Amateur design

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Amateur design has, for a variety of reasons, historically been seen as necessarily inferior to professional design. It is argued here that, in fact, amateur practitioners have made and continue to make significant contributions to the development of design. Moreover, it is argued that with the aid of technology, the economic changes resulting from progress, and a growing social discontent with hierarchy and authority, the balance of power between professional and amateur design has shifted significantly in recent years, in a process which looks set to continue.