Critical Points

By Edwin Heathcote for the Financial Times

Recently, the Financial Times featured a special section dedicated to Contemporary Design. The various articles covered a range of topics including a particularly interesting discussion from Edwin Heathcote on the status of Critical Design in today’s industry.

According to Heathcote, the design world has been ‘remarkably static’ with relatively ‘few radical moments’ during the last two centuries. Over the last decade, however, Heathcote feels things have begun to change with ‘the emergence a few years ago of what became known as “critical design” [which] promises perhaps the most profound reinterpretation of the potential of the discipline in a century.’

His article focuses on the work of designers such as Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, Jurgen Bey, and Martí Guixé comparing critical design to other prominent design trends, including narrative design and design art, to give the reader a broad view of what classifies critical design. He also discusses courses at the Royal College of Art in London, the Design Academy Einhoven, and Amsterdam’s Sandberg Institute to illustrate the impact critical design practices have at the academic level.

To read the full article, and also browse the rest of the Financial Times’ special Design section, please visit www.ft.com