This book begins, somewhat unpromisingly, with the author's disavowing the format he has chosen. About eight years ago, around the time he became the director of London's Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic agreed to write two books—The Language of Things (published in 2008), and this one, initially conceived as a “massive 250,000-word conventional dictionary of design.” The task seemed daunting, and Sudjic had not made much progress when his publisher relieved him of the problem—in the age of Wikipedia, people had stopped buying dictionaries. He could keep his advance, but he might want to think of another project.
In the end, Sudjic kept the format of the dictionary but got rid of everything else. Dictionaries, of course, are large, all-encompassing volumes that convey information dispassionately. In contrast, this is a small book reflecting one man's preferences. And while true to its title (the book is organized alphabetically), the topics are scattered, skipping willfully to whatever strikes Sudjic's fancy. This occurs even within entries: “B is for Blueprint” begins as a reflection on Sujdic's role in founding the magazine of that name, but there is sadly little about the magazine, or print publications more broadly. Instead, he composes a 10-page paean to British architect David Chipperfield, who was featured on the cover of Blueprint as a young practitioner.
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