“This book is a must read for all with an interest in the future of design.”
- Jim Spohrer, PhD, Retired Industry executive, International Society of Service Innovation Professionals
“The world is in need of better design, and Kozma’s book shows us how to get there.”
- Mark Guzdial, Director, Program in Computing for the Arts and Sciences, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering, University of Michigan
Design services, products, experiences, and places that transform the world for the better
Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values presents an insightful and hands-on discussion of design as a profoundly human activity and challenges us all to use design to transform the world for the better. The book explains how and why the design industry lost its way, and how to re-ignite the idealism that once made it a force for good.
Make the World a Better Place describes a set of moral principles, based on our shared humanity, that can be used to create “good” designs: designs that reduce harm, increase well-being, advance knowledge, promote equality, address injustice, and build supportive, compassionate relationships and communities.
Dr. Kozma applies philosophy, psychology, sociology, and history to the world of design, including:
- Examples and case studies of designs - both good and bad
- Seven principles of good design, based on the impact designs have on people
- An approach to design as a “moral dialog among co-creators,” in which the seven principles can be applied to intentionally improve the world
- Comprehensive explorations of a person-resource-activity model that explains how technology shapes designs
- Detailed analyses of the strengths and pitfalls of five design traditions, which include the scientific, technical-analytic, human-centered, aesthetic, and social movement traditions
Table of Contents
Part I A World by Design 1
1 Moral Imperative 3
To Design Is Human 4
Moral Responsibility of Designers 5
The Designed World 6
The best of times 7
The worst of times 9
How Has Design Failed Us? 10
Designs and users fail 11
The design process fails us 11
Designers fail us 12
Systems fail us 12
Moral Decisions and Their Consequences 13
Case Study: Boeing 737 MAX 8 14
Your Designs Might Save Us 16
References 17
2 What Is Design? 25
Everyday Design 25
Everyday Designers 26
Design as a Process 27
Purpose 28
Process 29
Outcomes 29
Impact 30
Good Designs versus Good Impacts 31
Everyday Designs and Making the World Better 32
Case Study: Chef Andrés and the World Central Kitchen 33
Designs Big, Small, and Not at All 36
References 38
3 Moral Foundations for Designing a Better World 41
The Philosophers and “The Good” 42
The Good 42
Moral Foundations for Good Design 43
Happiness not harm 43
Knowledge, reasoning, and agency 47
Equality and Justice 49
The social nature of humans 51
Self and Others 53
Self- interest 53
Rational egoism 54
The Philosophes and concern for others 55
References 57
4 Design within a System 59
Systems: Simple, Complex, and Complex Adaptive 60
Simple and complex systems 60
Complex adaptive systems 61
The Dynamics of Complex Adaptive Human Systems 62
Self-interest, reciprocity, and trust 62
Social system as a normative culture of trust and caring 65
Design to Make the System Work 65
Designs at the micro level 66
Designs at the macro level 67
Designs at the community level 68
Elinor Ostrom and Design for the Common Good 69
Case Study: Baton Rouge and “Imagine Plank Road” 69
The Appropriate Level of Complexity 73
References 74
5 Technology, Activity, and Culture 77
How to Think about Technology 78
Technology at the Micro Level: Affordances and Activity 78
Person-resource-activity model 79
Affordances and activity in the outer environment 79
Affordances and changing the inner environment 81
Embedded technology 82
Technology at the Macro Level: Culture and Impact 82
Moral Impacts of Technology and Our Designs 84
Artificial intelligence and human well-being 85
Social media, harm, and community 86
Web 3.0 and the future of community 90
CRISPR and the future of humanity 92
The moral challenge of technology 93
References 93
Part II Our Design Traditions 99
6 The Scientific Tradition 101
Design Traditions 101
Roots of the Scientific Revolution 102
Early Western science 102
The Scientific Revolution 104
Characteristics of the Scientific Tradition 104
Purpose 105
Process 106
Outcomes 107
Impact 108
Case Study: Mendelian Genetics 108
Systemic Implications of the Scientific Tradition 112
Moral Implications of the Scientific Tradition 112
References 114
7 The Technical- Analytic Tradition 117
Roots in the Industrial Revolution 117
Emergence of the Technical-Analytic Tradition 118
Maximizing efficiency 118
The consumer economy 119
Scientific research and transformative innovations 119
Characteristics of the Technical-Analytic Tradition 120
Purpose 120
Process 121
Outcomes 122
Impact 122
Case Study: Ford versus Ferrari 123
Systemic Implications of the Technical-Analytic Tradition 127
Moral Implications of the Technological-Analytic Tradition 128
References 129
8 The Human-Centered Tradition 133
Roots in the Technical-Analytic Tradition 133
Human-centered design and design thinking 134
Characteristics of the Human-Centered Approach 134
Purpose 134
Process 134
Outcomes 135
Impact 136
Case Study: Alight, Kuja Kuja, and IDEO.Org 136
Systemic Implications of the Human-Centered Approach 140
Moral Implications of the Human-Centered Approach 142
References 143
9 The Aesthetic Tradition 145
Roots in Ancient Human Expression 145
Art, design, and industry 146
Characteristics of the Aesthetic Approach 146
Purpose 147
Process 147
Outcomes 149
Impact 149
Case Study: Starry Night 149
Systemic Implications of the Aesthetic Tradition 154
Moral Implications of the Aesthetic Tradition 155
References 157
10 The Community Organization and Social Movement Tradition 159
Roots in Systemic Harm 159
The Labor Movement 159
The Civil Rights Movement 160
The Women’s Movement 161
The Environmental Movement 161
The Gay Rights Movement 162
Characteristics of the Social Movement Tradition 163
Purpose 163
Process 163
Outcomes 166
Impact 166
Case Study: Black Lives Matter (BLM) 167
Systemic Implications of the Community Organization and Social Movement Tradition 172
Moral Implications of the Community Organization and Social Movement Tradition 172
Summary of Design Traditions 173
References 174
Part III Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values 177
11 Design with Passion and Purpose 179
Passion 179
Happiness 180
Empathy and compassion 180
Anger and moral outrage 180
From moral motivations to moral plans 181
Purpose 183
Purpose and design 184
Moral Reasoning and Moral Dialog 185
Moral reasoning 186
The social nature of morality 187
From moral dialog to collective action 188
Design as a Moral Dialog among Co-Creators 189
Be grounded in your own moral foundation 189
Scaffold moral discussions 190
Use these discussions to co-create designs 190
Case Study: Burning Man and Radical Inclusion 191
New Roles for Designers 196
Facilitator 196
Mentor 197
Mediator 197
Broker 197
Creating a Collaborative Culture of Moral Design 198
References 198
12 Reduce Harm and Increase Happiness 203
Values 203
Cause No Harm 203
Reduce Harm 205
Case Study: WestGate Water 206
Increase Happiness 209
Happiness as pleasure 209
Happiness as well-being 210
Happy cultures 212
Designing for Happiness 213
Case Study: Happy Cities 215
References 219
13 Advance Knowledge, Reasoning, and Agency 223
Knowledge at the Micro Level 224
Knowledge in the head 224
Knowledge in the environment 224
Knowledge and how to acquire it 225
Reasoning: What We Do with Knowledge 226
Explain 226
Make decisions and solve problems 227
Create, innovate, and design 227
The limits of knowledge and reasoning 228
Agency: How Knowledge Empowers Us 229
Metacognition 229
Self-regulated learning 230
Designing for Knowledge and Agency at the Micro Level 231
Knowledge and Institutions at the Macro Level 232
Schools and education 233
Learning in Communities 235
Knowledge Building Communities (KBCs) 235
Communities of practice (CoP) 235
Case Study: High Tech High 236
References 240
14 Promote Equality and Address Injustice 243
Equality 243
Equality by design 244
Inequality by Design 244
Native Americans 244
Enslaved Africans 246
Merit and Its Tyranny 248
Merit and morality 249
The compounding effect of inequality 250
Justice 251
What is just? 251
Equality and justice for all 253
A just society 254
Designs that Promote Equality and Address Injustice 256
Case Study: The City of Austin and Reimagining Public Safety 257
Moral Discourse to Promote Equality and Address Injustice 261
References 261
15 Build Supportive Relationships and Communities 267
Moral and Survival Foundations of Relationships 267
Relationships and Well-Being: The Micro Level 268
Emotions and relationships 268
Family 269
Married couples 270
Friends 270
Development of relationships over time 271
Relationships at the Community Level 271
Our towns, our community 272
Communities and collective action 273
Relationships at the Macro Level 274
Relationships in cities 274
Trust and social capital 275
Social capital in nations 276
Loss of Relationships and Trust 276
Loss of friends 276
Loss of interpersonal trust 277
Loss of institutional trust 277
Loss of trust and social media 278
Case Study: Braver Angels 279
Designing for Relationships and Community 282
Designs to support relationships 282
Designs to repair relationships 283
Designs to support collective action and build communities 283
References 284
Part IV Redesigning the System 289
16 The Economy, Government, and Design 291
Tragedy of the Commons 291
The Economy and Self-Interest 292
The neoliberal turn 292
Neoliberalism gets played out 294
The social impact of pure self-interest 295
Business and the loss of trust 296
The Economy and Government Control 296
Keynesian economics and government policy 296
Government control gets played out 297
The social impact of a government-controlled economy 298
Government and Collective Action 299
Public good as the purpose of government 299
Government as an institution for collective action 300
Structural limits of collective action through government 300
Political parties and collective action 301
America compromised: Corruption of the design 301
Self-interest and identity politics 302
Government and the loss of trust 303
Designs to Resolve the Tragedy 303
Business and the common good 304
Government and the common good 304
Community and the common good 306
Everyday designs and the invisible hands of a moral society 306
References 308
17 Where Do We Go from Here? 313
Which of Two Roads? 313
The road less traveled 313
The road more likely? 318
Finding a Home or Building One 322
Design as a career 322
Design where you work 323
Volunteer your time 325
Create your own design space 326
Creating a Culture of Everyday Design for a Better World 327
References 329
Index 341
