. It is the perfect accompaniment to a broad area of foundation courses for designers-in-training. This new edition of the popular classic features updated examples of timeless ideas, illustrated in full colour. A concluding chapter discusses what has, and has not, changed since the first edition, examining design responses to radical technological development and shifting consumer demands. An elegant foreword by Paola Antonelli of the Museum of Modern Arts Department of Architecture and Design reintroduces the book to a fresh generation of readers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1563673495
• ISBN13: 9781563673498
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Fairchild Books
• Length: 267 Pages
• Weight: 1.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Great Book For Anyone in the Product Business

This outstanding book is said to be aimed at design students, professionals, or anyone else who could benefit from af uller appreciation of the design process. And yes, I have to agree, it is. More important to me however is the presentation in this book of the essence of what design is all about. This is the kind of book that the financial people behind a new big hotel should read. It is the book that a product development engineer should read before he starts working with his industrial designer. This is the book that nearly any business manager from marketing, to engineering, to sales, should read. The first time I travelled to Scandinavia I was struck with the simple elements of design that they do so much better than we do in this country. Simple things like the design of hotel doors, no more expensive than what we do here, just better. And the sub-title, 'why there are no locks on the bathrobe doors in the Hotel Louis XIV' -that's a great story, it makes such eminent sense. A special problem, a great design, see page 179.

Great introduction to the meaningful aspects of Design

A must have for all Designers interested in understanding how products are ultimately judged within their context-by thier effectiveness and usefulness.The six levels of Design Caplan outlines is a great measuring stick for all disciplines of Design and Engineering.