Creativity is more than an inborn talent; it is a hard-earned skill, and like any other skill, it improves with practice. Graphic Design Thinking: How to Define Problems, Get Ideas, and Create Form explores a variety of informal techniques ranging from...

This wide-ranging and richly illustrated book surveys the Western tradition of ornament from Renaissance interiors to gypsy caravans to the decoration of airliners. The first book to place ornamental design in a social context, it traces the various ways...

1989, trade paperback, Dartmouth/University Press of New England, Hanover. 251 pages. Absolutely gorgeous title, printed on superior stock, with impressive b&w and color plates displaying the absolute best standards of American printing. Examples from...

Wood Planks and Oriental Rugs weren't the only floor coverings found in America's old houses. In fact, a rich array of floor treatments have been used--from brick, tile and linoleum to mats and floorcloths, from rag rugs to ingrain, embroidered and pile...

Known by his pseudonym Zero, Hans Schleger was a pivotal figure in the history of modern graphic design. His nom-de-plume suggests his devotion to the Bauhaus principle of reduction, a design of simple unadorned essentials. Indeed, Schleger pioneered the...

Since the mid-1920s Swedish glass has been synonymous with excellence in design and craftsmanship, the most highly acclaimed product of the Swedish applied arts industries in the international marketplace. Its development and stunning ascendancy came...

For one hundred years Steuben has represented the epitome of American crystal - internationally acclaimed, a gift of presidents and treasured possession of collectors. But not everyone who can afford to buy Steuben crystal intuitively appreciates its...

For twenty-five years, Robin Kinross has been making a case for typography as a matter of fine detail and subtle judgment, whose products concern all of us, every day. This selection of his writings-including some previously unpublished-brings his major...

Henry Petroski traces the origins of the pencil back to ancient Greece and Rome, writes factually and charmingly about its development over the centuries and around the world, and shows what the pencil can teach us about engineering and technology today.