The Unimportance of Form and Other Arguments - Jasper Morrison

The Unimportance of Form and Other Arguments, published by Apartamento, collects the early writings of British designer Jasper Morrison from 1984 to 2002. Known primarily for his objects, Morrison is a sharp, skeptical, and often humorous writer whose texts map out the ideas that also define his design work: the responsibility of design, the value of practicality, and the significance of everyday objects.

Edited by designer Sina Sohrabi, the texts range from autobiographical manifestos and Morrison's 1985 graduation thesis to later essays, and even notes from an unfinished novel. The collection of 31 texts captures a lifelong reflection on what design is and what it should be. The book takes its title from Morrison's 1991 essay The Unimportance of Form, which is one of his sharpest texts on the role of the designer.

The Unimportance of Form and Other Arguments gathers the early writings of British designer Jasper Morrison, written between 1984 and 2002 and collected and edited by industrial designer Sina Sohrab. Published together here for the first time, these texts map the formation of ideas that would come to define his practice: the responsibilities of design, the value of usefulness, and the quiet authority of ordinary things. From autobiographical manifestos and his 1985 RCA thesis to later essays, musings, and even notes for an unfinished novel, this compendium of 31 texts captures the honing of a lifelong argument about what design is—and what it should be.