Writer: Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler, Assistant Professor of Design History, Purdue University

Projects: Open Plan: A Design History of the American Office (Bloomsbury, 2021), a book on office design in the US from the 1960s through the 1990s; “If the Chair Fits: Sexism in Office Furniture Design”; and “Diversionary Tactics at Work: Making Meaning through Misuse,” her contribution to Design History Beyond the Canon (Bloomsbury, 2019).

How we work together: Since June of 2017, Jennifer and I have consulted once a month on her book chapter drafts and related articles, essays, and talks. She wrote her book Open Plan from scratch, but building on research she did for her dissertation.