Are We Human? by Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley traces the entanglement of humanity and design across hundreds of thousands of years — from the first tools and ornaments to the algorithmic churn of social media — arguing that design is not something humans do, but what humans are.
About This Book
This is a book about the deepest question design can ask of itself: what is the relationship between the designed world and the species that made it? Colomina and Wigley approach design not as a professional discipline but as a geological condition — one that has encrusted the planet so thoroughly there is no longer any outside to it. Moving between archaeological deep time and the present moment, they map the uniquely plastic relationship between brain and artefact, arguing that the philosophy of design must account for the thousands of invisible layers of design we inhabit each day. Essential reading for anyone who thinks seriously about design history, design theory, and the anthropology of the built environment.
Key Features
- 288 pages of archaeological and theoretical field notes ranging across human prehistory and the digital present
- Authors: Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley
- Published by Lars Muller Publishers, ISBN: 9783037785119
What You'll Discover
- How design functions as a geological layer — a total encrustation of the planet that admits no exterior
- The argument that design has "gone viral": a systemic rethinking of design theory that exceeds any single discipline or era
- A reexamination of the first tools and ornaments as evidence of the brain's plastic, co-evolutionary relationship with artefacts
- How the constant buzz of social media and everyday designed experience connects to questions hundreds of thousands of years old about what it means to be human
About the Author
Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley are architectural historians and theorists whose collaborative and individual work has reshaped discourse around design, media, and the body. Together they bring a multi-dimensional perspective that cuts across archaeology, neuroscience, media theory, and architectural history.
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- Dimensions: 110 x 180 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783037785119
- Publisher: Lars Muller Publishers
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects, designers, and theorists interested in design philosophy, the history of design, and the anthropological dimensions of the built and digital environment.