This is an indispensable, clear and concise introduction to the world of design and all its facets - a must-have for all design students and those interested in learning more about the fascinating process that turns good ideas into useful products. Design: an essential introduction invites you to delve into the creative, pragmatic and essentially optimistic world of design and introduces you to the most ingenious and inspiring designs of today. Inside Design: an essential introduction you will find: descriptions of how design impacts on our everyday lives, forecasts of future design-practice trends, case studies showing the historical development of various product types including trainers, task chairs and games consoles, explorations of innovative design ideas informing successful brands like Apple and Dyson, explorations of the design processes of leading designers, including Konstantic Grcic and Barber Osgerby, a breadth of new work in many media by the next generation of designers Book jacket.

In the two centuries before the Norman invasion of England, Anglo-Saxon and Viking forces clashed repeatedly in bloody battles across the country. Repeated Viking victories in the 9th century led to their settlement in the north of the country, but the tide of war ebbed and flowed until the final Anglo-Saxon victory before the Norman Conquest. Using stunning artwork, this book examines in detail three battles between the two deadly foes: Ashdown in 871 which involved the future Alfred the Great; Maldon in 991 where an Anglo-Saxon army sought to counter a renewed Viking threat; and Stamford Bridge in 1066, in which King Harold Godwinesson abandoned his preparations to repel the expected Norman invasion in order to fight off Harald Hard-Counsel of Norway.
Drawing upon historical accounts from both English and Scandinavian sources and from archaeological evidence, Gareth Williams presents a detailed comparison of the weaponry, tactics, strategies and underlying military organization of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, and considers the developments which took place on both sides in the two centuries of Viking incursions into Anglo-Saxon England.

Drawing upon contemporary literary and historical accounts from the North Atlantic to the Arab world, surviving examples of weapons and armor, and practical experimentation and reconstructions by modern weapon-smiths and re-enactors, Weapons of the Viking Warrior casts new light on how Viking weapons were made and used in battle.

Viking warriors used an array of distinctive weaponry on the battlefield, but they have become entangled in myth and legend. This book tells the full, true story.

Between the late 8th and late 11th century Viking warriors had a massive impact not just in northern Europe, but across a huge arc from the western Mediterranean round through northern Europe and the Baltic to the Middle East and Central Asia. Their success depended in part on their skills in battle, their unique sense of strategic mobility, and on the quality of their weapons and equipment. Written by an expert on early medieval weaponry, this book examines the weapons of the typical Viking warrior, dispels some of the myths of the popular image, such as double-headed axes, and considers the range of weapons that actually underpinned the Vikings' success including bows and arrows.