Read Anywhere and on Any Device!

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!

Create Free Account

The Language of Things: Understanding the World of Desirable Objects

3.7/5 ( ratings)

A brilliant exposé of the interaction between art, design, and commerce.

What is it that persuades us to camp outside Apple stores to be the first to buy an iPhone? Why is it that a generation ago a typewriter might have lasted someone a lifetime, but now we write on computers that we upgrade every couple of years to shinier, faster, sleeker models? Why do the clicks of some car doors sound “expensive”? Deyan Sudjic charts our relationship—both innocent and knowing—with all things designed. From the opulent excesses of the catwalk to the playfulness of an Alessi jam jar, he shows how we can be manipulated and seduced by our possessions. With scintillating wit he addresses these questions and more, exploring the reasons why every designer yearns to put a personal stamp on a chair or an adjustable lamp, and where design ends and art begins. 71 black-and-white and 5 color illustrations.

Language: English

Pages: 208

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: W. W. Norton Company

Release: June 01, 2009

ISBN: 0393070816

ISBN 13: 9780393070811

The Language of Things: Understanding the World of Desirable Objects

3.7/5 ( ratings)

A brilliant exposé of the interaction between art, design, and commerce.

What is it that persuades us to camp outside Apple stores to be the first to buy an iPhone? Why is it that a generation ago a typewriter might have lasted someone a lifetime, but now we write on computers that we upgrade every couple of years to shinier, faster, sleeker models? Why do the clicks of some car doors sound “expensive”? Deyan Sudjic charts our relationship—both innocent and knowing—with all things designed. From the opulent excesses of the catwalk to the playfulness of an Alessi jam jar, he shows how we can be manipulated and seduced by our possessions. With scintillating wit he addresses these questions and more, exploring the reasons why every designer yearns to put a personal stamp on a chair or an adjustable lamp, and where design ends and art begins. 71 black-and-white and 5 color illustrations.

Language: English

Pages: 208

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: W. W. Norton Company

Release: June 01, 2009

ISBN: 0393070816

ISBN 13: 9780393070811

More books from Deyan Sudjic

B is for Bauhaus

3.8/5 ( ratings)

The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful--and Their Architects--Shape the World

3.7/5 ( ratings)

The Endless City

4.1/5 ( ratings)

Norman Foster: A Life In Architecture

3.8/5 ( ratings)

Living in the Endless City: The Urban Age Project by the London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Society

The Architecture Pack : A Unique, Three-Dimensional Tour of Architecture over the Centuries : What Architects Do, How They Do It

4.4/5 ( ratings)

Design Museum: Fifty Modern Buildings That Changed the World

3.4/5 ( ratings)

Rei Kawakubo & Commes Des Garcons (Blueprint Monographs)

3.6/5 ( ratings)

Sony Design: Making Modern

3.9/5 ( ratings)

The 100 Mile City

3.5/5 ( ratings)

Don't Take These Drawings Seriously: 1981-1987

4.2/5 ( ratings)

Norman Foster And The British Museum

4.7/5 ( ratings)

Richard Rogers + Architects: From the House to the City

3.7/5 ( ratings)

BarberOsgerby

Paul Smith

4.6/5 ( ratings)

Swarovski: Fashion, Performance, Jewelry, and Design

3.8/5 ( ratings)

The Endless City: The Urban Age Project by the London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Society

Stuart Haygarth: Strand

3.3/5 ( ratings)

Postcards from the Design Museum

3.3/5 ( ratings)

Ron Arad

3.3/5 ( ratings)

Rate this book!

Write a review?