The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) had compelling reasons to partner with Rockport Publishers on this book: It meets a growing, real, and broad hunger for information and in- spiration on industrial design.

Recently, industrial design has emerged as a profession that fascinates people of all ages. This interest is fed by business magazines, fashion magazines, nationally noted newspapers and talk shows, along with museum exhibits and even advertising. The outcome of industrial design-the product —has become an icon for the reemergence of the U.S. economy. Discovering that the product is not an accident or only the offspring of marketing or engineering is fresh air to people just beginning to understand that their purchases are about more than money and function — they are about culture and lifestyle and experience.

For the profession of industrial design, this book feeds a vital longing and real need. With no textbook, students and educators need case studies on which to base the experiential, highly kinetic, exploration-based form of learning that prevails. Profes- sionals need a source of inspiration and insight to fuel their quest for innovation, for true functionality. How better to leam how to blend and balance function with aesthetics, usability with busi- ness constraints, ecological responsibility with appeal?

The Design Secrets series brings you inside the intriguing process of design. Unlike other design books that show only the final product, this series profiles design projects in detail, from concept to completion, and all the stages in between, seasoned with the designers' insights and inspirations. Each volume presents 50 successful projects, created by leaders in the design field.