John Heskett's research is focused on the theme of how design creates (and not just adds) economic value and the role this has on design policy for governments and corporations. Other areas of interest are the relationship between design and innovation and the problems of design in global markets.

Heskett is professor of design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and the author of Industrial Design (1980). In 2002 he published Toothpicks and Logos: Design in Everyday Life (2002). He is currently working on a major history of design for Phaidon Press and also contributes articles, essays and reviews to numerous magazines, anthologies and catalogues.