WRITE
I like to inform my writing by learning from other disciplines like anthropology, material culture, cultural studies and biology, as they can enrich our perspective and thinking about design. And this is what I have tried to do with my books, book chapters, special issues of journals, and articles.
Books
Designing Things: A Critical Introduction to the Culture of Objects [Berg Publishers, UK, 2010].
This book critiques objects from the diverse perspectives of design studies as well as cultural studies. Using theory as well as case studies, it introduces readers to the culture of objects in eight chapters, each of which presents the concepts of theory, value, labor, aesthetics, obsolescence, need, semiotics, and fetishism.
Encountering Things: Design and Theories of Things [Bloomsbury Publishers, UK, 2017]
This anthology, co-edited along with Leslie Atzmon, is a collection of essays that explores the theoretical significance of things and its relevance to the disciplines of design.
Perspectives on Indian Design [Reaktion Press, 2025]
This monograph will be the first book-length overview of the practice and education of product design in India. It will include a history of the profession along with case studies of products and services.
Book Chapters
“Design Inspired by Nature: The Bat Brolly” in Design and Science, edited by Atzmon, L. Bloomsbury Publishing, London, UK [Co-authored with Penick, C.]
“Design for All Life” on design blog Core77, http://www.core77.com/posts/31264/Design-for-All-Life
“Design Encounters with Things” in Encountering Things, edited by Atzmon, L. and Boradkar, P., Bloomsbury Publishing, London, UK [Co-authored with Atzmon, L.]
“Agency and Counteragency: A Story of Copper” in Encountering Things, edited by Atzmon, L. and Boradkar, P., Bloomsbury Publishing, London, UK.
“Big Things: The Vibrant Culture of Boomboxes” in Encountering Things, edited by Atzmon, L. and Boradkar, P., Bloomsbury Publishing, London, UK [Co-authored with Owerko, L.]
“Design+Anthropology: An Emergent Discipline” in The Routledge Companion to Design Studies, edited by Sparke, P. and Fisher, F., Routledge, London, UK.
“Design as Problem-Solving” in The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity, edited by Frodeman, R., Thompson Klein, J. & Mitcham, C., Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
“Transdisciplinary Innovation in the Classroom” in Innovation Leadership: Creating the Landscape for Healthcare Transformation, edited by Porter O’Grady, T. and Malloch, K., Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, MA, USA.
“From Form to Context: Teaching a Different Type of Design History” in The Education of A Graphic Designer, 2nd Edition, edited by Heller, S., Allworth Press, NY, USA.
“10,000 Songs in Your Pocket: The iPod as Environment” in Transportable Environments 3, edited by Kronenberg, R., Spon Press, Oxon, UK.
Special Issues Of Journals
INNOVATION: DESIGN AND STORYTELLING
I co-edited an issue of the journal Innovation with Lee Gutkind titled “Design and Storytelling”. This is a collection of articles examining the role of narrative and creative non-fiction in design.
CREATIVE NON-FICTION: LEARNING FROM NATURE
I co-edited an issue of the journal Creative Non-Fiction with Lee Gutkind and Adelheid Fischer, titled “Learning from Nature”. This is a collection of essays relating to the topic of biomimicry (innovation inspired by nature).
DESIGN AND CULTURE: DESIGN AND THING THEORY
I co-edited a special issue of the journal Design & Culture along with Leslie Atzmon titled “Design and Thing Theory”. This is a collection of articles that examines the significance of Bill Brown’s essay “Thing Theory” in the context of design.
Journal And Magazine Articles
Beautiful Ends, Extraordinary Means (PDF) in Innovation, Winter 2013, Issue 4: 22-24.
Shaping Music (PDF) Rewind Remix Replay: Design, Music and Everyday Experience
Integrated Innovation: A Model for A New New Product Development Curriculum in International Journal of Innovation Science, June 2009, Volume 1, Number 2, 61-71. [Co-authored with Duening, T.]
InnovationSpace: A Community of Learners (PDF) in Innovation, Winter 2008, 32-35.
Illusions at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Polar Opposites: IDSA International Conference and Education Symposium, September 10- 13, 2008, Phoenix, Arizona. [Co-authored with Kulkarni, U.]
Asking All the Right Questions: A Strategy for Holistic Brand Innovation Proceedings of the International Conference on Strategic Innovation and Creativity in Brand & Design Management, Design Management Institute [Co-authored with Shin, D. & Fischer A.]
Entrepreneurship Across the Campus: Five Diverse Educators Address Definition, Pedagogy, and Curriculum Kauffman Foundation Conference on Entrepreneurship, [Co-authored with Duening T., Cardineau G. Shockley G. & Valenti F.]
A Design Encounter with Thing Theory (PDF) in Design & Culture, July 2014, Vol. 6, Issue 2: 141-152.
Plastic Fantastic: Collecting Vending Machine Toys (PDF) Arco Contemporary Art, Vol. 36: 13-17.
Sphere Factor: Atomic Geometry in Design (PDF) in Innovation, Winter 2005: 37-41.
The Extraordinary Ordinary: At Home with Technology and Design Exhibition Brochure for Ozzie and Harriet, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ.
Skin Care: The Sensual Surfaces of Objects Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of the Design and Emotion Society, 2005, Ankara, Turkey.
Ordinary Rituals, Extraordinary Meanings: The Many Uses of Apple’s iPod Innovation, Summer 2003, 28-32.
Ambivalence in the Atomic Age: Science, Design, and Music in the Atomic Age Java Magazine, No. 103: 18-19.
Material Things, Immaterial Music Proceedings of the IDSA International Design Education Conference, August 2003, 23-31.
Voices on the Walls: Gender Consciousness in Madhubani Craft in Gender Bound? Representations of Difference in Environmental Design, Conference Proceedings, Arizona State University, March 2003, Tempe, Arizona. [Co-authored with Ranade, R.]
Sensibility Design Proceedings of the IDSA International Design Education Conference, January 2003, New York, 155-163 [Co- authored with Kim, D.]
A Very Strange Thing: Commodity Discourse in Design and Cultural Studies Common Ground, The Design Research Society International Conference Proceedings [CD-ROM], edited by Durling, D. & Shackleton, J., Staffordshire: Staffordshire University Press.
The Object[s] of Communication Designing Your Life: Proceedings of the IDSA International Design Education Conference, New Orleans, 69-80.
Objects, Images, & Music Systems Research in the Arts, Vol. III: Music, Environmental Design and the Choreography of Space, edited by Lasker G. E., Lily, J., and Rhodes, J., The International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research & Cybernetics, Ontario, CA, 43-50 [Co-authored with Patel, M. and Zuberi, N.]
Re-Establishing the Established: Probing the Foundations Laid by the Bauhaus Design Gumbo: Proceedings of the IDSA International Design Education Conference, 27-33.