Illusion in Design

Cutting-edge examples of the use of optical illusion in design—from trompe l’oeil to anamorphosis—to solve various challenges, be they space or budget related, or that act as aesthetic features in architecture and the fields that rub elbows with it: art, design, and furniture.

This magical volume presents the startling world of illusion in design as employed by today’s architects, interior designers, furniture designers, and others at work bending the appearance of reality for purposes of aesthetics or practicality or fun. From a faux bookcase that masks a room or Prohibition-style bar, to the mind-boggling Escher-like effects achieved by Casa Ceramica, whose optical illusion of a floor dips into valleys and rises into mounds (but is in reality flat), the book is a revelation and an inspiration. It offers to us the possibility that nearly anything can be done, if it can be imagined—even in our own homes.
 
The authors look at residences across the globe, as well as spaces beyond the home, that utilize a myriad of surprising techniques. 
Included are projects by conceptual designers such as Studio Malka and Vector Architects, as well as established practitioners such as Ferguson and Shamamian, G. P. Schafer, Peter Pennoyer, Redd/Kaihoi, and others, and all will surprise and engage the inspired viewer who will see that nearly anything can be done, if it can be imagined.

About the Authors

Paul Gunther, author, consultant, and current director of the Gracie Mansion Conservancy, is coauthor of New York Living: Re-Inventing Home.

Gay Giordano, a poet and writer on architecture and design, is coauthor of New York Living: Re-Inventing Home.