The Language of Things
  • Published: 9 November 2009
  • ISBN: 9780141031170
  • Imprint: Penguin Press
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $32.99

The Language of Things

Formats & editions
EBook
9 Nov 2009
Paperback
9 Nov 2009
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'A nightmare vision of a world drowning in objects ... witty, well observed and wide-ranging' Guardian

We live in a world drowning in objects. But what do they tell us about ourselves? In The Language of Things, Design Museum Director, Deyan Sudjic charts our relationship - both innocent and knowing - with all things designed. From the opulent excesses of the catwalk, or the technical brilliance of a laptop computer, to the subtle refinement of a desk lamp, he shows how we can be manipulated and seduced by our possessions. Brilliant and courageous, The Language of Things defines the visual vocabulary of our time and gives us a powerful new way of seeing the world. With up to 100 colour illustrations throughout, this book itself is both a provocative and beautiful thing.
  • Published: 9 November 2009
  • ISBN: 9780141031170
  • Imprint: Penguin Press
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $32.99
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About the author

Deyan Sudjic

Deyan Sudjic is the director of the Design Museum. He was born in London, and studied architecture in Edinburgh. He has worked as a critic for theObserver and the Sunday Times, as the editor of Domus in Milan, as the director of the Venice architecture biennale, and as a curator in Glasgow, Istanbul and Copenhagen. 

Also by Deyan Sudjic

The Language of Cities
B is for Bauhaus
The Edifice Complex
See all

Praise for The Language of Things

An elegant, witty and free-ranging survey of industrial product design from Thomas Chippendale's ponderous 18th-century manor-house furnishings to Jonathan Ive's sprightly Macintosh iBooks

Telegraph

Sudjic's book rebukes designers for their arrogance and increasing self-importance ... readable, sharp and worthwhile

FT

The Language of Things is a happy trot through the colourful landscape formed by design's eternal alternation between use and allure

Evening Standard

Deyan Sudjic presents us with a nightmare vision of a world drowning in objects ... witty, well observed and wide-ranging

Guardian

As a confessional, the book is witty and honest, and Deyan Sudjic remains one of our most insightful commentators

Royal Academy magazine

Articulate and wonderfully knowledgeable ... a very nice object in itself ... much in here for anyone who takes an interest in the world around us

Time Out
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