Understanding Design

This enlarged edition of Understanding Design contains more than 170 essays and has been updated with the latest insights in design science.

What does it mean to be a designer and what does it take to be a good designer? Understanding Design stimulates designers to think about what they do, how they do it and why they aim for a certain effect. The precisely formulated mini-essays give insight into the design process and encourage reflection. The topics covered include fundamental questions about the designer's profession, the qualities needed to become a good designer and the role that design plays in the broader context of commerce and society, everything directly related to the experience and practice of designing.

Understanding Design supplies the reader with an informative panorama of the creative craft of the designer. Author Kees Dorst, academic, teacher, consultant and designer with international experience, challenges designers and students to reflect on the many aspects of their profession. The pointed, concise texts and incisive questions contribute to developing professionals with a self-assured attitude to their work in the design field.

Understanding Design is a source book for academies and universities worldwide. This edition has been expanded, updated with the latest design science (for students and practitioners) and completely revised with a new index and an extended bibliography.