Designing Dreams

If you feel stuck with no idea what you should do next, lifestyle celebrity and TV pioneer Debbie Travis's new book is for you. Drawing on the tough (sometimes hilarious) lessons Debbie learned in her own leap into a new way of living, and a multitude of stories, tips and ideas to jumpstart your dreams, she's created an inspiring roadmap for change. A few years ago, Debbie Travis realized that she was no longer challenged by her wildly successful TV career and she was so busy she was missing out on the people and things that made her happy. She dared to dream about a whole new direction in life--a plan to turn a 13th-century farmhouse in Tuscany into a unique hotel and retreat for people who need a change as much as she did. And now, after a crazy amount of work, she is not only living that dream but sharing it with others. Her new book draws directly on her own experiences (when she started, Debbie could barely make a bed, let alone run a hotel in a foreign county) and the uplifting stories of personal u-turns shared by women who have come to her retreats. Debbie's "commandments" will inspire women (and men) who have lost track of who they are or what they want to be; who are going through the motions of a career that doesn't satisfy them anymore; who are wondering what to do with themselves now that their kids are gone or their marriage is over. On every page, Debbie shares the tools that helped her transform her life, and her example, her wit and her common sense advice will help motivate anyone who finds themselves standing at a crossroads wondering "What's next for me?"

"After the Bauhaus's closing in 1933, many of its protagonists movd to the United States, where their acceptance had to be cultivated. In this book Margret Kentgens-Craig shows that the fame of the Bauhaus in America was the result not only of the inherent qualities of its concepts and products, but also of a unique congruence of cultural supply and demand, of a consistent flow of information, and of fine-tuned marketing. Thus the history of the American reception of the Bauhaus in the 1920s and 1930s foreshadows the paterns of fame-making that became typical of the post-World War II art world."--BOOK JACKET.

The inimitable, haunting films of Alfred Hitchcock took place in settings, both exterior and interior, that deeply impacted our experiences of his most unforgettable works. From the enclosed spaces of Rope and Rear Window to the wide-open expanses of North by Northwest, the physical worlds inhabited by desperate characters are a crucial element in our perception of the Hitchcockian universe. As Christine Madrid French reveals in this original and indispensable book, Hitchcock’s relation to the built world was informed by an intense engagement with location and architectural form—in an era marked by modernism’s advance—fueled by some of the most creative midcentury designers in film. Hitchcock saw elements of the built world not just as scenic devices but as interactive areas to frame narrative exchanges. In his films, building forms also serve a sentient purpose—to capture and convey feelings, sensations, and moments that generate an emotive response from the viewer. Visualizing the contemporary built landscape allowed the director to illuminate Americans’ everyday experiences as well as their own uncertain relationship with their environment and with each other. French shares several untold stories, such as the real-life suicide outside the Hotel Empire in Vertigo (which foreshadowed uncannily that film’s tragic finale), and takes us to the actual buildings that served as the inspiration for Psycho’s infamous Bates Motel. Her analysis of North by Northwest uncovers the Frank Lloyd Wright underpinnings for Robert Boyle’s design of the modernist house from the film’s celebrated Mount Rushmore sequence and ingeniously establishes the Vandamm House as the prototype of the cinematic trope of the villain’s lair. She also shows how the widespread unemployment of the 1930s resulted in a surge of gifted architects transplanting their careers into the film industry. These practitioners created sets that drew from contemporary design schools of thought and referenced real structures, both modern and historic. The Architecture of Suspense is the first book to document how these great architectural minds found expression in Hitchcock’s films and how the director used their talents and his own unique vision to create an enduring and evocative cinematic world. Publication of this volume was assisted by a grant from Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund

A guide to using practical work to help visualise what you really want out of life. Tapping into your creative side, Lucia Capacchione uses the art of collaging to create a visual image of your dreams and desires. This book is a ten-step guide to designing and actualizing these dreams. As well as teaching essential techniques to tap into your creative self, she looks at designing and visualizing - how thoughts become action. She also tackles the self doubt which often arises when people see themselves as uncreative or unartistic. The ten-step programme covers how to: make a wish/ find a dream; research; refine the selection; prepare the composition; create the collage; interpret the meanings; make it happen; relax and let go; seek support; and celebrate

For the past half century, the Sony Corporation has been highly successful at tapping the seductive nature of consumer electronics. Around the globe their products are recognized as symbols of cutting-edge technology and innovative design, making Sony the undisputed leader in high tech and one of the most recognized brand names in the world. This book takes an unprecedented look inside the world's most influential design center and their products--many never before published--for the next millennium. With nearly 250 industrial designers--graphic, packaging, and logotype designers, user-interface specialists and Web designers--working in offices from Tokyo to San Francisco to Cologne, the Sony Design Center is responsible for nearly 2,000 new products, concepts, packaging schemes and design strategies every year. By shaping the most pivotal technologies of our time, the Design Center exerts a greater influence on popular culture and current trends in industrial and graphic design than any other single entity.--From publisher description.

This book uses in-depth case studies to explore the significance of the design of the home on screen. The chapters draw widely upon the production designer’s professional perspective and particular creative point of view. The case studies employ a methodology Barnwell has pioneered for the analysis of production design called Visual Concept Analysis, which can be used as a key to decode the design of any given film. Through the nurturing warmth of the Browns’ home in Paddington, the ambiguous boundaries of secret service agent homes in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the ‘singleton’ space occupied by Bridget Jones, Barnwell demonstrates that the domestic interior consistently plays a key role. Whether used as a transition space, an ideal, a catalyst for change or a place to return to, these case studies examine the pivotal nature of the home in storytelling and the production designers’ significance in its creation. The book benefits from interviews with production designers and artwork that provides insight on the creative process.

Practical and provocative, this book serves as a guide for those who want a deeper look into the human psyche and a more encompassing vision of the less predictable aspects of the mind.