This is the first publication on the work of Konstantin Grcic (b. 1965), one of the most interesting and prolific designers of today. The book offers an insight into his design process showing products at different stages of development, together with a remarkable portfolio of finished pieces, through sketches, drawings and specially commissioned photographs. Edited by photographer and visual researcher Florian Böhm and with texts by Konstantin Grcic, Pierre Doze and Francesca Picchi.

This is the first publication on the work of Konstantin Grcic (b. 1965), one of the most interesting and prolific designers of today. The book offers an insight into his design process showing products at different stages of development, together with a remarkable portfolio of finished pieces, through sketches, drawings and specially commissioned photographs. Edited by photographer and visual researcher Florian Böhm and with texts by Konstantin Grcic, Pierre Doze and Francesca Picchi.

Now in its second edition, Prototyping and Modelmaking for Product Design, by practising product development consultant Bjarki Hallgrimsson, is essential reading for both students and design professionals. Prototyping and ModelMaking for Product Design goes behind the scenes to illustrates how prototypes are used to help designers understand problems better, explore more imaginative solutions, investigate human interaction more fully and test functionality so as to de-risk the design process. Following an introduction on the purpose of prototyping, specific materials, tools and techniques are examined in detail, with step-by-step tutorials and industry examples of real and successful products illustrating how prototypes are used to help solve design problems. Workflow is also discussed, using a mixture of hands-on and digital tools. This new edition includes case studies representing technological developments such as prototyping user experience and interactive electronic products, as well as a new expanded section on digital modelmaking tools, including 3D printing and laser cutting. The first chapters of the book explain why prototyping is so important to the design process. The many uses of prototyping will be shown in the context of several comprehensive projects by some of the world's leading design firms. The second part is an introduction to the typical materials used by designers in their prototyping efforts and how to work with them. In all cases, the approach is to use digital and manual tools in a complementary and effective fashion. Tutorials were specifically developed that underline the back and forth of digital and manual ways of working. The emphasis is on the kinds of construction that can be done by the designers themselves. Health and safety is stressed in terms of personal responsibility and awareness. Topics covered include:Definition of prototyping and modelmakingPrototyping as a form of problem solvingModelmakingPhysical and digital prototypesBuidling by hand and using digital technologies

This book provides the reader with a comprehensive, relevant, and visually rich insight into the world of research methods specifically aimed at product designers. It includes practical case studies and tutorials that will inform, inspire and help you to conduct product design research better. Product designers need a comprehensive understanding of research methods as their day-to-day work routinely involves them observing people, asking questions, searching for information, making and testing ideas, and ultimately generating 'solutions' to 'problems'. Manifest in the design process is the act of research. Huge technological advances in information, computing and manufacturing processes also offer enormous opportunities to product designers such as the development of 'intelligent' products and services, but at the same time raise important research questions that need to be dealt with. Product designers are, in many ways, best placed to address these challenges because of the manner in which they apply their design thinking to problems. This book demonstrates in a clear, highly visual and structured fashion how research methods can support product designers and help them address the very real issues the world currently faces in the 21st century.

German design and architecture reflects the country’s rich and fraught political history in its structure and aesthetic philosophy. Jeremy Aynsley now offers an in-depth study of this relationship between German history and design since 1870 and the complex principles underlying it. Designing Modern Germany reveals how German attitudes toward national identity, modernity and technology are crucial to understanding German design. Aynsley traces the historical development of German design, beginning in the 1870s with the first dedicated Arts and Crafts schools and stretching through to the famous institutions of the Bauhaus and the Ulm Hochschule für Gestaltung. He analyses the works of leading figures such as Peter Behrens and Hannes Meyer, through to Ingo Maurer and Jil Sander, and many others in design specialties including graphics, industrial and furniture design, fashion and architecture. He also offers the first consideration of the contrasting design traditions of East and West Germany between 1949 and 1989. Whether examining the pre-First World War department store, the National Socialist fashion system or East Germany’s official design culture, Designing Modern Germany reveals that German design significantly affected citizens’ daily lives. An essential read for designers and scholars of German design and history, Designing Modern Germany is a key text for understanding Germany’s major contribution to twentieth-century design.

With its tutorial-based approach, this is a practical guide to both hand- and computer-drawn design. Readers will learn to think three-dimensionally and build complex design ideas that are structurally sound and visually clear. The book also illustrates how these basic skills underpin the use of computer-aided design and graphic software. While these applications assist the designer in creating physical products, architectural spaces and virtual interfaces, a basic knowledge of sketching and drawing allows the designer to fully exploit the software. Foundational chapters show how these technical skills fit into a deeper and more intuitive feeling for visualisation and representation, while featured case studies of leading designers, artists and architects illustrate the full range of different drawing options available. Hundreds of hand-drawn sketches and computer models have been specially created to demonstrate critical geometry and show how to build on basic forms and exploit principles of perspective to develop sketches into finished illustrations. There's also advice on establishing context, shading and realizing more complex forms.

Konstantin Grcic ist einer der wichtigsten Designer unserer Zeit. Seine Entwürfe verbinden industrielle Ästhetik mit experimentellen, künstlerischen Elementen, sie sind ernsthaft und funktional, sperrig und teilweise irritierend. Manche von Grcics Designs, etwa der »Chair_One± (2004) oder die Leuchte »Mayday± (1999), gelten bereits heute als Designklassiker. Mit »Konstantin Grcic – Panorama± präsentiert das Vitra Design Museum die bislang größte Einzelausstellung zu Grcic und seinem Werk. Eigens für die Ausstellung hat Grcic mehrere raumgreifende Installationen entwickelt, die seine persönlichen Visionen für das Leben von morgen darlegen: ein Wohninterieur, ein Designatelier und einen Stadtraum. Sie zeigen fiktive Szenarien, konfrontieren den Betrachter mit den Inspirationen, Herausforderungen und Fragen des Designers und stellen Grcics Entwürfe in einen größeren gesell-schaftlichen Zusammenhang. Höhepunkt dieser Inszenierungen ist ein 30 Meter langes Panoramabild, das eine Architekturlandschaft der Zukunft zeigt.0Ein vierter Ausstellungsbereich richtet einen konzentrierten Blick auf die tägliche Arbeit von Konstantin Grcic. Hier werden viele seiner Produkte, aber auch Prototypen, Zeichnungen und Hintergrundinformationen gezeigt, ergänzt um Fundstücke, Alltagsgegenstände und Werke anderer Gestalter, die Grcic inspiriert haben – von einer alten Teekanne und einem frühen Apple-Computer bis hin zu Werken von Marcel Duchamp, Gerrit Rietveld oder Enzo Mari. Mit dem Wechsel der Perspektiven zwischen dem großen und dem kleinen Zusammenhang zeigt die Ausstellung, dass Design für Grcic nicht nur Problemlösung ist, sondern ein assoziativer Umgang mit Bildern, Zufällen, Brüchen und Entdeckungen.0Exhibition: Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany (22.3.-14.9.2014) / Z33, Hasselt, Belgium (1.2.-24.5.2015).