Design as Art (English, Paperback, Munari Bruno)

Design As Art is a part of the Penguin on Design series, which includes writings on design, art, and the media, written by visionary thinkers.

Summary Of The Book

Design As Art is a book that captures the great artist Bruno Munari’s ideas on graphic, visual, and industrial design and how they apply to everyday objects. The design of an object greatly influences how we see or perceive it. There is, therefore, much thought put into designing it.
Munari believed that design should be functional, beautiful, and accessible. The reader will explore these characteristics in the design of ordinary objects through the eyes of Munari. Some of these objects include posters, road signs, lamps, cars, children’s books, and chairs.

There’s an inherent playfulness in both his writing and his designs, as is evident from his idea of attaching spyholes towards the rear of the automobile so as to allow for easier parking.

Design As Art contains about 40 pieces of art that were originally published in a newspaper based in Milan. Each of these pieces tackles a design problem, such as wear and tear. One of the more interesting essays is on the traditional houses in Japan. He tells the readers what is present and what is missing in these houses and shows how these incorporate contemporary Western thinking, but still make space for designing the interiors more freely. He also describes how these houses are ventilated.

As readers approach the end of the book, they come across Munari’s own ways of designing. In these how-to chapters, readers will learn how to use polarized light to create color symphonies, and how to project a dragonfly’s wing at wall size and design a poster.

Design As Art remains interesting and engaging from start to finish. That’s because Munari writes in a style that made him such a popular children’s books. The playfulness that comes through in both his writing style and design make this book highly engaging, entertaining, and informative.

About Bruno Munari

Bruno Munari was a designer, inventor, and artist from Italy.

He is the author of A Flower With Love, Speak Italian: The Fine Art of the Gesture, Roses in the Salad, and Photo-Reportage: From the Island of Truffles to the Kingdom of Misunderstandings.

Munari spent most of his childhood years in Badia Polesine, although he was born in Milan. He returned to Milan in 1925 and began work with his uncle, who was an engineer. He soon began displaying his works in exhibitions. He then worked as a press graphic designer and an art director. He also started designing children’s books around the same time. He is the recipient of the Andersen award, Award from the Japan Design Foundation, Marconi award, and honorable mention from the New York Science Academy.