The Shape of Things

This text presents in English an array of essays on design by the seminal media critic and philosopher, Vilem Flusser. It puts forward the view that our future depedns on design. In a series of essays on such ordinary things as wheels and umbrellas, Flusser emphasizes the interrelationship between art and science, theology and technology, and archaeology and architecture. Just as formal creativity has produced both weapons aof destruction and great works of art, Flusser believed the shape of things (and designs behind them) represent both a threat and an opportunity for the future.

Vilém Flusser was born in Prague in 1920. After emigrating to Brazil and then to France, he embarked on an influential career as a lecturer and writer on language, design and communication. He died in 1991.