Some recommended reading

Materials and Design: The Art & Science of Material Selection in Product Design

Michael F. Ashby & Kara Johnson

Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals

Rob Thompson

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

William McDonough & Michael Braungart

Less and More – The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams

Klaus Klemp

WA: The Essence of Japanese Design

Rossella Menegazzo, Stefania Piotti & Kenya Hara

Materiology: The Creatives Guide to Materials and Technologies

Daniel Kula

The Material of Invention

Ezio Manzini