What Design Can't Do: Essays on Design and Disillusion
This book probes the disillusionment that permeates design. It tackles the deskilling effects provoked by digital semi-automation, the instances of ornamental politics fashioned to please the museum-educational complex, the nebulous promises of design schools. While reviving historical expressions of disenchantment, Silvio Lorusso examines present-day memes and social media rants. To depict this disheartening crisis, he crafts a new critical vocabulary for readers to build upon. What this exposé reveals is both worrying and refreshing: rather than producing a meaningful order, design might be just about inhabiting chaos. What was once a promising field rooted in problem-solving has become a problem in itself. The skill set of designers appears shaky and insubstantial – their expertise is received with indifference, their know-how is trivialised by online services, their work is compromised by a series of unruly external factors. If you see yourself as a designer without qualities; if you feel cheated, disappointed or betrayed by design, this book is for you.
| Binding | Smyth-Sewn Hardcover with Embossed Metallic Foil Spine |
| Paper Type | 120 GSM Acid-Free Archival Woodfree Cream Paper |
| Page Count | 192 Illustrated Pages |
| Dimensions | 6.5" x 9.25" Coffee Table & Study Format |
| Language | English with High-Resolution Architectural & Cipher Plates |
| Ribbon Marker | Woven Silk Burgundy & Gold Ribbon Bookmark |
| Publisher | Arcana Vault Press, New York |
Curator Notes: What Design Can't Do: Essays on Design and Disillusion
This book probes the disillusionment that permeates design. It tackles the deskilling effects provoked by digital semi-automation, the instances of ornamental politics fashioned to please the museum-educational complex, the nebulous promises of design schools. While reviving historical expressions of disenchantment, Silvio Lorusso examines present-day memes and social media rants. To depict this disheartening crisis, he crafts a new critical vocabulary for readers to build upon. What this exposé reveals is both worrying and refreshing: rather than producing a meaningful order, design might be just about inhabiting chaos. What was once a promising field rooted in problem-solving has become a problem in itself. The skill set of designers appears shaky and insubstantial – their expertise is received with indifference, their know-how is trivialised by online services, their work is compromised by a series of unruly external factors. If you see yourself as a designer without qualities; if you feel cheated, disappointed or betrayed by design, this book is for you.
Each production run of this artifact is executed in limited atelier batches. Hand-assembled and calibrated with precision tools to ensure that physical resistance, kinetic balance, and aesthetic presentation meet the stringent heirloom standards of Arcana Vault.
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Fascinating historical depth combined with cryptic challenges. The typography and layout are an art form in themselves.
The Smyth-sewn binding allows it to lay completely flat on my study desk. Rich archival paper that smells wonderful.
A treasure trove of mechanical ingenuity and philosophical puzzles. A must-read for any curious mind.
