Writing Contemporary Design into History

Excerpt from the introduction:

Placing contemporary design within an historical framework is not easy. While a few prominent designers look like the natural heirs to the modern movement—one thinks of Jonathan Ive, whose work wins praise from Dieter Rams—much contemporary design finds its inspiration elsewhere; in the imitation of natural forms and processes; in objects that many modernists would have regarded as kitsch; in rituals such as the Japanese tea ceremony; and in the sort of cultural enquiry more usually associated with fine art. How are design historians to make sense of this variety, and what are the implications for our research agenda?

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About the book:

How do we learn about the objects that surround us? As well as gathering sensory information by viewing and using objects, we also learn about objects through the written and spoken word - from shop labels to friends' recommendations and from magazines to patents. But, even as design commentators have become increasingly preoccupied with issues of mediation, the intersection of design and language remains under-explored.Writing Design provides a unique examination of what is at stake when we convert the material properties of designed goods into verbal or textual description. Issues discussed include the role of text in informing design consumption, designing with and through language, and the challenges and opportunities raised by design without language. Bringing together a wide range of scholars and practitioners, Writing Design reveals the difficulties, ethics and politics of writing about design.

(Source: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-design-9781847889553/)