Design is inescapably part of our lives--from the alarm clocks we wake up to and the cups we use for our morning coffee, to the chairs we sit in, the cars we drive, and the houses and cities we live in. In 63 engaged and engaging essays, Caplan explores how we use design, language, and instinct in our everyday world to relate to others, maintain traditions, and advance our causes. He probes our relation to the things that both comfort and disorient us from pasta to corporate culture and shows how we are shaped by our own artifacts and our attitudes toward them. Our sense of place and regional diversity are also examined as are the shock of the new, the persistence of the old, and the expectation of a future. In this age of global sensibilities and "tourism as a lifestyle," we're continually recycling as we create. Previously published in forums such as The New York Times, I.D., Print, and Interior Design, Caplan (author of the popular classic By Design) is sharp, thoughtful, charming,

An inspiring resource for design students, professionals or anyone else who could benefit from a fuller appreciation of the design process, By Design vividly shows how design affects our most significant human activities. A network of engrossing stories illuminate the process as it applies to industrial design, interior design, fashion design, graphic design and the design of business and social situations. It is the perfect accompaniment to a broad area of foundation courses for designers-in-training. This new edition of the popular classic features updated examples of timeless ideas, illustrated in full colour. A concluding chapter discusses what has, and has not, changed since the first edition, examining design responses to radical technological development and shifting consumer demands. An elegant foreword by Paola Antonelli of the Museum of Modern Arts Department of Architecture and Design reintroduces the book to a fresh generation of readers.