Designing Pornotopia

In this collection of essays about visual culture, Rick Poynor directs a critical eye at brands, billboards, magazines, architecture, tattoos and trends in cosmetic surgery. A key target is the pervasiveness of sexual imagery in the market place and the media’s symbiotic relationship with porn. Poynor shows how commerce exploits the blurring of art and advertising, and paints a vivid, not always comfortable picture of where 21st century design culture is heading.

Poynor interviews architect Rem Koolhaas, satirical illustrator Paul Davis, and maverick graphic designer and performance artist Elliott Earls. He revisits the early, ‘new wave’ work of Peter Saville and Malcolm Garrett and tracks the unstoppable rise of Stefan Sagmeister. Reports from emerging design territories in central Europe and Australia examine how rapidly growing economies deal with design’s potential. Designing Pornotopia challenges the climate of mediocrity that dominates much of our commercial environment, highlights alternatives and considers the way forward.