Matt Malpass Books
Matt Malpass is a British designer and academic specializing in critical and speculative design. He is a professor at the University of London, and his work focuses on the relationship between design, culture, and critical thinking.
Known for: Critical Design in Context: History, Theory, and Practices
Books by Matt Malpass
Critical Design in Context: History, Theory, and Practices
Critical Design in Context is the first book to introduce critical design as a disciplinary field, offering a history of its development, theoretical influences, and contemporary practices. Matt Malpass explores how design can serve as a form of cultural and social critique, moving away from traditional approaches focused on commercial product creation to emphasize reflection and questioning of design’s values and assumptions.
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Historical Background: The Emergence of Critical Design
To understand critical design in any meaningful way, we have to begin with the radical design movements of the 1960s and 1970s. During these decades, designers in Italy and beyond—groups such as Superstudio, Archizoom, and the Anti-Design movement—challenged the consumerist and technocratic ideologi...
From Critical Design in Context: History, Theory, and Practices
Theoretical Foundations: Critical Theory, Postmodernism, and Speculative Thought
The theoretical backbone of critical design draws heavily from critical theory and postmodern philosophy. From Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse, we inherit the idea that art and cultural production can reveal contradictions within society—that aesthetics can be used critically, not just romantical...
From Critical Design in Context: History, Theory, and Practices
About Matt Malpass
Matt Malpass is a British designer and academic specializing in critical and speculative design. He is a professor at the University of London, and his work focuses on the relationship between design, culture, and critical thinking.
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Matt Malpass is a British designer and academic specializing in critical and speculative design. He is a professor at the University of London, and his work focuses on the relationship between design, culture, and critical thinking.
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