WRITING HOME

Vision, in all its meanings, lies at the heart of two recent design books -- one new, one reissued.

In the lavishly illustrated “Paul Tuttle Designs” (University Art Museum, UC Santa Barbara, $49.95), author Marla C. Berns examines the career and legacy of the Santa Barbara-based designer.

Having been expelled from the Art Center School in L.A. for lack of formal training and drafting skills, Tuttle nevertheless went on to apprentice with architects Welton Beckett and Thornton Ladd. He also interacted with designers such as Charles Eames and Fred Usher, carefully studying their work.

Tuttle used the ideas from this unorthodox education to design his own houses and furniture. He was not content with easy solutions, making minute modifications to each piece of furniture he crafted, Berns writes. For his signature “Z” chair, he created the prototype in 1964 but didn’t proclaim the design finished until he released his 1995 version, seven years before his death.

Among Tuttle’s influences was George Nelson, creator of some of the mid-20th century’s iconic pieces, including the “marshmallow” sofa and the “ball” clock.

His provocative 1977 book “How to See: A Guide to Reading Our Man-Made Environment” ($29.95) has been reissued by the home furnishings company Design Within Reach.

The book, which contains more than 50 essays and hundreds of photographs -- mostly from Nelson’s personal archives -- reveals the late designer as an environmentalist.

The real trouble, according to Nelson, was that people couldn’t see the underlying problems in the environment, even when they were looking right at them.

By accurately visualizing the problems, Nelson wrote, people could visualize the solutions.

-- Ana Cantu