A John Heskett Reader

Abstract

A John Heskett Reader brings together key selected writings from the work of the design historian John Heskett. It will be edited and introduced by Clive Dilnot. John Heskett was a pioneering design historian whose work was foundational for the study of industrial design and the relationship between design, design policy, and economic value. Heskett was British but lived and taught in the United States and Hong Kong for a number of years. The Reader represents the range of Heskett's contribution to the field of design history and key concerns in his work: the relationship between design and economic value; design in history and the history of design; design policy, and design and economics. The anthology includes unpublished, hard to access and out-of-print material as well as extracts from classic and foundational works by Heskett. Included are major extracts from two unpublished books: ‘Crafts, Commerce and Industry’ and ‘Economic Value of Design’, which show Heskett's interest in exploring design and making and their relationship to economic value across the entirety of human history. Extracts are grouped into thematic sections with editorial introductions written by Clive Dilnot and other leading design historians.