Deyan Sudjic has always been at the forefront of the design conversation.As the founding editor of blueprinteditor of domus Later serving as director of London's Design Museum (and a continuing contributing editor to Wallpaper*), Sajik's research, curation and writing recalibrate consumers' understanding of the cultural significance of the design industry. He has made significant contributions to this end.
Analog: A Field Guide, by Deyan Sudjic.
Zenith portable radio model L600
(Image credit: Quarto Books)
Analog: Field Guide is his latest book, and it's the story of a technology now lost to history, considered inexplicably simple and complex by a new generation moving away from the cloud, search, streaming, and digital assistants.
Asahi Flex 1 single-lens reflex camera, designed in 1952 by Nobuyuki Yoshida and Ryohei Suzuki for Asahi Optical Co., Ltd.
(Image credit: Quarto Books)
The book includes concise summaries of the four core areas of technology: sound, vision, communication, and information, as well as short biographies of 250 different objects, from typewriters to televisions. It's humbling to think that a single modern smartphone could potentially outperform all of these devices combined.
Valentine Typewriter, 1969, designed by Ettore Sottsass and Perry King for Olivetti
(Image credit: Quarto Books)
However, the specificity of this feature is what gives each of the featured technologies their appeal. Focusing on the details of origin, form, function and materials, analog This provides insight into the almost fetishistic relationship we have with technology, old and new.
JVC RC M-90 boombox, designed by JVC for Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., 1981.
(Image credit: Quarto Books)
One of Sujic's first books was titled cult objectThe book was published in the aesthetic hinterland of the mid-1980s, when the V&A's Boiler House project was developing into what would become the Design Museum, thanks to the bright eyes of Terence Conran and Stephen Bailey.
Beolit 400 radio, 1970, designed by Jacob Jensen for Bang & Olufsen
(Image credit: Quarto Books)
Much of the visual content is analog You may have come directly from the page cult objectIt was one of the first festivals to showcase the raw appeal of technology to both designers and consumers. Forty years later, household appliances like Starck, Rams, and Sottsass have gone from highly desirable status symbols to obsolete, unnecessary junk, or obscure museum pieces. Now everything has become a cult object again.
Nagra IV-S reel-to-reel tape recorder, 1971, designed by Stefan Kudelski for Nagra Audio Technology
(Image credit: Quarto Books)
analog More than just a record of how industrial design has shaped technology, which in turn has shaped our culture, this work is a love letter to the lost world of tape, vinyl, celluloid, and 35mm. There is also.
Analog: Field Guide offers a treasure trove of forgotten electronics. Many of them are now highly sought after, after being left to rot in landfills around the world for decades.
TEAC A 450 stereo cassette deck, 1973, designed and manufactured by Tokyo Electric Sound Co., Ltd.
(Image credit: Quarto Books)
Sure, there's nostalgia here – you can smell the pungent smell of warm electronics – but this book also offers a far more in-depth look into the techniques and intricacies of old-school content generation to an unsuspecting generation. It may give you some insight.
Nakamichi Dragon Cassette Deck, 1982, designed by Niro Nakamichi for Nakamichi Corporation.
(Image credit: Quarto Books)
Analogue: Field Guide, Deyan Sudjic, £30; quarto.com, @quartobookuk
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