Design Knowledge That Connects.

Wiesbaden, Springer Fachmedien, 2025, 232 pages, illustrations

Current contributions on the significance of artificial intelligence in the context of design research. The focus is less on technical capabilities and more on the influence exerted on meanings and value systems in design.

Park Books, 2025, 256 pages, numerous illustrations

A practice-oriented guide to the implementation of sustainability strategies within organisations, ranging from fundamental strategic business decisions to product development, with concrete and actionable recommendations.

Basel, Birkhäuser Verlag, 2025, 292 pages

The text “Nutzen statt Besitzen”, formulated by Michael Erlhoff in 1995, may have been ahead of its time and remains highly relevant today. This new volume revisits the topic with 20 new contributions addressing both present and future perspectives.

Hirmer Verlag, 2025, 336 pages, numerous illustrations

In addition to contextualising the significance of design under National Socialism, the catalogue primarily examines the role of the Grassi Museum itself and its exhibitions during this period, presenting numerous exhibits from its own collection.

C.H. Beck Verlag, 2025, 479 pages, illustrations

A nuanced journey through the history of taste, from Meissen to Victoria’s Secret, which also takes into account the economic, political, and social contexts.

Reclam Verlag, 2025, 428 pages, illustrations

There were times when objects were valued above all for one thing: their importance to survival. With industrialisation and the accompanying rise of mass production, many new objects emerged—very many of them of little or no practical use, then as now—yet we nevertheless believe we must possess them. This book seeks to explore and explain the nature of our relationship to the things with which we surround ourselves.

Cambridge, MIT Press, 2025, 284 pages, illustrations

The authors, known for their research and publications in the field of speculative design, expand on this approach by moving design away from solution-driven thinking and towards understanding design as a medium for critical thought — a serious method for engaging with the crises of our time.

Rom, Treccani Libri, 2025, 1.040 pages, numerous illustrations

A comprehensive overview of the history of the Compasso d’Oro, Italy’s most important design award since 1954. With extensive illustrations, detailed information on awarded products, and numerous new essays by renowned authors, the volume becomes an essential reference on Italian design.

2nd edition, London, Bloomsbury, 2025, xxiii, 493 pages, illustrations

This revised and expanded edition brings together key texts from the history of design and design practice from the 17th century to the present. Organised thematically, the texts offer insights into design history and practice that remain relevant today. Questions of sustainability, gender, globalisation and decolonisation were already addressed in earlier design discourses.

München, Verlag C.H. Beck, 2025, 297 pages

In machines and technologies we project ideals of perfection, while perceiving ourselves in comparison as inherently “deficient” beings. The history of assigning superiority to machines over humans began as early as the 19th century – and overcoming this mindset is long overdue.

Springer Vieweg, 2025, 211 pages, graphics

This edited volume offers a solid overview of the current state of design research, particularly in engineering design, while also providing perspectives on future developments. The discussions focus on issues of creativity, quality, emerging technologies and human-centred methods.

Berlin, Suhrkamp Verlag, 2025, 185 pages

When products are optimised, even in minor details, strange solutions sometimes emerge that do not necessarily make them easier to use—the author calls this “clutter.” He examines this phenomenon in a form of consumer critique and also raises questions about the role of consumers in these processes.