A Lexicon for Design

Edited with text and introduction by Rachel Delphia, Alyssa Velazquez. Foreword with text by Eric Crosby. Text by Glenn Adamson, Sarah Archer, Chenoa Baker, Sabiha Basrai, Audrey Bennett, Max Burton, Rose Camara, Elizabeth Chin, Marissa del Toro, Sarah Fathallah, Michelle Millar Fisher, Anne Ishii, Theodossis Issaias, Natalie Kane, Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler, Alexandra Lange, Helen Lee, Mindy Magyar, Ari Melenciano, Lesley-Ann Noel, Adah Parris, Victoria Pass, Oscar Salguero, Emily Sara, Siddhartha Shah, Anjulie Rao, Jennifer Rittner, Sarah Teasley, Norman Teague, Alice Twemlow, Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, Catherine Walworth, Bess Williamson, Folayemi Wilson, Alice Wong.

Published by Carnegie Museum of Art

ISBN: 9780880390750

A Lexicon for Design is an alphabetized index of more than 50 fresh terms for thinking with and through design objects, informed by the written contributions of 40 leading design scholars, critics, and practitioners.

This experimental publication explores how language can shape and expand contemporary discourse around design, decorative arts, and craft collections. Following the cultural upheavals of the COVID-19 era, curators of the museum’s Decorative Arts and Design department invited a cohort of leading academics, designers, educators, and critics to respond to the question, “What is the language we need now to reconsider design objects?” This ambitious book compiles their answers, comprising 53 essays authored by contributors from multiple disciplines—pulling from each response a key term that is indexed and organized alphabetically. From ableism to emotion, harm to loved, remixed to symmetry, the publication puts forward multiple points of entry and inquiry that spark new meaning for design experts and admirers alike. Lushly illustrated with over 200 plates from the museum’s renowned design collection, A Lexicon for Design offers a thrilling visual and linguistic survey.

Preorder Now →