The New Designer: Design as a Profession traces how the role of the artist-designer was forged in the turbulent aftermath of the First World War, mapping the emergence of design education across four continents through teaching models that remain instructive today.
About This Book
This second volume in the Schools of Departure series examines how the modern design profession took shape through the crucible of industrial production — and the schools that responded to it. Rather than rehearsing the Bauhaus narrative, the book turns to institutions that have received comparatively little attention: the Design Laboratory in New York, the ŠUR in Bratislava, the HfG Ulm, and the ESDI in Rio de Janeiro. Through essays, historical texts, and discussions, it reconstructs the pedagogical programs and professional self-perception that defined these schools. The underlying argument is that ideas in design education are never fixed — they travel across geographies and cultures, mutating as they move. For scholars, educators, and practitioners interested in the history and theory of design education, this is essential comparative reading.
Key Features
- 152 pages of scholarly essays, historical texts, and discussions on design pedagogy and professional identity
- Edited by Regina Bittner, Katja Klaus, Catherine Nichols, and Philipp Sack
- Case studies of the Design Laboratory (New York), ŠUR (Bratislava), HfG Ulm, and ESDI (Rio de Janeiro)
- Part of the Schools of Departure series, accompanied by a digital atlas of experimental art and design education
- Published by Spector Books
What You'll Discover
- How the profession of designer crystallised in response to the conditions of industrial production in the interwar period
- The pedagogical structures and self-conceptions of four under-examined design schools across Europe, North America, and South America
- The concept of "travelling concepts" — how design ideas migrate across borders, shifting meaning with each new context
- An alternative historiography of design education that moves beyond the Bauhaus as the singular point of origin
About the Author
The volume is edited by Regina Bittner, Katja Klaus, Catherine Nichols, and Philipp Sack. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 152
- Dimensions: 11 × 15 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783959057486
- Publisher: Spector Books
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Design historians, design educators, architecture and design students, and researchers interested in the global history of design pedagogy and professional identity beyond the Bauhaus canon.