Design

From history to theory to technology: a comprehensive survey of furniture design. Designing furniture is both an art and a science that draws upon a broad range of knowledge and disciplines. It is helpful for today's furniture designers to have a working knowledge of furniture history, technology, aesthetics, the human body, architectural production, interior design, industrial design, and art. Furniture Design is a comprehensive survey that guides the reader through the essential facets of design and more. The book explores: Fundamental ideas of function and social use. Form, spatial organization, and typological orders. Structural integrity and composition. The design process. Materials and fabrication processes. Marketing and professional practice. A historical overview of furniture design up to the twenty-first century. A highlight of the book includes case studies of twenty-one furniture designs presenting a broad selection of works, designers, design processes, and fabrication techniques in one chapter. The book also features a glossary of terms and a comprehensive bibliography. In short, here is a one-stop resource about furniture design that designers will turn to regularly for the advice, guidance, and information needed to perform their craft.

The ubiquitous chair in all its shapes and forms (TASCHEN's 25th anniversary special edition) More than any other piece of furniture, the chair has been subjected to the wildest dreams of the designers. The particular curve of a back-rest, or the twist of a leg, the angle of a seat or the colour of the entire artefact all reflect the stylistic consciousness of each era. From Gerrit Rietveld and Alvar Aalto via Verner Panton to Eva Zeisel; from Art Nouveau to International Style, from Pop Art to Postmodernism, the phenomenon of the chair is so complex that it requires a reference work as comprehensive as this to do it full justice. They are all here: Thonet's bentwood chairs and Hoffmann's sitting-machines, Marcel Breuer's Wassily chair and Ron Arad's avant garde armchairs. The book, a slightly abbreviated version of our classic title 1000 Chairs, devotes one page to each chair, displayed on its own as pure form, with biographical and historical information about the chair.