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Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design

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Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design (Hardcover)

by Henry Petroski (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product details

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf (Sep 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1400040507
ISBN-13: 978-1400040506
Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.7 x 2.9 cm

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 302,134 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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	48% buy the item featured on this page: Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the little things that count, 19 Sep 2003

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Design is not simple a matter of imagination; ergonomics, previous design, surroundings, materials and anatomy all have an influence on the design of things we use. Author Petroski wanders from toothbrushes (those ergonomically comfortable handles that help you brush don't fit into the toothbrush holder on the wall anymore) to drinking glasses (stylish square-shaped old-fashioned glasses can have you dribbling like a three-year old.) He takes the most mundane items (shopping bags, doors) as illustrations for the designer, the engineer and the lay person to consider; what are the rules of design and what influences must you take into consideration.

I am a fan of Petroski's books; another book "To Engineer is Human" answers the question why that hotel walkway in Kansas City collapsed in the 1980's, killing and maiming hundreds. The designer failed to consider how the bolt holding the beam to the upright supports could actually be physically built, and the builder took the design and altered it, cutting the uprights in two and thus changing the characteristics of the beam's behavior under load stress. In "Small Things Considered", Petroski takes the most simple items and illustrates how human behavior and design go hand in hand. A delightful book to read.

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