Spirit of Luxury and Design


Book Description

The vast medium of jewelry and fashion artefact design continues to be a central pillar of fashion luxury goods industries and artistic practice, but there is a lack of discussions on the researches, value and roles of it. Design is an expression of values and attitudes, and a tangible form of guiding the thoughts and desires of individuals and members of society. In the contemporary society, when science, technology and craftsmanship reach a stage, whether products and services become luxurious or not, its quality, uniqueness, artistry and rarity are all achieved through design. This book represents the articles from 20 outstanding design researchers from 11 countries, including many works from international designers, who are engaging with and pushing the boundaries of the medium. It contributes to these international debates on contemporary fashion and jewelry design while providing an accessible overview and a concise reference book.




The Spirit of Design


Book Description

Imaginative design will be a crucial factor in enacting sustainability in people's daily lives. Yet current design practice is trapped in consumerist cycles of innovation and production, making it difficult to imagine how we might develop a more meaningful and sustainable rendition of material culture. Through fundamental design research, The Spirit of Design challenges a host of common assumptions about sustainability, progress, growth and globalization. Walker's practice-based explorations of localisation, human meaning and functional objects demonstrate the imaginative potential of research-through-design and yield a compelling, constructive and essentially hopeful direction for the future - one that radically re-imagines our material culture by meshing mass-production with individuality, products with place, and utilitarian benefit with environmental responsibility. In so doing, the author explores: - How understandings of human meaning affect design and how design can better incorporate issues of personal meaning - How mass production needs to become integrated with localised production and service provision - How short-lived electronic goods can be brought into a more sustainable design paradigm - The changing role of the designer in a post-consumerist world Taking a design-centred approach - a combination of creative, propositional design practice, reasoned argument and theoretical discussion - the book will impel readers to investigate the nature of contemporary material culture and its relationship to both the natural environment and to deeper notions of human meaning.




Design the Life You Love


Book Description

An interactive journal that serves as a joyful, inspirational guide to building the life you've always dreamed of, using the principles and creative process of an award-winning product designer. Life, just like a design problem, is full of constraints -- time, money, age, location, and circumstances. You can’t have everything, so you have to be creative to make what you want and what you need co-exist. Design the Life You Love is a joyful, inspirational guide to building the life you’ve always wanted, using the principles and creative process of an award-winning product designer. Through four steps that reveal hidden skills and wisdom, anyone can design a life they love!




Design the Home You Love


Book Description

From the co-founders of Havenly comes “a perfect read for anyone looking to infuse more personality and style into their space—on their own time and budget, and in their own unique way” (Rachel Zoe). “Not only do Lee and Emily unpack all their tips for creating a space that looks as good as it feels, but they do it in a way that is made for real-life application.”—Bobby Berk, design expert and host of Netflix’s Queer Eye Interior design can be daunting, and as a result, many of us never even attempt to design our own homes. In Design the Home You Love, Havenly founders Lee Mayer and Emily Motayed break down the ambiguous world of home design. First you learn how to identify your own style (whether you’re a fan of Parisian Modern or California Casual) and then how to incorporate furniture that matches your style and fits your budget. Design the Home You Love takes you step-by-step and room-by-room through each part of the house to help you fulfill your home’s potential. Whether you’re looking to give your home a complete makeover, spruce up your rental apartment, or merely take your living room from blah to fab, Lee and Emily bring fresh ideas, advice, and inspiration to the table. Illustrated with eye-catching photography and livable inspiration from real-life clients, this is the interior design book that finally makes it possible for us all to achieve our design goals.




Design for Good


Book Description

The book reveals a new understanding of the ways that design shapes our lives and gives professionals and interested citizens the tools to seek out and demand designs that dignify.




Modern Luxury


Book Description

Interior designer Richard Mishaan believes that all good furniture and art can be combined successfully regardless of style, period, or price. Drawing on his international background and love of travel, he combs the world to find exquisite, unique pieces for his clients. Mishaan skillfully brings together furnishings and objects from myriad periods—Italian neoclassic, seventeenth-century French, African tribal, Art Deco, Biedermeier—in a contemporary fusion style that has become his signature. Mishaan approaches his projects with the knowing eye of a curator, integrating art and objects into the flow of everyday life. A proponent of introducing an element of luxury into all spaces, even the most utilitarian, the designer shares his inspiring ideas for how to infuse every room—from well-appointed formal dining and reception spaces to private spheres for relaxation and work—with personality and generosity of spirit. This lavish color presentation showcases dozens of completed projects, from elegant townhouses to pied-à-terre apartments, spacious second homes, and corporate offices. Mishaan's extensive knowledge of the fine arts, architecture, and modern and historic furnishings is revealed in engaging commentary that details his creative process, discloses his most valuable tips, and explains how his experiences have informed the creation of his own custom furniture and retail line. A directory of the designer's favorite sources from around the country and around the globe encourages those interested in creating eclectic and sophisticated interiors of their own to begin.




Travel Home


Book Description

“A peek inside the homes of tastemakers . . . A masterclass in how to infuse the ideas and finds you scoop up on the road into your digs back home.” —Chairish A road map for bringing far-flung design ideas back home, Travel Home shows us how to curate interiors that reflect our favorite places and experiences in ways that are beautiful and authentic. Touring the homes of leaders in global design who share a deep affection for travel, the book explores interiors with influences as widespread as Marrakesh, Paris, Cuba, Tokyo, Portugal, and beyond. Vivid photography is supplemented with insightful essays, interviews, and hardworking tips for cultivating your own global home. For globetrotters and armchair travelers alike, Travel Home showcases the interplay between travel and design, revealing how we can take inspiration from the beauty we experience in the world and bring it into our everyday lives. “The book is a study of how travel informs our taste—and a beautiful illustration of the creative potential a mother-daughter partnership can yield.” —goop “Upon finishing Travel Home I felt inspired in the same way that I feel inspired after a big trip. It’s a book you’re going to want to take notes in, take pictures of, and share with your friends. It will be a book very well loved.” —Justina Blakeney, designer and New York Times-bestselling author of Jungalow “There are so many books about interiors, but this book is a genuine opportunity to get to know the people and the mentality behind their spaces.” —Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent, authors and television stars on Nate & Jeremiah by Design




Robert Couturier


Book Description

A passion for luxury and beauty propels the multifaceted work of acclaimed international architect and interior designer Robert Couturier. Robert Couturier’s aesthetic is a dialogue between Old World elegance and contemporary design. His masterful approach effortlessly brings eras together, for example a Louis XVI commode with a 1960s lamp. Couturier’s name has become synonymous with continental and international style, and he is known for composing adventurous rooms that have a witty flair. All his interiors extol the importance of how a home should stimulate the five senses, from the tactile feel of upholstery to the visual presentation of objects that leads a person through a space. The book opens with a tour of Couturier’s country retreat in bucolic Kent, Connecticut. Composed of neoclassical-style pavilions, early American guesthouses, and beautiful gardens, the house features imaginative rooms that are filled with his collections of European art, furniture, and decorative objects. A selection of the designer’s other projects—from smart contemporary apartments to romantic Mexican villas to a stately English manor—provides further inspiration.




The Dawn of the Golden Age


Book Description

In his new book, this famed fashion designer explains how we need to develop spiritually for the coming Age of Aquarius. The Dawn of the Golden Age contains practical advice, methods and rituals on how to purify one's home, protect yourself from your enemies and harmonize with the cosmos.




Design for Living


Book Description

'The actual facts are so simple. I love you. You love me. You love Otto. I love Otto. Otto loves you. Otto loves me. There now! Start to unravel from there.' Design for Living is a wickedly witty dark romantic comedy by Noel Coward. Initially banned in the UK, this provocative play portrays three amoral, glib and stylish characters and their hopelessly inescapable, if also unconventional, emotional entanglement. From 1930s bohemian Paris to the dizzying heights of Manhattan society, a tempestuous love triangle unravels between a vivacious interior designer, Gilda, playwright Leo and artist Otto - three people unashamedly and passionately in love with each other. They are trapped in what Coward called 'a three-sided erotic hodge podge.' With Coward's trademark piquant style, this lively, funny but also atypical play looks at dazzling, egotistical creatures and their self-destructive dependence on each other. Exploring themes of bisexuality, celebrity, success and self-obsession, Design for Living is a stylish and scandalous comedy.