On Design (PDF)

This volume presents for the first time a curated selection of essays written over the last 30 years by leading design thinker and educator, Tevfik Balcioglu. With a focus on Turkish and British design, his writing examines questions of national and transnational design history and provides a critical insight into contemporary global design issues.

Structured into four thematic sections with contextualizing introductions, this anthology addresses various aspects of design history, theory, education and practice. Essays look at the impact of industrialization and globalization on design cultures and highlight local and global design developments from the late 20th century to the present day. They cover reproduction techniques and technological progress in recent decades, the changing nature of mass-produced objects and the introduction of new methods, systems, shapes, forms and styles over time.

Addressing issues relating to education and practice, case studies draw on Balcioglu's work at various institutions such as Izmir University of Economics, Turkey where he established a faculty of design departments and introduced a new model of integrated programmes, and Kent University, UK where he established the BA (Hons) 3D Design course. His writing explores the nature and transferability of knowledge in the design field through critical analysis of the emergence of new degree programmes, the evolution of design education and the relationship between theory and practice.