This is David Pye's classic book on the theory of design. In it, he explores the many facets of good design, including the relationship of aesthetics with function.

The Aesthetics of Design offers the first full treatment of design in the field of philosophical aesthetics, challenging the discipline to broaden its scope to include the quotidian objects and experiences of our everyday lives and concerns. In doing so, it contributes to the growing field of Everyday Aesthetics.

The author, who died in 1993, was an architect, industrial designer and craftsman. In this book, he explores the meaning of skill and its relationship to design and manufacture. He proposes a new theory of making based on the concepts of "workmanship of risk" and "workmanship of certainty" and shows how good workmanship imparts diversity to the visual environment. Includes photographs of the author's own turned and carved vessels of wood.

As synthetic biology transforms living matter into a medium for making, what is the role of design and its associated values?

Design is a widely-misunderstood discipline. This misunderstanding is not just simple ignorance and indifference in the layman. It is the design profession itself that accepts and promotes a vague and ultimately damaging definition of design. This lack of clarity is nurtured to thwart the scrutiny that would reveal designers' incompetence--as well as to advance more insidious agendas. While there is no lack of criticism, it too misses the point. Critics and designers are content to argue about superficial distinctions but not to understand the true criteria for evaluation, nor the process that would accomplish it. These willful misunderstandings are highly detrimental both to the client and to the development of capable designers.

Part of the Continuum Aesthetics series, this book addresses all the central issues in the aesthetics of nature.

Exhibition of paintings, lacquerwork, ceramics, textiles, calligraphy, and other media all in the Rinpa style from 1600 to the present day.