Figures  Acknowledgements  Author Note  Foreword  Don A. Norman, Ph.D.    Part 1: Product Design in Society: An Introduction   1. Product Design and Its Impact 2. Production and Consumption in Design   Part 2: Product Design and Ethical Considerations    3. Product Design and Environmental Sustainability   4. Product Design and Labour    5. Design, Politics, and Social Movements      Part 3: Pre-Industrial Products    6. Surveying Design History from Prehistoric Times  7. Pre-Industrial Design Processes and Craft Guilds      Part 4: Industrialization and the Socio-Economic  Impacts of Design   8. Industrialization 9. Design, Social Reform, and a Technological Revolution    10. Modernism, Consumer Culture, and Warfare     Part 5: The Information Age    11. Post World War II    12. A Social and Digital Revolution in Design   13. Digital Products and Immersive Technologies     Epilogue Author Biography Index  

A pocket history of product design from the birth of cities to the digital design revolution, this cultural history critically examines the development of product design, considering major milestones in the mass production of goods and services and aiming to incorporate a more inclusive worldview than traditional surveys of the topic. The breadth and versatility of product design throughout history have been profound. Products have long supported the integration and interpretation of emerging technologies into our lives. These objects include everything from tools, accessories, furniture and clothing to types of transportation, websites and mobile applications. Products provide singular or multiple functions, are tangible and intangible and in many instances have affected the quality of our lives by saving time or money or by increasing feelings of personal satisfaction. At the same time, many products have negatively affected people and the environment. For nearly every product that makes it into the hands of a consumer, there is also a designer who created it and someone who laboured to make it. An eye-opening survey of product design from preindustrial times to the present day, Product Design, Technology, and Social Change provides a thorough examination of the relationship between products, consumption, sustainability, politics and social movements. Laura Scherling is a designer, researcher and educator. She is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University in New York City.