When everything is destined to be designed, design disappears into the
everyday. We simply do not see it anymore because it is everywhere. This
is the vanishing act of design. At this moment, design registers its
redundancy: our products, environments and services have been
comprehensively improved. Everything has been designed to perfection and
is under a permanent upgrade regime.
Within such a paradigm, design is taken over by the capitalist logic of
reproduction. But this does not come without conflicts, struggles and
tensions. The most obvious of these, is that design is constantly being
replaced. Our dispense culture prompts a yearning for longevity. The
compulsion to delete brings alive a desire to retrieve objects, ideas
and experiences that refuse to become obsolete. Society is growing more
aware of sustainability and alert to the depletion of this world. For
the ambitious designer, it is time to take the next step: designing the
future with a more holistic consideration and approach. The book is a
critical look at the design world with its various design disciplines
and how these have developed in the past 10 years. Made in China,
Designed in California, Criticised in Europe is for professional
designers that care about design, the environment and how we live.
