Design History : Understanding Theory and Method

This is a revised and updated introduction to the diverse range of theories and methodologies in design history.

Design history has become a complex and wide-ranging discipline, examining artefacts from conception to development, production, mediation and consumption. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the seminal theoretical frameworks and methodological underpinnings for analyzing objects in recent decades, tracing the historiography, interdisciplinary approaches and key issues concerning knowledge and meaning in design.

Restructured and updated throughout, this new edition includes:

- Expanded analysis of design history in dialogue with neighbouring fields such as design research, material culture, museology, anthropology, business history and the history of technology
- Perspectives and findings from recent scholarship focusing on decolonial approaches, politics of identity and pluralistic outlooks in design history
- New illustrations, now in colour, including examples beyond Eurocentric contexts
- Two new chapters covering:

1. Geographies of design history, discussing world history, globalization and the planetary, as well as regional histories, decolonial approaches and the notion of the transnational
2. Ecologies of design history, addressing the attempts to grapple with issues of ecology, sustainability and environmental concerns

A map to the intellectual landscape of design history, this book is an invaluable and up-to-date guide for both students and scholars.