The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Design

The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Design provides a comprehensive guide to design, with entries on key topics in the history and theory of design, addressing a range of design forms including graphic, textile, furniture, metal, ceramic, fashion, stage and film, vehicle and product design, as well as national histories of design and key design movements.

The Encyclopedia provides up-to-date peer reviewed coverage of the last 250 years of design history, with global coverage by leading international design scholars and design historians.

Complete with a comprehensive index and full cross referencing, The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Design is the definitive guide to Design.

“Bringing together the disparate elements that make up the ever-expanding definition of design, this three volume encyclopedia offers an integrated view of design, past and present. Editor Edwards notes in his introduction that “an encyclopedia of design cannot only be a biographical lexicon of named designers or styles” but instead must also consider them through such lenses as aesthetics, politics, and sustainability. … Comprehensive, integrative, and (as befitting its subject) elegantly presented, this work is recommended for college and university libraries, especially those that support programs in design and its related disciplines.” - Booklist

Recipient of a Booklist Star

“In reading over the subject entries — there are almost 1800 — the emphasis on contemporary movements and theory is palpable, and stands out as a worthy facet setting the three-volume set apart from more object-based predecessors … results in an engaging cohesion with contemporary topics like Speculative Design, Cultural Relativism/Cultural Difference, Nonintentional Design, Design for Sustainability, Source Reduction, and User Experience Design … an appropriate acquisition for most libraries that support design fields, especially on the strength of its recontextualized scholarly content.” – ARLIS/NA Reviews