When a book about design covers so much territory, it's important to understand what motivated its creation and what needs it satisfies. Designing Here/Now offers everyone from the casual dabbler to the seasoned design professional a closer look at what moves design forward, right now. More than a mere collection of honorees from the Core77 Design Awards, this anthology reveals why intention is just as important as material results in design. We interviewed Allan Chochinov, Chief Editor of Core77, and asked him to explain the significance of the essential new volume for the design community and future design trends. Get your copy of Designing Here/Now at Hand Eye Supply, Thames & Hudson, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Why is Designing Here/Now an important book?
Allan Chochinov: This is an important book for a lot of reasons, but let me argue for three:
First, as digital and screens continue to dematerialize information and separate content from form, books have taken on new meaning, new gravity, and can increasingly be seen as a kind of treat. People love books, and though a lot of what Core77 does is on the Internet, our beating heart is in physical things. (Hand Eye Supply, Conferences, bikes, shoes, etc.) This book means a great deal to us, and with it we are proud to have created a tangible (and weighty!) artifact.
The second reason is about the value of time capsuling and creating a permanent record. We see Designing Here/Now as a testament to design enterprise and excellence, but we also see it as an historical record—one that features projects, designers, jury members, design firms, and educational institutions that are critical of the moment we are now living in. The book draws a line in the sand and says, "Design has a long history, but it's also experiencing an amazing moment right now. And here is a group of work that evidences its wonder, its rigor, and its impact."
The third reason (and we're biased here) is that the book was produced by two of the most esteemed design and publishing groups in the world. Thames and Hudson is an incredible publisher with fantastic and essential titles, and Project Projects is the premier design firm for producing cultural printed artifacts. We have great partners, and we're grateful for their contributions.
Who will benefit most from this book?
Designing Here/Now acts as a kind of design bible for multiple audiences: For design professionals and design firms, of course, it is terrific recognition of their work and the work of their peers. For independent designers, it is an endless sourcebook of design inspiration and provocation. For design school departments and their students, it represents a comprehensive snapshot of where design is right now, and an aspirational guidebook to the very best and most progressive that design can offer. For design fans and everyone in the creative arts, the book serves as a lens into the world of design and all of the amazing pursuits that it wraps its arms around.
What were some of the challenges in putting the book together?
We were concerned that the texts accompanying the images of the work would be too brief to be useful. We wanted to strike a good balance between something that was browse-able—a coffee table kind of thing—but also something that readers could sink their teeth into. We hope we've created a balance. For example, the roundtable discussion on The State of Design was severely edited for space because that discussion went on for hours, and trying to cut down all that content took several attempts. Overall we're very happy with the way the book turned out, but any project can always benefit from some iteration. Let's look forward to the next edition!
Is there a digital counterpart to the book?
Absolutely. Readers who are interested in the projects featured in the book can find more images, more information, (amazing) project videos, and a ton of extras at the Core77 Design Awards sites: Check out the projects from 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014!
So, what IS design, here and now?
Design is clearly in a strong spot—with huge attention from business and business press, skyrocking attention to interaction design, open hardware, code, the internet of things, tools and influences from the maker movement, social innovation, resilience and stewardship, new methods around design pedagogy... I could go on and on. Design is, right here, and right now, at the most popular and consequential place in all its history. Let's hope this moment leads to a focus on problem solving and introducing wonderful things into the world.
If you want to get your hands on Designing Here/Now, head on over to the dedicated website. You'll also find an option to save 15% on the purchase price if you're an educator or a student.
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