A Book of Things is the definitive survey of Jasper Morrison's design practice — tracing his conviction that objects should not shout, from early draft sketches through to finished products across five decades of work.
About This Book
Morrison's "Super Normal" philosophy holds that good design is felt rather than announced — that the best objects recede into the background and improve the atmosphere of a room without demanding attention. This revised and extended edition maps that sensibility across the full breadth of his practice: furniture, lighting, consumer electronics, tableware, hardware, interiors, and photography. Where earlier editions focused on discrete objects, this edition foregrounds Morrison's understanding that no object exists in isolation — its success depends on its relationship to a setting. Personal anecdotes on the genesis of each design give the book an intimacy that pure monographs rarely achieve, making it essential reading for anyone serious about product design and the designed environment.
Key Features
- 312 pages of draft sketches, finished product photography, and interior documentation spanning Morrison's career
- Author: Jasper Morrison
- New projects include a bakery in Majorca, a magazine cover, and a bicycle
- Published by Lars Mueller, 2015
What You'll Discover
- How Morrison's "Super Normal" principle — that objects should not shout — shapes decisions from form to material to finish
- The genesis of individual designs told through Morrison's own anecdotes, connecting concept sketches to completed objects
- Why Morrison locates an object's success not in the object itself but in its capacity to create atmosphere within a setting
- The expanded scope of his practice, from the Thinking Man's Chair to interiors, exhibitions, and commissioned graphics
About the Author
Jasper Morrison is a British industrial designer whose work spans furniture, consumer electronics, tableware, lighting, door hardware, interiors, and photography. He rose to prominence with the Thinking Man's Chair in 1985 and has since developed a practice defined by what he and Naoto Fukasawa termed "Super Normal" design — an approach that prizes familiarity, restraint, and atmospheric sensitivity over novelty.
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 312
- Dimensions: 17 × 23 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783037787700
- Publisher: Lars Mueller
- Publication Date: 2015
Perfect For: Product and industrial designers, design historians, and collectors interested in the philosophy and process behind restraint-driven, atmosphere-conscious object design.