A John Heskett Reader

The Heskett reader is a must for designers, historians, economists, and students who are considering the charged relationship between design and the world. In a remarkable collection, Dilnot has brought together essays that make Hesketts global and multidisciplinary reach evident. It is a pleasure to see Hesketts classic texts - along with some of his unpublished work - brought together in one marvellous book. * Dr David Brody, Associate Professor of Design Studies at Parsons, The New School, USA * John Hesketts personal voice, quiet intensity, and certain integrity bring to his writings on design an unshakeable sense of its profound implications. This collection encompasses early work in design history, reflections on design in business, and observations on design in Hong Kong, and also summarizes events of his substantial career. * Dr Jeffrey L Meikle, Professor of American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, USA * From design historys early years in the 1970s to governments worldwide reengaging with design in the 2000s, Heskett brought a clear, inimitable voice to design writing, thinking and practice and shaped how generations of designers and historians learnt to see design: embedded in economic and social structures, and having real social and economic impact. The readings collected here underscore the importance of design for policymaking, past and present, and show how economics and policymaking benefit from a historians eye. His ideas are as fresh and important now as when first written. * Dr Sarah Teasley, Head of Programme for Design History at the V&A / Royal College of Art, UK * Hesketts distinctive contribution to the early shaping of design history introduced social, political and economic history as integral dimensions of study and research in the field. He later contributed insights into design economics, policy and management at a time when such terms were too often bandied about imprecisely. * Jonathan M Woodham, Professor of Design History at the University of Brighton, UK * Clive Dilnots edition of A John Heskett Reader: Design, History, Economics is a curious anomaly to all of the above Reader categories. This is the first Reader in design history that is singularly arranged around the oeuvre of one of its pioneersDilnots mission is to present a selection of Hesketts writingnot to pick it apart but to provide starting points for further enquiry. * Journal of Design History *

Clive Dilnot is professor of Design Studies at Parsons The New School for Design, New York, USA. Recent publications include Ethics? Design? (2005) and, as co-author, Design and the Question of History (Bloomsbury, 2014).

Introduction: Clive Dilnot I. Key Themes Introduction 1. What is Design? 2. Commerce or Culture? Industrialization and Design 3. Design from the Standpoint of Economics/Economics from the Standpoint of Design II. Design in History & the History of Design Introduction (A) Designing and Making in the Pre-Industrial World 4. Some Lessons of Design History 5. Crafts, Commerce, Industry 6. Chinese Design: What Can We Learn from the Past? 7. Three moments in the History of Making: Nomads, Traders, Slaves (B) Designing in the Industrial World 8. The 'American System' and Mass Production 9. Writing the History of Design in the Industrial World 10. The Growth of Industrial Design in Japan (C) Design in Germany 1870-1945 11. Government Policy & German Design 1870-1918 12. The Industrial Applications of Tubular Steel 13. Modernism and Archaism in Design in the Third Reich III. Design, Business, Economics Introduction (A) Corporate design strategies Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl: Design between Economics and Practice 14. GM: The Price of Corporate Arrogance 15. Everything Changes, Nothing Alters 16. Design Management in Phillips in the 1980s 17. Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks: How RCA is using Design as a Strategic Tool 18. Current and Future Demands on Hong Kong Designers (B) National Design Policies Carlos Texeiria: John Heskett and design policy 19. National Design Policy and Economic Change 20. Learning from Germany's Integrated Design Policy 21. Design and Industry in China 22. A Design Policy for the UK: Three Suggestions (C) Creating Value by Design Tore Kristensen: John Heskett's contribution to the business and economics of design 23. Creative Destruction: The Nature and Consequences of Change through Design 24. Product Integrity 25. Cultural Human Factors 26: Creating Economic Value by Design IV. Reflections Introduction 27. Past, Present and Future in Design 28. Reflections on Design and Hong Kong 29. On Writing V. Last Words 30. Can the Centre Hold? List of acronyms Contributors Permissions and Acknowledgments Appendix: A first bibliography of John Heskett's published work Index