Design and Agency

Design and Agency shows design (people, spaces and objects) to be powerful, politically engaged and, often, highly personal. Through a range of examples from the later nineteenth-century to the present, an international group of authors explores the role of the systems and institutions of design in constructing identities. This thoughtful and thought-provoking volume provides an agenda for design and its histories, and calls for a new ethical way of being, knowing and designing. * Grace Lees-Maffei, Professor of Design History, University of Hertfordshire, UK * If action indeed speaks louder than words, we need to pay closer attention to the myriad ways power relations are manifested and performed in design culture. Through a delightfully diverse collection of case studies, Design and Agency helps us think more carefully about who and what are the moving forces in our designed world, and how, when, where, why, and to what degree these agents impact the design of our lives. * Kjetil Fallan, Professor of Design History, University of Oslo, Norway * The eighteen essays that make up this volume explore the plethora of ideas that arise from a consideration of the relationship between the concepts of agency and design. The ambitions of the editors and the contributors to (re)consider the traditional narratives and historiography of design have been fully realised. * Penny Sparke, Professor of Design History, Kingston University, UK *