The Bigger Picture: Design – Women – Society

Women have made decisive contributions to the development of modern design, whether as designers of furniture, fashion, graphics or industrial products, or as architects, entrepreneurs or – just as importantly – as university teachers. Nevertheless, for many years their achievements were not adequately recognized, and a glance at the history of design shows that it is marked by stereotypical beliefs and traditional role models. Nowadays, exhibitions throughout the world are putting women’s creative work under the spotlight and recounting the history of design in a fresh way. At the same time, museums are critically reappraising their own collection practices.