- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (2 Jun 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0415950422
- ISBN-13: 978-0415950428
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.5 x 2.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 898,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Successful products must fit into the whole panoply of life and society. The whole story can only be told by someone with a grand view of things, who sees both the trees of design and manufacturing and the forest of the social and political forces upon all of us. Three cheers for Harvey Molotch--this is a great book.
."
-Donald A. Norman, author of "The Design of Everyday Things
"Manages to answer questions that have puzzled me for a lifetime. On nearly every page is some absolutely fascinating bit of useless information."
-Science
."
-Donald A. Norman, author of "The Design of Everyday Things
"Manages to answer questions that have puzzled me for a lifetime. On nearly every page is some absolutely fascinating bit of useless information."
-Science
Product Description
Molotch takes us on a fascinating exploration into the worlds of technology, design, corporate and popular culture. We now see how corporations, designers, retailers, advertisers, and other middle-men influence what a thing can be and how it is made. We see the way goods link into ordinary life as well as vast systems of consumption, economic and political operation. The book is a meditation into the meaning of the stuff in our lives and what that stuff says about us.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Where does it come from, this vast blanket of things-coffeepots and laptops, window fittings, lamps and fence finials, cars, hat pins, and hand trucks-that make up economies, mobilize desire, and so stir up controversy? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Where does it come from, this vast blanket of things-coffeepots and laptops, window fittings, lamps and fence finials, cars, hat pins, and hand trucks-that make up economies, mobilize desire, and so stir up controversy? Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
The everyday objects of our lives, and where they come from, are the subject of this book. How do items such as paper clips, post-it notes and bathtubs come into being? What factors influence design, and why do we (many of us, anyway) want this stuff?
I found this book fascinating. Some items of `stuff' - such as toys and lamps change relatively quickly in response to fashion. Some other items - such as pencils and toilets - do not. The influences on change seem to vary, depending on the item.
Take, for example, the chair.
Chairs are not universally used around the world; many people squat, sit cross-legged or sit flat on the ground. But where chairs are used, we actively train our children how to use them `properly'. And as a consequence, for many of us: `Chairs have become part of the methodology of respect and rectitude.' The design of chairs has changed, and while there is some contrast between the utilitarian and the artistic, the distinction is often blurred.
It's interesting to consider some of the cultural and other factors that influence design, as well as the functionality that mirrors contemporary life. There are plenty of examples including the garlic press; the Palm Pilot; and the Chrysler PT Cruiser. And there are items that could be different: the computer keyboard (which evolved from the typewriter) for example, or the conventional western toilet which could be modified to accommodate squatting but isn't. Why things are the way they are and what factors influence this makes for very interesting reading. The linkages between items are interesting to consider: the toaster (to give one example) did not develop in isolation. Toasters require a source of power (a power outlet), a place to sit (a benchtop) as well as bread sliced to a particular width and toppings (Vegemite for this Australian).
While this book primarily discusses what is rather than what might be, it's possible that an awareness of the politics of design could result in more environmentally friendly products.
Who influences whom, and how?
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I found this book fascinating. Some items of `stuff' - such as toys and lamps change relatively quickly in response to fashion. Some other items - such as pencils and toilets - do not. The influences on change seem to vary, depending on the item.
Take, for example, the chair.
Chairs are not universally used around the world; many people squat, sit cross-legged or sit flat on the ground. But where chairs are used, we actively train our children how to use them `properly'. And as a consequence, for many of us: `Chairs have become part of the methodology of respect and rectitude.' The design of chairs has changed, and while there is some contrast between the utilitarian and the artistic, the distinction is often blurred.
It's interesting to consider some of the cultural and other factors that influence design, as well as the functionality that mirrors contemporary life. There are plenty of examples including the garlic press; the Palm Pilot; and the Chrysler PT Cruiser. And there are items that could be different: the computer keyboard (which evolved from the typewriter) for example, or the conventional western toilet which could be modified to accommodate squatting but isn't. Why things are the way they are and what factors influence this makes for very interesting reading. The linkages between items are interesting to consider: the toaster (to give one example) did not develop in isolation. Toasters require a source of power (a power outlet), a place to sit (a benchtop) as well as bread sliced to a particular width and toppings (Vegemite for this Australian).
While this book primarily discusses what is rather than what might be, it's possible that an awareness of the politics of design could result in more environmentally friendly products.
Who influences whom, and how?
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A must read
19 July 2004
Format:Hardcover
Harvey Molotch gets network thinking. More than that, he does it. In his book, "Where Stuff Comes From", he shows, with brilliant simplicity, the complex web of interactions that lie behind creation and production of the everyday stuff that surrounds us. This is a book that every thinking designer should read. Actually, it's a book that anyone who cares about the world we live in should read. Sensible, humane and thoughtful, it brightened up my day.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
`For any product, form and function are always bound up.'
19 Jan 2011
Format:Paperback
The everyday objects of our lives, and where they come from, are the subject of this book. How do items such as paper clips, post-it notes and bathtubs come into being? What factors influence design, and why do we (many of us, anyway) want this stuff?
I found this book fascinating. Some items of `stuff' - such as toys and lamps change relatively quickly in response to fashion. Some other items - such as pencils and toilets - do not. The influences on change seem to vary, depending on the item.
Take, for example, the chair.
Chairs are not universally used around the world; many people squat, sit cross-legged or sit flat on the ground. But where chairs are used, we actively train our children how to use them `properly'. And as a consequence, for many of us: `Chairs have become part of the methodology of respect and rectitude.' The design of chairs has changed, and while there is some contrast between the utilitarian and the artistic, the distinction is often blurred.
It's interesting to consider some of the cultural and other factors that influence design, as well as the functionality that mirrors contemporary life. There are plenty of examples including the garlic press; the Palm Pilot; and the Chrysler PT Cruiser. And there are items that could be different: the computer keyboard (which evolved from the typewriter) for example, or the conventional western toilet which could be modified to accommodate squatting but isn't. Why things are the way they are and what factors influence this makes for very interesting reading. The linkages between items are interesting to consider: the toaster (to give one example) did not develop in isolation. Toasters require a source of power (a power outlet), a place to sit (a benchtop) as well as bread sliced to a particular width and toppings (Vegemite for this Australian).
While this book primarily discusses what is rather than what might be, it's possible that an awareness of the politics of design could result in more environmentally friendly products.
Who influences whom, and how?
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I found this book fascinating. Some items of `stuff' - such as toys and lamps change relatively quickly in response to fashion. Some other items - such as pencils and toilets - do not. The influences on change seem to vary, depending on the item.
Take, for example, the chair.
Chairs are not universally used around the world; many people squat, sit cross-legged or sit flat on the ground. But where chairs are used, we actively train our children how to use them `properly'. And as a consequence, for many of us: `Chairs have become part of the methodology of respect and rectitude.' The design of chairs has changed, and while there is some contrast between the utilitarian and the artistic, the distinction is often blurred.
It's interesting to consider some of the cultural and other factors that influence design, as well as the functionality that mirrors contemporary life. There are plenty of examples including the garlic press; the Palm Pilot; and the Chrysler PT Cruiser. And there are items that could be different: the computer keyboard (which evolved from the typewriter) for example, or the conventional western toilet which could be modified to accommodate squatting but isn't. Why things are the way they are and what factors influence this makes for very interesting reading. The linkages between items are interesting to consider: the toaster (to give one example) did not develop in isolation. Toasters require a source of power (a power outlet), a place to sit (a benchtop) as well as bread sliced to a particular width and toppings (Vegemite for this Australian).
While this book primarily discusses what is rather than what might be, it's possible that an awareness of the politics of design could result in more environmentally friendly products.
Who influences whom, and how?
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Thank you!
25 Sep 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It was great, arrived on time in the condition described and was a lot cheaper then my university bookstore. Thank you!
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