A completely original reappraisal of that most familiar, yet mysterious, of things, the female body.

In this endlessly provocative volume, Stephen Bayley, design authority and cultural critic, takes on the female body, analyzing each crook and every curve as a sign, a symbol, and as a designed object. From Aphrodite to the industrialization of the breast, and from pin-ups to the future of sex, WOMAN AS DESIGN is a fascinating mix of design, cultural history, erotica, fashion, and fetishism.

Wonderfully designed and superbly illustrated WOMAN AS DESIGNis a modern study of the continuous conflict between the real and the ideal...in its most familiar form.

Stephen Bayley is one of the world's best-known authorities on design and popular culture. He has been a design consultant working on imaginative communications projects for clients including Ford, Absolute Vodka, The Coco-Cola Company, Volkswagen Audi, Marks & Spencer, Penhaligon's, Foster Associates, Harvey Nichols, BMW, Piaggio and the V& A amongst others.

He is well-known as an outspoken commentator on art and design and contributes regularly to The Times, The Los Angeles Times, High Life, The Independent and GQ. He often broadcasts and appears on popular television programs. He has also written numerous books on design. Additionally, he lectures in universities and museums throughout the world. In 1989 he was made a Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France's top artistic honor, by the French Minister of Culture.