The ECAL Manual of Style: How to best teach design today? Phaidon Book

About the book

The story and teachings of one of the world’s most creative design schools, as told by its teachers, alumni, and student projects – the ideal book for educators and students alike, posing the question 'How should design be taught today?'

Swiss university ECAL is widely considered to be among the leading art and design institutions of the past two decades. Here, for the first time, ECAL’s teaching methods are revealed to a wider readership. The book poses the question ‘How should design be taught today?’ to select designers, critics, and writers, and the answers highlight the school’s unique approach to design pedagogy: encouraging individual and personal styles, and rigorously pushing them to develop into their most coherent forms. This is the only book to explain ECAL's innovative teaching methods, which encourage students to be business minded as well as creative.

About the author

Jonathan Olivares is an American designer and writer. His recent projects include Camper’s store at the Rockefeller Center (2019); the Vitra Workspace, an office furniture showroom and learning environment (Vitra, 2015); the exhibition Source Material, curated with Jasper Morrison and Marco Velardi (2014); and the Olivares Aluminum Chair (Knoll, 2012).

Alexis Georgacopoulos is a designer and the director of ECAL. He has initiated numerous projects and collaborations, such as Delirious Home, awarded the Best Exhibition Prize at the 2014 Milan Furniture Fair, and reference publications such as ECAL Photography or ECAL Graphic Design, presented in conjunction with exhibitions around the world.

Hardback, 10 5/8 × 8 1/8 in., 204 pages, 300 illustrations