Design philosophy is becoming increasingly important as the nature of design practice and design education change. The Design Philosophy Reader presents and explains the recent emergence of design philosophy, illustrates the main concerns of design philosophy and demonstrates why design philosophy has emerged in recent years, why it is needed, what it can do, how it can be done and where it is going.

Comprised of an eight thematic sections, each with a short introduction, to contextualise theory and highlight its implications, and annotated bibliographies, the reader presents both an argument for the need for design philosophy and an overview of its emergence. With texts ranging from writing on design that is informed by philosophy; philosophically informed writing on culture, relevant to the thinking of design; ancient and contemporary philosophy that directly, or by implication, addresses design; and exegesis and commentary on philosophical texts relevant to design.