This landmark book takes a unique, original and engrossing approach to design. Whether or not we are consciously interested in it, design is omnipresent; it affects and influences us all in every aspect of our lives. The Genius of Design illuminates what design is, how it works, and how it has shaped the world we live in. Taking a broadly chronological approach, the book shows how the story of design has developed and explores major themes, with chapters including the birth of mass-produced design, domestic design and the contemporary home and the legacy of wartime design.

The book shows how design reflects the political, cultural and economic themes of our times, how it connects both to the macro forces of history (industrialisation, consumerism, technology) and the micro forces (taste, money, desire) and how it manifests itself everywhere, from battlefield and boardroom to supermarket and schoolroom. More than anything, though, the book tells the stories that lie behind the iconic designs of our times. It tells how the first fitted kitchen was based on the principles behind the Ford production line, how wartime research ultimately led to the biro, latex condoms and aviator sunglasses. It celebrates the heroes of design and the lesser know people responsible for some of the everyday objects we take for granted. And it examines the role of the consumer and the issues of taste - what really is good or bad design? Provocative, absorbing and packed with images, this enthralling book reveals what design means to us - the trivial and the mundane, the life-saving and the world-changing.