Design and Truth

229 Pages·2010·2.15 MB·English

by  Robert Grudin

Design and Truth
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D E S I G N A N D T R U T H
RO B ERT G R U D I N
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New Haven and London
Copyright © 2010 by Robert Grudin. All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part,
including illustrations, in any form (beyond that
copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S.
Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press),
without written permission from the publishers.
Designed by Nancy Ovedovitz and set in Adobe Garamond and
HFJ Gotham type by Duke & Company, Devon, Pennsylvania.
Printed in the United States of America by Sheridan Books,
Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Grudin, Robert.
Design and truth / Robert Grudin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-300-16140-3 (alk. paper)
1. Design. 2. Truth. I. Title.
NK1505.G75 2010
745.401—dc22 2009041254
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Lisa Taylor, in memoriam
Bill Stumpf, in memoriam
Clark Malcolm
For their civility
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Contents
ONE
HOMAGE TO RIKYU: DESIGN, TRUTH, AND POWER
1 Sen no Rikyu and the Paradox of Innovation 3
2 Good Design Tells the Truth 10
3 What Design and Truth Say about Each Other 27
4 Design as Tragedy: The Rise and Fall of the Twin Towers 34
5 Edsel’s Law: How Bad Design Happens 46
6 Designs of Darkness 55
7 Face to Face with Design 62
TWO
HOMAGE TO VASARI: DESIGN, KNOWLEDGE, AND ENERGY
8 Giorgio Vasari and the Permutations of Design 85
9 The Lady in the Picture: Design and Revelation
in Renaissance Art 88
CONTENTS
10 In Jefferson’s Footsteps: Modes of Self-Design 105
11 Jefferson’s Gravestone: Metaphorical Extensions
of Design 117
12 Liberty as a Knowledge Design 134
13 Corporate Redesign and the Business of Knowledge 150
14 Designing Time 166
15 The Design of Private Knowledge 178
Epilogue: Designing Truth 193
Notes 197
Acknowledgments 211
Index 213
Color plates follow page 40
NUOMNBEER
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