New and better than ever, Launching the Imagination treats design as
both a verb and a noun - as both a process and a product. Design is
deliberate - a process of exploring multiple solutions and choosing the
most promising option. Through an immersion in 3-D concepts students are
encouraged to develop methods of thinking visually that will serve them
throughout their studies and careers.
Building on strengths of the previous five editions Launching the
Imagination 6e is even more:
Concise. Content has been refined so that maximum content can be
communicated as clearly and concisely as possible.
Colorful. In addition to the full color used throughout the book,
the writing is livelier than that in most textbooks. Analogies expand
communication, and every visual example has been carefully selected for
maximum impact.
Comprehensive. Launching the Imagination is the only foundational
text with full sections devoted to critical and creative thinking and to
time-based design. The photo program is global, represents a myriad of
stylistic approaches, and prominently features design and media arts as
well as more traditional art forms.
Contemporary. More than half of the visual examples represent
artworks completed since 1970, and over 100 represent works completed
since 2000
Compelling. Interviews with exemplars of creativity have always been
an important feature of this book. Three of the best past profiles have
been revised and a new profile has been added. Now inserted into the
body of the text, each interview deliberately builds on its chapter
content. In Chapter Five, designer Steve Quinn describes the seven-step
sequence he uses in developing websites, logos, and motion graphics. In
Chapter 8, Jim Elniski describes The Greenhouse Chicago, an innovative
home that is both highly energy efficient and elegant. In Chapter 11,
ceramicist David MacDonald describes his influences and work process.
And, in the new profile in Chapter 6, artist Sara Mast describes an
ambitious art and science collaboration begun in celebration of the
ideas of Albert Einstein.
Almost fifty new images have been added, representing major contemporary
artists and designers including Wolfgang Buttress, Do Ho Suh, Garo
Antresian, Janet Ballweg, Phoebe Morris, Alain Cornu, and Natalya Zahn.
