Architecture & Design

Massaging the Consumer The digital future of ads in the extravagant 1980s With the cold war ebbing, crime and inflation at record levels, and movie star-turned-President Ronald Reagan launching a Star Wars of his own, the 1980s did not seem likely to...

Disco and Discovery Ads of the 1970s get funky and socially conscious Both eclipsed and influenced by television, American print ads of the 1970s departed from the bold, graphic forms and subtle messages that were typical of their sixties counterparts...

Americana in Full Bloom To the moon and back with advertising in the 1960s With the consumerist euphoria of the fifties still going strong and the race to the moon at its height, the mood of advertising in the sixties was cheerful, optimistic, and at...

Advertising in the Atomic Age From “The World’s Finest Automatic Washer” to the Cadillac which “Gives a Man a New Outlook” As McCarthyism swept across the United States and capitalism was king, white America enjoyed a feeling of pride and security that...

An expansive account of the ever-popular mid-century movement, from the place where it all began Embark on a surprising and joyful visual tour of American mid-century modernism through hundreds of photographs, drawings, and pieces of ephemera organized...

The need-to-know names of Japanese graphic design from the late 19th century to the pre-digital decade, presented alongside more than 500 color images of vintage ephemera With Fracture, author Ian Lynam presents a survey of Japanese design across a...

The authoritative and wide-ranging visual essay on the aesthetics of Japan, a classic volume now back in print with a stunning new cover design ‘Japan style’ is an aesthetic recognizable to everyone: a beautifully displayed flower, an elegant...

No longer a catalog, but an intimate window into how and why Nakashima Woodworkers do what Nakashima Woodworkers do. THe Process Book acts a first step in understanding our foundations and identifying what you hope to achieve in working with us. Defined...

The main character of this extraordinary graphic novel is not a person but an idea—the school of Bauhaus, which arose in the wake of World War I, and emerged as the fundamental reference point for virtually every avant-garde artistic movement that...

A pocket-sized history of the great fashion house, Dior, covering over 70 years of excellence. Little Book of Dior is the pocket-sized and beautifully illustrated story of 70 years of opulent fashion. Christian Dior's spectacular rise to the upper...

An homage to the design pioneers who defined the Mid-Century aesthetic through their work in furniture, glassware, ceramics and textiles More than 50 years later, the fascination with mid-century design is stronger than ever before. Explore the popular...

Midcentury masterpieces from the inventors of the Eames chair Best known for their contributions to architecture, furniture design, industrial design, film and photography, Charles and Ray Eames remain among the most renowned American designers of the...

Exquisitely illustrated and expertly written, Little Book of Schiaparelli follows a biographical chronology detailing the eccentric and influential designer's life, career, and primary creative themes of her work. .Little Book of Schiaparelli chronicles...

'Haute couture is like an orchestra, whose conductor is Balenciaga. We other couturiers are the musicians and we follow the direction he gives' - Christian Dior The godfather of conceptual design, a master of shape, a true fashion game changer – all are...

From Darkness into Light Wartime action and postwar triumph in the advertising of the 1940s At the beginning of the decade, America was at war. Patriotism was an integral part of everyday life, with the sentiment mirrored in advertising. As America...

Forms on the front line Architecture and design in the context of WWII Founded in 1928 as a “living diary” by the great Milanese architect and designer Gio Ponti, domus has been hailed as the world’s most influential architecture and design journal. With...

The Modern Home A complete retrospective of the Case Study Houses program The Case Study House program (1945–1966) was an exceptional, innovative event in the history of American architecture and remains to this day unique. The program, which...

An unprecedented, substantial, and extraordinary celebration of more than a century of fascinating product and industrial design, as shown through their detailed original patent documents - the ultimate 'flick book' of modern design with hundreds of...

A visual journey through Zen’s influence on Japanese life, from calligraphy to the martial arts Formed by a convergence of the Buddha’s teachings with Taoism and local tradition, Zen has had a profound impact on the art and culture of Japan...

A window into the world of functional everyday design The designers Jasper Morrison and Naoto Fukasawa have compiled 204 everyday objects in search of “super normal design”: alongside examples of anonymous design like the Swiss Rex vegetable...

Showcases some of the most stunning treasures from the dynasty that created the Taj Mahal The Great Mughals presents, for the first time, the opulent, internationalist culture of Mughal Hindustan in the age of its greatest emperors: Akbar (r...

Light up your life Luminary design of the 20th century Designed to be a companion to our classic title 1000 Chairs, this edition contains an awesome selection of over 1000 lights. Presented chronologically by decade are the 20th century’s most...

The best design from the Nordic region Scandinavia is world famous for its inimitable, democratic designs which bridge the gap between craftsmanship and industrial production, organic forms and everyday functionality. This all-you-need guide includes a...

Take a Seat An overview of exemplary chairs More than any other piece of furniture, the chair has been subjected to the wildest dreams of the designer. The particular curve of a backrest, or the twist of a leg, the angle of a seat or the color of the...

 An updated edition of this indispensable reference, surveying the history of textiles from twenty-five thousand years ago to the present.  The history of textiles, more than that of any other artifact, is a history of human ingenuity. From the...

Reissued to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus, this book explores one of the most important art schools of the last hundred years. The Bauhaus, a school of art and design founded in Germany in 1919, informed the aesthetic...

 A new edition of a seminal book on the history of graphic design in the twentieth century by one of the leading authorities in the field. The story of graphic design is one of the most exciting and important developments in twentieth-century visual...

As Art Director for Muji since 2002, Japanese graphic designer Kenya Hara (born 1958) and his aesthetic of pared-back, beautifully functional objects have taken the world by (quiet) storm. With Kenya Hara: Designing Japan, the designer presents his...

The 367 exquisite hand-colored plates of the Hortus Eystettensis, published in 1613 with elaborate descriptions to record the palatial gardens in Eichstätt, Bavaria, were a landmark in botanical illustration. This facsimile edition, featuring...

This landmark volume is a gathering of Native North American  contemporary artists, musicians, filmmakers, choreographers, architects,  writers, photographers, designers and more. Conceived by Jeffrey  Gibson, a renowned artist of...

The 2007 volume of Ceramics in America is devoted to the topic of Bonnin and Morris soft-paste porcelain made in Philadelphia between 1770 and 1772. For the first time, all nineteen known objects from this important American "china" manufactory along...

 There have been many books about Herman Miller, its ethos, designers, and furniture, but none as comprehensive as this.’ – Interior Design The acclaimed chronicle of the rich history of this innovative furniture company, from its...

The Hidden Language of Symbols covers a wide-ranging selection of visual culture and art under one unified theme: symbols. Often not immediately apparent, our day-to-day lives abound with symbols of various kinds, from national emblems to emojis,...

A Japanese designer offers a compelling alternative way to engage with our possessions, our history, our environment, and each other. The Japanese phrase "hodo-hodo" originates in ancient times. When contemporary designer Taku Satoh applies it to his...

The most innovative, iconic, and influential products ever designed - from 1663 to the present day Originating from the highly acclaimed and groundbreaking three-volume Phaidon Design Classics, this new book presents 1,000 of the world's greatest objects...

In this volume, Jens Müller traces 130 years of graphic design,  designers, and developments from the late 19th century through the economic boom after World War II until today. Year-by-year spreads are combined with in-depth features on dozens of...

Good design, like good storytelling, brings ideas to life. The latest book from award-winning writer Ellen Lupton is a playbook for creative thinking, showing designers how to use storytelling techniques to create satisfying graphics, products, services...

Discover more than 500 of the most innovative, influential, and enduring products from the last five centuries in this fully revised and expanded edition of Phaidon's much-loved companion to the best of design Take an extraordinary journey through...

In the late eighteenth century, mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner devised a standardized color scheme that allowed him to describe even the subtlest of chromatic differences with consistent terminology. His scheme was then adapted by an Edinburgh...

Acclaimed as the “father of skyscrapers,” the quintessentially American icon Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect of aspiration. He believed in giving cultivated American life its fitting architectural equivalent and applied his idealism to structures...

Even in his unrealized projects, Le Corbusier redefined modern living, synthesizing functionalism, expressionism, and expansive urban thinking  from Switzerland to Chandigarh, India. This book provides a succinct  introduction to his...

Over the course of his artistic career, Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) transformed not only his own style, but the course of art history. From early figurative and landscape painting, he went on to pioneer a  spiritual, emotive, rhythmic use of color...

Our lives are filled with objects. Everyday things used in everyday settings, they are our constant companions. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be...

American Furniture, 1650–1840: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art is the first publication dedicated to one of the finest collections of its type in the country. Best known for furniture by artisans from Philadelphia and southeastern...

If you take even the slightest interest in the design of your  toothbrush, the history behind your washing machine, or the evolution of  the telephone, you’ll take an even greater interest in this completely  updated edition of Industrial...

By Lisa Roberts At four months old Mr. Waffles was rescued from a shelter by a family who collects contemporary design. Luckily for everyone involved - Mr. Waffles Loves Design! Take a tour through a history of design with this very smart and curious cat...

Edited by Dilys E. Blum with essays by Dilys E. Blum and Mary Schoeser, and a contribution by Julie Schafler Dale This is the first publication to consider art to wear, also known as wearable art, as a discrete American movement that mirrored the...