Minimum Design books: introductions to major twentieth-century designers

Minimum Design is an interesting series of books which had somehow passed us by until now. Each of the 25 books in the series focuses on a different designer and looks at their impact on everyday life. 

They've certainly picked out an interesting set of designers with a definite Italian bias - hardly surprising when it's an Italian publisher who is behind the books. So you get titles on the likes of Joe Colombo (whose book is shown above),  Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Ettore Sottsass and Gio Ponti. But there are plenty of heavy hitters from the rest of the world too, such as Eero Saarinen and Tom Dixon. 

The volumes are quite slight at 120 pages each, but together build into an invaluable reference series on twentieth-century design. 

Five titles from the series are in stock at the Design Museum, including this Joe Colombo title, priced from £19.95 to £28. You can seek out a fuller range at Amazon.