Design For A Better Future

The world we live in is increasingly complex. It throws up complex problems. This book is about tackling them. At ThinkPlace, we’ve pioneered the application of design thinking to complex challenges like climate change, family violence and global malnutrition. We work globally with governments, organisations and communities using a methodology – the Design SystemTM outlined in this book – that has been developed over more than a decade. We bring together different voices and help them to create better futures. If you’re one of those voices, or would like to be, this book is for you. It’s part roadmap, part instruction manual, but mostly it’s a clarion call for a new way of doing things: tackling the world’s biggest problems in a way that brings people together and produces positive, lasting change.

The world we live in is increasingly complex. It throws up complex problems. This book is about tackling them. At ThinkPlace, we’ve pioneered the application of design thinking to complex challenges like climate change, family violence and global malnutrition. We work globally with governments, organisations and communities using a methodology – the Design SystemTM outlined in this book – that has been developed over more than a decade. We bring together different voices and help them to create better futures. If you’re one of those voices, or would like to be, this book is for you. It’s part roadmap, part instruction manual, but mostly it’s a clarion call for a new way of doing things: tackling the world’s biggest problems in a way that brings people together and produces positive, lasting change.

Universal Design is the term used to describe the design of products and environments which can be used by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. It is not a euphemism for ‘designs for people with a disability’, but really is about designing to include all people, regardless of their age, ability, cultural background or status in life. However it remains the case that many designers and developers fail to understand the need for universal design and lack the skills needed to implement it. This book presents papers from the 3rd International Conference on Universal Design (UD 2016), held in York, UK, in August 2016. The theme of the conference was: learning from the past, designing for the future, and it aimed to bring together policymakers, practitioners and researchers interested in the different strands of universal design to exchange ideas and best practice, review some of the developments in universal design from the last 20 years, and formulate strategies for taking the concept of universal design forward into the future. The book is divided into two sections. Section 1: About Universal Design, and Section 2: Universal Design In Practice. The book will be of interest to all those whose work involves design, from the built environment and tangible products to communication, services and systems.

In The Design of Future Things, best-selling author Donald A. Norman presents a revealing examination of smart technology, from smooth-talking GPS units to cantankerous refrigerators. Exploring the links between design and human psychology, he offers a consumer-oriented theory of natural human-machine interaction that can be put into practice by the engineers and industrial designers of tomorrow's thinking machines. A fascinating look at the perils and promise of the intelligent objects of the future, The Design of Future Things is a must-read for anyone interested in the dawn of a new era in technology.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage • “Life has questions. They have answers.” —The New York Times Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.

This book will show you how to break through that self-imposed ceiling. It will challenge you to Take Command of your life by: 1. Awakening you to your beliefs and stories 2. Disrupting your patterns and behaviors 3. Designing a future you can't wait to live into

When Designing Your Life was published in 2016, Stanford’s Bill Burnett and Dave Evans taught readers how to use design thinking to build meaningful, fulfilling lives (“Life has questions. They have answers.” –The New York Times). The book struck a chord, becoming an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Now, in DESIGNING YOUR WORK LIFE: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness at Work they apply that transformative thinking to the place we spend more time than anywhere else: work. DESIGNING YOUR WORK LIFE teaches readers how to create the job they want—without necessarily leaving the job they already have. “Increasingly, it’s up to workers to define their own happiness and success in this ever-moving landscape,” they write, and chapter by chapter, they demonstrate how to build positive change, wherever you are in your career. Whether you want to stay in your job and make it a more meaningful experience, or if you decide it’s time to move on, Evans and Burnett show you how to visualize and build a work-life that is productive, engaged, meaningful, and more fun.

Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli, two of the world's most influential design figures, meet the visionary designers whose innovations and ingenuity give us hope for the future by redesigning and reconstructing our lives, enabling us to thrive Design Emergency tells the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists, who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes - Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology - Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.