Design Anthropology: Object Cultures in Transition

Description

Design Anthropology brings together leading international design theorists, consultants and anthropologists to explore the changing object culture of the 21st century. Decades ago, product designers used basic market research to fine-tune their designs for consumer success. Today the design process has been radically transformed, with the user center-stage in the design process. From design ethnography to culture probing, innovative designers are employing anthropological methods to elicit the meanings rather than the mere form and function of objects. This important volume provides a fascinating exploration of the issues facing the shapers of our increasingly complex material world. The text features case studies and investigations covering a diverse range of academic disciplines. From IKEA and anti-design to erotic twenty-first-century needlework and online interior decoration, the book positions itself at the intersections of design, anthropology, material culture, architecture, and sociology.

Alison J. Clarke is professor of design history and theory, and director of the Victor J. Papanek Foundation at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria.

In recent decades designers have armed themselves with ethnographic methods, left the creative studio, and ventured out into the field. In a parallel movement, anthropologists have drawn unexpected insight from the designer's task of structuring our common experience. This fascinating volume offers diverse perspectives on the affinities between these complementary fields. * Barry Katz, professor of industrial and interaction design at California College of the Arts, USA *