Jochen Eisenbrand – författare

George Nelson (1908–1986) is one of the most important American designers of the second half of the 20th century. century. His work as chief designer for the American furniture manufacturer Herman Miller has gone down in American cultural history. It is far less well known, however, that George Nelson, as an exhibition manager and designer on behalf of the American government, conceived product presentations, thematic exhibitions, trade fair appearances – presented the American lifestyle in short from 1957 to 1972.This sensationally illustrated monograph now presents the unknown side of Nelson's work in detail for the first time. The author has processed the Nelson Estate for this. He follows the designer to his early travels, sums up the formative influences and the rise to become a coveted designer. He also shows the industrially manufactured innovations that revolutionized exhibition furniture, and then describes in detail the exhibitions that Nelson realized in Sao Paulo or Moscow on behalf of the United States Information Agency. Eisenbrand's book is a treasure trove for those interested in design – and at the same time a case study of how innovative design was used in the Cold War as an instrument of US policy.Text in German.

In 2019, the Vitra Design Museum will publish the Atlas of Furniture Design, the definitive, encyclopedic overview of the history of modern furniture design. Featuring over 1700 objects by more than 500 designers and 121 manufacturers, it includes approximately 2800 images ranging from detailed object photographs to historical images documenting interiors, patents, brochures, and related works of art and architecture. The basis for the Atlas of Furniture Design is the collection held by the Vitra Design Museum, one of the largest of its kind with more than 7000 works. The book presents selected pieces by the most important designers of the last 230 years and documents key periods in design history, including early nineteenth-century industrial furniture in bentwood and metal, Art Nouveau and Secessionist pieces and works by protagonists of classical modernism and postwar design, as well as postmodern and contemporary pieces. The Atlas of Furniture Design employed a team of more than 70 experts and features over 550 detailed texts about key objects. In-depth essays provide sociocultural and design-historical context to four historical epochs of furniture design and the pieces highlighted here, enriched by a detailed annex containing designer biographies, glossaries, and elaborate information graphics. The Atlas of Furniture Design is an indispensable resource for collectors, scholars and experts, as well as a beautifully designed object that speaks to design enthusiasts.

Plastic has shaped our daily lives like no other material. Originally associated with convenience, progress, even revolution, today plastic seems to have lost its utopian appeal. Plastic is everywhere, yet most conspicuous as waste and as a key factor in the global environmental crisis. This book examines the success story of plastic in the twentieth century and at the same time presents the different discourses on how we should manage the waste the material produces and also find solutions that take into account its entire life cycle in the future. Mark Miodownik, Susan Freinkel, and Nanjala Nyabola each contribute an essay that sheds light on the history of plastics from 1850 to today. A material-rich visual chronology illustrates how consumers’ perception of plastics has changed over the decades. Brief descriptions of a selection of 50 objects examine the importance of plastics for material culture. Reprints of fundamental texts about the history of plastics—for example by Alexander Parkes and Roland Barthes—provide a context from the history of ideas. The book reflects the current discourse and state of research on plastic with numerous individual interviews and panel discussions that were held with designers, representatives from industry, researchers, and environmental activists. Underpinning these conversations are comprehensive data visualizations on plastic production and consumption, recycling.

This publication accompanies the exhibition "Transform! Design and the Future of Energy" at the Vitra Design Museum. Energy is the central driving force of our society; Energy is political; Energy is invisible. But all buildings, infrastructure and products with which energy is generated, distributed and used are designed. Design must therefore also play a central role in urgently needed energy transition. This publication accompanying the exhibition “Transform! Designing the Future of Energy" explores the current, radical transformation of the energy sector from a design perspective: from products that harvest renewable energies to the design of solar houses and wind turbines, from intelligent mobility concepts to future visions of self-sufficient cities. It sheds light on the global thirst for energy and asks critical questions: How can design contribute to making greater use of renewable energies and to reducing our energy consumption?