I will be the first to admit it. When it comes to standing up for our concepts, or proving the reasons behind why we created something a certain way, I will totally throw myself on the chopping block for design. If we don’t stand up for it, who will?! And can you imagine a world without any thought put into the way things are designed? From directional street signs, to buildings, to the cars we drive, and the books we read…It can make us designers feel like we take life way to seriously. And for good reason!

But here we go – here is finally a book about design that infuses humor into the fold! I have read what feels like a trunkload of design books and few of them really compel me to read past the first few chapters. THIS however, is a different story!

http://www.youworkforthem.com/product.php?sku=P0607

Chasing the Perfect is a personal reflection on Modernism’s influence on the teaching of design and its practice. Writer/designer Natalia Ilyin delivers it up in such a honest and wry way that speaks directly from designer to designer. I cannot help but feel her angst: “this silent pressure that a language of design based in perfectionism had brought to bear on how I developed as a person.” She knows what touches and frustrates our hearts and our minds.

But ‘funny read’ put aside, this book is a solid critique of Modernist principles and their influence on Western culture. Even if you are not a design hound like me, you will totally enjoy this book and the way Ilyin documents her life and her views of the world molded by the ever evolving principles of design.

Plus, with a sweetly designed ‘Dada-esque’ book cover, this could take a proud position on your living room coffee table. Viva Design!