0 of 1 copy available
The world is a mess. Our dire predicament, from collapsing social structures to the climate crisis, has been millennia in the making and can be traced back to the erroneous belief that the earth’s resources are infinite. The key to change, says Don Norman, is human behavior, covered in the book’s three major themes: meaning, sustainability, and humanity-centeredness. Emphasize quality of life, not monetary rewards; restructure how we live to better protect the environment; and focus on all of humanity. Design for a Better World presents an eye-opening diagnosis of where we’ve gone wrong and a clear prescription for making things better.
Norman proposes a new way of thinking, one that recognizes our place in a complex global system where even simple behaviors affect the entire world. He identifies the economic metrics that contribute to the harmful effects of commerce and manufacturing and proposes a recalibration of what we consider important in life. His experience as both a scientist and business executive gives him the perspective to show how to make these changes while maintaining a thriving economy. Let the change begin with this book before it’s too late
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
March 21, 2023 -
Formats
-
Kindle Book
-
OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780262373845
-
EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780262373845
- File size: 1677 KB
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
February 1, 2023
Norman (founding dir., Design Lab, Univ. of California--San Diego; Living with Complexity) looks out on a world beset by climate change, inequality, and unconscionable waste. Nonetheless, he is optimistic. He believes that humans can change what they've created. Design is the key, for it can mobilize systems to address the complex interface that technologies, policies, and people have. However, the broad definition of design that this book deploys--"any deliberate decision to modify the way some activity is done"--muddles and weakens the claims that people can make their lives meaningful, sustainable, and humanity-centered when they're supported by a multidisciplinary, multifaceted design anchored in psychology and collaborative with inquisitive non-designers. And, despite numerous examples, his argument and recommendations are often cast in quite general terms, such as the call for society to change everything, thus, weakly tethered to any real-world context. Norman's advice consists mainly of good but paper-thin intentions with his most interesting proposals, such as that for a circular economy, scattered across a sprawling, meandering text. VERDICT This is a book for a very patient reader, one willing to accept design as the most fundamental of human activities and good design as the panacea for society's ills.--Robert Beauregard
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-