Small things considered : why there is no perfect design

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Title:

Small things considered : why there is no perfect design

Author:

Petroski, Henry.

ISBN:

9781400032938

Personal Author:

Petroski, Henry.

Publication Information:

New York : Vintage Books, 2003.

Physical Description:

288 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

Contents:

1. The Nature of Design -- 2. Looking at Design -- 3. Design, Design Everywhere -- 4. Illuminating Design -- 5. Driven by Design -- 6. Design in a Box -- 7. Labyrinthine Design -- 8. Design out of a Paper Bag -- 9. Domestic Design -- 10. Folk Design -- 11. Kitchen-Sink Design -- 12. Off-the-Shelf Design -- 13. Familiar Design -- 14. Design by the Numbers -- 15. Selective Design -- 16. A Brush with Design -- 17. Design Hits the Walls -- 18. Design Rising.

Abstract:

"In this ... book, Petroski takes us inside the creative process by which common objects are invented and improved upon in pursuit of the ever-elusive perfect thing. He shows us, for instance, how the disposable paper cup became a popular commercial success only after the public learned that shared water glasses could carry germs; how it took years, an abundance of business panache, and many discarded models - from cups that opened like paper bags to those that came with pleats - for the inventor of the paper cup to arrive at what we now use and toss away without so much as a thought for its fascinating history."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject Term:

Engineering design.

Electronic Access:

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/fy041/2002192470.html
Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/random0414/2002192470.html

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168023690544	620.0042 P497S 2003	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Why has the durable paper shopping bag been largely replaced by its flimsy plastic counterpart? What circuitous chain of improvements led to such innovations as the automobile cup holder and the swiveling vegetable peeler? With the same relentless curiosity and lucid, witty prose he brought to his earlier books, Henry Petroski looks at some of our most familiar objects and reveals that they are, in fact, works in progress. For there can never be an end to the quest for the perfect design.

To illustrate his thesis, Petroski tells the story of the paper drinking cup, which owes its popularity to the discovery that water glasses could carry germs. He pays tribute to the little plastic tripod that keeps pizza from sticking to the box and analyzes the numerical layouts of telephones and handheld calculators. Small Things Considered is Petroski at his most trenchant and provocative, casting his eye not only on everyday artifacts but on their users as well.