Jonathan M Woodham has written more than 180 books, journal articles, book chapters and exhibition catalogue essays on design and its histories, a significant number of which have involved contemporary practices and furniture design. He has also been active as a curator and exhibition planner since the 1980’s.
His most widely known book, Twentieth Century Design, was published by Oxford University Press in 1997 and has sold almost 60,000 English language volumes globally as well as substantial numbers of Chinese and Korean language editions. This text has been widely used as a course reader in leading universities and schools of art and design across five continents and has a projected readership of more than 500,000.
Since becoming Emeritus Professor of Design History at the University of Brighton in 2017, Jonathan M Woodham has continued his work as an independent researcher, writer, speaker and consultant on design, design history and design educational practices. He has delivered more than forty keynote addresses in thirty-three countries globally, most recently in October 2025 for the ICDHS 14 Conference in New Delhi, India, entitled ‘Challenges for the history of design in a global context.’ He has also been a peer reviewer for national and international research councils in the UK, Europe, and North America and contributed to shaping design scholarship and writing through board membership of leading design journals including the Journal of Design History and Design Issues and key roles in a range of relevant societies, research councils and professional organisations.
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