John Heskett Book order

John Heskett was a leading design historian with a particular interest in design and economics. This book publishes for the first time his writings on design and economic value, and design's role in creating value in organisations and products. The first part of Heskett's text introduces the main traditions of economic thought as they explain the relationship between producers, markets, products and consumers; he then goes on to consider the importance of design and design thinking in innovating and creating value in business practice and product development. Heskett refers to examples of businesses such as Dyson and Apple that have successfully responded to the value of design in their practice, and others such as the Ford Motor Company that were faced with the threat of bankruptcy because they failed to encourage innovation and creativity or to respond adequately to the challenges and opportunities presented by new technology. Heskett's text is accompanied by critical and contextualising overviews by leading design scholars, which place Heskett's writings within the framework of contemporary design and business thought and practice.

"A John Heskett Reader brings together key selected writings from the work of the design historian John Heskett. It will be edited and introduced by Clive Dilnot. John Heskett was a pioneering design historian whose work was foundational for the study of industrial design and the relationship between design, design policy, and economic value. Heskett was British but lived and taught in the United States and Hong Kong for a number of years. The Reader represents the range of Heskett's contribution to the field of design history and key concerns in his work: the relationship between design and economic value; design in history and the history of design; design policy, and design and economics. The anthology includes unpublished, hard to access and out-of-print material as well as extracts from classic and foundational works by Heskett. Included are major extracts from two unpublished books: 'Crafts, Commerce and Industry' and 'Economic Value of Design', which show Heskett's interest in exploring design and making and their relationship to economic value across the entirety of human history. Extracts are grouped into thematic sections with editorial introductions written by Clive Dilnott and other leading design historians"--

This book will transform the way you think about design by showing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal to the medical equipment used to save lives. John Heskett goes beyond style and taste to look at how different cultures and individuals personalise objects.

The products of industry are omnipresent; at home, in the street, they form the man-made landscape of our lives. The author's highly original, broadly based approach shows how many and how diverse are the forces that have shaped the manufactured forms surrounding us during the past two centuries: the creativity of individual designers and design teams, technical innovations, economic and social pressures, and always the simultaneous and conflicting demands for continuity and change. 180 illus.