How Design Makes the World

What is good design?It’s a simple question that demands not-so-simple answers.To answer it in the most basic way, you have to clarify at least two more basic questions:* What is “good”?* And what is “design”?Only when you get down to the basics may you realize that, sometimes seemingly simple things can be very hard to explain—at least to do it successfully.Fortunately, Scott Berkun, the author universally recognized for explaining complex things (innovation, project management, public speaking, and remote work) in stylishly concise and universally comprehensible ways, decided to take on the task of explaining good design to everyone.And he has succeeded wonderfully.Here’s why.#1 CONCISE IN WORDS, RICH IN MEANINGIt’s short, in a “so good you feel the cool breeze in summer” way.While the twenty chapters of the book go a long way from explaining the concept of design to making a better world with design, each chapter is merely a few-minute read.Now here’s something you might have learned from a writing course: it’s very hard to be concise in words AND rich in meaning.Scott did that in this book, as well as in his previous books, particularly the equally wonderful “The Dance of the Possible: The Mostly Honest Completely Irreverent Guide to Creativity”.A fast reader might finish the book in under 60 minutes, while there’s a lot to taste, chew on, and think further.Reading this book, you learn something fast and frequent. And you keep thinking about the implications long after.#2 EXPLAIN BY EXAMPLE, ARGUE WITH EVIDENCEOut of twenty chapters, nineteen are topic based, each driven by stories.From the fire of Notre-Dame cathedral in chapter 1, to “alarm fatigue” in medical facilities in chapter 19, the author makes every one of his key points by immersing you in real histories and backing up with concrete evidence.It’s easy to understand and remember, and even easier to provoke your thoughts.#3 BROAD PERSPECTIVES, SHARP FOCUSFrom the universal idea of design to the societal impact of design solutions, the author covers a lot of topics in twenty short chapters.Every chapter builds up your mental muscle towards a deeper understanding of design and its practitioners.All that you need to see the world through the lens of design, and to act accordingly.IS THIS A BOOK FOR YOU?For Everyone:According to the author himself, this book helps you understand design, while it doesn’t teach you how to be a designer.It’s the first step to approach design, regardless of your bigger goal.As a designer I earned my understanding of design over the years, by making embarrassing mistakes and pissing off executives.I was on the verge of writing such a book myself.Now I don’t have to. I simply point to /How Design Makes the World/ for anyone in need.This is the book I absolutely wish I could have read long before my design career.For Designers and Stakeholders:This book is a very useful rhetorical weapon for designers, or anyone who wants to make a case for design.Dozens of memorable stories and thought-provoking examples throughout the book feed you the leverage to propose, argue, defend, or convince around the topic of design.WHAT’S NEXT?Chapter 20 gives you a check list to apply what you’ve learned in life, work, and everything in between.And more! The author has also created a website for all of us to take action, to continue our conversations and learnings.At the end of day, taking action with what we’ve learned is perhaps the biggest gift this book delivers.Five star and highly recommended!

My wife is the designer and she enjoyed it and then I read it and I enjoyed it. Lot's of great stuff and wonderful humorous touches.

Author Scott Berkun sent me an advanced copy and I will start my second read of “Design Makes the World” this evening. This time I’ll take notes. This is not a book about how to design things. It is a book about how to recognize design, think about design, what influences design and what restricts design. It is a book about how everyone can make design better. He offers examples and tells stories of how various designs came to be and why they are what they are. As always Scott is easy to read, not easy to put down. There are many pages of reference material at the end of the book, all well organized, all useful.This is a great book for students as young as Junior High School age for spring and summer reading. It might inspire them to great things.Note - Right now I imagine millions of designs are being noodled to help us with social distancing and designing a safer world in the time of the virus. The timing of this book is perfect except for the obstacles created by a shutdown during a launch.“Everyone Designs Something.” Enjoy the read!

I'm a user experience designer, and while I have an appreciation of design and the role it plays in the world, I feel that my exposure was mostly limited to software products. This book has widened my perspective on design and enriched my appreciation of it.What I love about Scott Berkun's writings is that he makes important ideas accessible to understand and practical to apply. I also enjoy his micro-humor: the wit he uses in explaining ideas and connecting them together. I've been a fan of Scott's work for a number of years and find myself sharing a lot of his interests (writing, public speaking, remote work, productivity/project management, religion, etc).I enjoyed the way this book offers insights about what makes good design, and I felt like it not only offered opinions and answers, but it evoked a lot of questions that I'm excited to explore further. This is the start of a much-needed conversation about design, not the end of it.Disclosure: I received a review copy before the launch of the book, but I also bought a copy. I have no financial interest in promoting Scott's work, but I'm really passionate about making good ideas more accessible and less intimidating.

am a big fan of Scott Berkun's writing and research when it comes to technology. His latest, "How Design Makes the World" is a fascinating examination of the approaches and impact of different design techniques and mindsets. He uses real-world examples and stories to bring comprehension to the design concepts and process which make the book enjoyable to the lay person.Not just focused on technology, there are plenty of civil and process examples from airports to bathrooms to toasters to elevator buttons to make you go Hmmm.I would highly recommend as an interesting look at life. Perhaps you can even apply the principles to reduce or eliminate those nagging routines and issues that bug you. If not, you might at least appreciate them through the eyes of the designer.A 5 star read - check it out.

What is good design?It’s a simple question that demands not-so-simple answers.To answer it in the most basic way, you have to clarify at least two more basic questions:* What is “good”?* And what is “design”?Only when you get down to the basics may you realize that, sometimes seemingly simple things can be very hard to explain—at least to do it successfully.Fortunately, Scott Berkun, the author universally recognized for explaining complex things (innovation, project management, public speaking, and remote work) in stylishly concise and universally comprehensible ways, decided to take on the task of explaining good design to everyone.And he has succeeded wonderfully.Here’s why.#1 CONCISE IN WORDS, RICH IN MEANINGIt’s short, in a “so good you feel the cool breeze in summer” way.While the twenty chapters of the book go a long way from explaining the concept of design to making a better world with design, each chapter is merely a few-minute read.Now here’s something you might have learned from a writing course: it’s very hard to be concise in words AND rich in meaning.Scott did that in this book, as well as in his previous books, particularly the equally wonderful “The Dance of the Possible: The Mostly Honest Completely Irreverent Guide to Creativity”.A fast reader might finish the book in under 60 minutes, while there’s a lot to taste, chew on, and think further.Reading this book, you learn something fast and frequent. And you keep thinking about the implications long after.#2 EXPLAIN BY EXAMPLE, ARGUE WITH EVIDENCEOut of twenty chapters, nineteen are topic based, each driven by stories.From the fire of Notre-Dame cathedral in chapter 1, to “alarm fatigue” in medical facilities in chapter 19, the author makes every one of his key points by immersing you in real histories and backing up with concrete evidence.It’s easy to understand and remember, and even easier to provoke your thoughts.#3 BROAD PERSPECTIVES, SHARP FOCUSFrom the universal idea of design to the societal impact of design solutions, the author covers a lot of topics in twenty short chapters.Every chapter builds up your mental muscle towards a deeper understanding of design and its practitioners.All that you need to see the world through the lens of design, and to act accordingly.IS THIS A BOOK FOR YOU?For Everyone:According to the author himself, this book helps you understand design, while it doesn’t teach you how to be a designer.It’s the first step to approach design, regardless of your bigger goal.As a designer I earned my understanding of design over the years, by making embarrassing mistakes and pissing off executives.I was on the verge of writing such a book myself.Now I don’t have to. I simply point to /How Design Makes the World/ for anyone in need.This is the book I absolutely wish I could have read long before my design career.For Designers and Stakeholders:This book is a very useful rhetorical weapon for designers, or anyone who wants to make a case for design.Dozens of memorable stories and thought-provoking examples throughout the book feed you the leverage to propose, argue, defend, or convince around the topic of design.WHAT’S NEXT?Chapter 20 gives you a check list to apply what you’ve learned in life, work, and everything in between.And more! The author has also created a website for all of us to take action, to continue our conversations and learnings.At the end of day, taking action with what we’ve learned is perhaps the biggest gift this book delivers.Five star and highly recommended!

This is a very readable book that explains why design matters and how you go about designing better products and services. While it is definitely of general interest, I read it to help me understand how design can be used in businesses to build better products and stronger companies. It delivered. Unlike many books about design I have read, the language and concepts were explained super-clearly and it helped articulate how design impacts the success of a business, for better or worse. It is concise and has lots of ideas and suggestions for ways that you can be more design aware. It also has some very well thought through lists of things that will help me both explain what design is and why it is something that everyone needs to consider across a business. There are also some lovely, thoughtful touches - a source list ranked by number of references in the book for example - that are both delightful and demonstrate the value of good design in everything.

This is a book about design. Funny enough it seems to be poorly designed. The book layout does not fit my Kindle screen and I had to return it. I am very interested in this book but...

It wasn't as interesting as expected. I wanted more examples, it talked more about principles

Only for people who never studied design. Full of general issues about design, under my expectation, to be honest. A bit too pricy for very light reading.