Invention by Design

Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674266455
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Book Description
Henry Petroski’s previous bestsellers have delighted readers with intriguing stories about the engineering marvels around us, from the lowly pencil to the soaring suspension bridge. In this book, Petroski delves deeper into the mystery of invention, to explore what everyday artifacts and sophisticated networks can reveal about the way engineers solve problems. Engineering entails more than knowing the way things work. What do economics and ecology, aesthetics and ethics, have to do with the shape of a paper clip, the tab of a beverage can, the cabin design of a turbojet, or the course of a river? How do the idiosyncrasies of individual engineers, companies, and communities leave their mark on projects from Velcro® to fax machines to waterworks? Invention by Design offers an insider’s look at these political and cultural dimensions of design and development, production and construction. Readers unfamiliar with engineering will find Petroski’s enthusiasm contagious, whether the topic is the genesis of the Ziploc® baggie or the averted collapse of Manhattan’s sleekest skyscraper. And those who inhabit the world of engineering will discover insights to challenge their customary perspective, whether their work involves failure analysis, systems design, or public relations. Written with the flair that readers have come to expect from his books, Invention by Design reaffirms Petroski as the master explicator of the principles and processes that turn thoughts into the many things that define our made world.

Design

Author: Jessica Helfand
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300205090
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
A compelling defense for the importance of design and how it shapes our behavior, our emotions, and our lives Design has always prided itself on being relevant to the world it serves, but interest in design was once limited to a small community of design professionals. Today, books on "design thinking" are best sellers, and computer and Web-based tools have expanded the definition of who practices design. Looking at objects, letterforms, experiences, and even theatrical performances, award-winning author Jessica Helfand asserts that understanding design's purpose is more crucial than ever. Design is meaningful not because it is pretty but because it is an intrinsically humanist discipline, tethered to the very core of why we exist. For example, as designers collaborate with developing nations on everything from more affordable lawn mowers to cleaner drinking water, they must take into consideration the full range of a given community's complex social needs. Advancing a conversation that is unfolding around the globe, Helfand offers an eye-opening look at how designed things make us feel as well as how--and why--they motivate our behavior.

Invention and Evolution

Author: M. J. French
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521469111
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 396

Book Description
This textbook for engineering students provides an introduction to design for function, using many examples of manufactured artefacts and living organisms to demonstrate common themes and fundamental principles. Examples forcefully illustrate the importance of the basic design principles related to materials, energy and information. The author also discusses the relation of aesthetic and functional design, the crucial relation of design to production in artefacts, and reproduction in organisms. The book concludes with a brief summary of the role and requirements of designers and inventors. This second edition has been extensively revised, with more examples and a new chapter with actual design case studies to illustrate key ideas. In addition, many exercises have been added to help reinforce important points in the text.

The Art of Invention

Author: Steven J. Paley
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616142715
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 236

Book Description
Chinese edition of The art of invention:The Creative Process of Discovery and Design by Steven J. Paley. In Traditional Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Figure Drawing

Author: Michael Hampton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780615272818
Category : Figure drawing
Languages : en
Pages : 235

Book Description

Success Through Failure

Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691180997
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
Examines many of the failed designs and inventions that led to greater improvements siting as examples the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the space shuttle disasters.

To Forgive Design

Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674065433
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 427

Book Description
Argues that failures in structural engineering are not necessarily due to the physical design of the structures, but instead a misunderstanding of how cultural and socioeconomic constraints would affect the structures.

The Invention of Comfort

Author: John E. Crowley
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801875161
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 569

Book Description
A history and analysis of the development of domestic design in early modern Britain and America. How did our modern ideas of physical well-being originate? As John Crowley demonstrates in The Invention of Comfort, changes in sensible technology owed a great deal to fashion-conscious elites discovering discomfort in surroundings they earlier had felt to be satisfactory. Written in an engaging style that will appeal to historians and material culture specialists as well as to general readers, this pathbreaking work brings together such disparate topics of analysis as climate, fire, food, clothing, the senses, and anxiety—especially about the night. “Riveting. . . . A solid contribution to the literature on the cultural impact of gentility, refinement, and the “baubles of Britain” in England and its colonial possessions.” —Journal of American History “Crowley provides a masterly search and survey that no historian of material culture should miss, and every curious reader should consider.” —Eugen Weber, Phi Beta Kappa Key Reporter “A comprehensive and tight study . . . a valuable contribution to the field, [and] one that is enjoyable to read.” —Emma Hart, English Historical Review “The sheer range of evidence, the interweaving of themes, and the overall strength of the argument mean [this] is an ideal book for specialists and students alike.” —Helen Clifford, Journal of Design History “The Invention of Comfort is an important and thought-provoking book that challenges our understanding of why people live that way they do.” —Marie Morgan, New England Quarterly

Steven Caney's Invention Book

Author: Steven Caney
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780894800764
Category : Inventions
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A project book for the would-be inventor with activities, a list of "contraptions" in need of invention, and the stories behind thirty-six existing inventions.

The Pencil

Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 0307772438
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Book Description
Henry Petroski traces the origins of the pencil back to ancient Greece and Rome, writes factually and charmingly about its development over the centuries and around the world, and shows what the pencil can teach us about engineering and technology today.