Design Roots

I savoured each bite-size essay and its ideas until the elephant was consumed. I then sat back and enjoyed the satisfaction of an admirable accomplishment. I would recommend this edited volume to thinking practitioners and researchers looking for inspiration – it is full of ideas worth pursuing. It takes head on a large challenge and offers illumination along a path forward. * Design Journal *
Craft has deep roots and heritage but these material skills and ways of working are just as relevant today as they were centuries ago. Critical writing on craft, such as Design Roots, is crucial to ensure it continues to evolve and thrive. * Rosy Greenlees OBE, Executive Director of the Crafts Council, UK *
5 / 5 stars Engaging, insightful read for anyone with an interest in traditional craft or sustainable design. This book offers broad appeal to creatives and academics alike, focusing on the cultural significance of traditional craft and the potential for sustainability in a globalising world. Preliminary chapters introduce the key concepts and theoretical foundations of the book in a highly readable style. The cultural significance of designs, products and practices is deconstructed and situated within the context of a globalising world. Despite the apparent homogenisation of culture resulting from economic drivers such as trade, technology and urbanisation, the book charts a resurgence of the traditional, the situated, the local. Crucially, tradition is recognised as perpetually transforming and further, as potentially transformative, offering implications for sustainability in the recreation of a meaningful material culture. Drawing on research from across the world, a series of engaging case studies provide context to the discussion presented in the opening chapters. For example, the revelation of surprising myths surrounding the culturally significant |Aran jumper provide useful insight into the construction of authenticity and tradition and the study of Oltu-stone prayer bead production not only examines reasons for the loss of traditional handicrafts but also the potential for sustainability. Further case studies focus on examples of the revitalisation of culturally significant designs, products and practices. The potential of culture as a resource and design as a tool for sustainable development is examined. Importantly, the role and responsibility of the designer in transforming tradition is deliberated. The following series of case studies included in the book consider the broader context, examining structural factors that support revitalisation through design, detailing contemporary approaches to development. The final section is dedicated to the future, with emphasis on the role of design and the use of contemporary strategies, in the successful revitalisation of culturally significant designs, products and practices. Overall, this book roots well-considered theory in a wealth of relevant, contextual research, offering an engaging, insightful read to anyone with an interest in traditional craft or sustainable design. * Florence J. Logan, www.amazon.co.uk *