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Essays
11.14.11: Laura Weiss
Better Service Through ConsultmanshipOn a neglected area of design education
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10.10.11: Ramsey Ford
Expert Thinking About Global AidSuggestions for a crash course in development economics for social designers
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09.26.11: John Thackara
5% Health: The Risk of Catabolic Collapse and Peak Fat in Modern Health SystemsThe writer, at Mayo Clinic's "Transform" conference, asks: Are high-end medical systems the best place to focus design's creative capacity?
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09.05.11: John Thackara
Iceland: Eaten Alive, or Growing to Live?Exploding the myth of Iceland's "green" energy — with alternative suggestions
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08.30.11: Phil Patton
The Green DashboardThe design of instrument panels reflects the new technologies of hybrid and electric vehicles
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08.23.11: An Xiao Mina
90 Years of Chinese Communism: A Multimedia CelebrationHow the Chinese Communist Party designed its 90th anniversary commemorations
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08.01.11: Barbara Flanagan
The Dissing of Summer LawnsHow one Californian was forced (and inspired) to exchange sod for low-water plants.
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07.28.11: Laura Weiss
What We Can Learn from Project RunwayAs 'Project Runway' launches its 9th season, a designer muses on what she's learned.
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07.22.11: John Thackara
Ten Ways to Redesign Design CompetitionsHow to improve design competitions aimed at social good.
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07.08.11: Jac sm Kee
The Color YellowMalaysians supporting election reform attach new meaning to a national color, yellow.
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07.05.11: Laura Weiss
Structured for CreativityHow to scale a nonprofit organization so it is optimized for impact.
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06.30.11: John Thackara
How to Make Systems Thinking SexyJohn Thackara's 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge keynote address.
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06.15.11: Barbara Flanagan
Epiphany of an Ocean SwimmerEssay on in the insights that come with immersion in the deep, cold sea.
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05.27.11: By Alexia
My Studio H ExperienceAdventures in design crits: A high school junior recounts her Studio H year working with onerous classmates and power tools.
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04.11.11: Phil Hamlett, Gaby Brink and Nathalie Destandau
The Living PrinciplesLiving Principles is a new framework that focuses on the sustainable efforts of our design communities.
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04.04.11: Phil Patton
On the Shoulders of RebelsOn the rocket-propelled grenade: one of the most successful designs on the planet.
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03.25.11: Laura Weiss
Why We're All DesignersThoughts on design from Taproot Foundation's VP of Innovation.
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02.03.11: John Thackara
Renewable Energy: Salvation or Snake Oil?Critique of The Energy Report published by the World Wildlife Fund, which asserts that the world's energy needs could be met by alternative sources.
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01.13.11: Julie Lasky
Bushpunk and the Future of AfricaWhy Maker Faire Africa is a model for economic development
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01.12.11: John Thackara
The Gram Junkies: In Transportation Design the Key Issue Is Not Speed, but WeightIn the matter of mobility and modern transportation we all need to become gram junkies.
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12.02.10: John Thackara
Green Issues in Communication DesignWhy do companies get environmental awards for polluting less, even though they are still polluting?
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11.23.10: Phil Patton
Keith Richards and His Amazing Portable Cassette RecorderWith the recent announcement that Sony has discontinued the Walkman, Phil Patton meditates on the powerful influence of portable music technology.
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11.08.10: John Thackara
A Tale of Two TrainsHigh-speed transportation systems in Norway vs. India: One step forward? Or two steps back?
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10.06.10: Maria Popova
Malcolm Gladwell Is #WrongResponse to Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker magazine essay, "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted."
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10.04.10: Phil Patton
The Meek Shall Inherit the MarketPhil Patton writes in praise of frugal engineering, and not just for developing markets.
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09.29.10: John Waters
Design Ethos: A Bugle of ChangeEssay endorsing a new definition of graphic design practice.
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08.26.10: Kate Howe
The Insignificance of a Logo (Even When Significant)On the futility of designing the symbol for a controversial religious organization.
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08.23.10: Ramsey Ford
What Social Entrepreneurship Can Teach Social DesignEssay on adapting principles of social entrepreneurship to social design.
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08.16.10: Ashish Nangia
The Town That Corbusier BuiltOn the conflict between architectural appreciation and security in Chandigarh, India.
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08.02.10: Jen Roos
Cup of HeroesThoughts on design, sports, and the author's return to a South African township during the World Cup.
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08.02.10: John Thackara
Could Green Energy Kill the Desert?Large scale wind power might not be as green as you think.
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07.29.10: Maria Popova
The Language of Design ImperialismEssay on the flawed language used to describe humanitarian design efforts and what it indicates.
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07.15.10: Robert Fabricant
In Defense of Design ImperialismWeighing in on a controversy, frog design's Robert Fabricant supports global design interventions.
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07.12.10: Constantin Boym
Teaching in a Time of UncertaintyMeditation on the doubt creeping into today's design practice.
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06.17.10: Krista Donaldson
The Real Cost of FreeDo you give the poor farmer a pump if you know it will transform her crops and move her family from just scraping by into the middle class? It’s hard to say no, isn’t it? But you should.
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05.31.10: John Thackara
Whole, Whole on the RangeAs a juror on the 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge, John Thackara reviews the highlight.
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05.26.10: John Thackara
What Should Design Critics Write About?Address to MFA students in the School of Visual Arts' Design Criticism program, April 30, 2010.
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05.24.10: Ken Botnick and Ira Raja
The Subtle Technology of Indian ArtisanshipHow India's craftsmen offer lessons in design thinking.
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03.29.10: Azby Brown
Bent by the SunWhat a longtime American-born resident of Japan has learned about his adopted country's ancient practice of sustainability.
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02.22.10: Justin Kemerling
The Volunteer Design Chronicles (Lincoln, NE)Community-focused pro-bono design activities in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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01.07.10: Karrie Jacobs
A President and His Dog, Part 2Karrie Jacobs analyzes the Obama administration's website.
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12.04.09: Jane Withers
In Praise of ShadowsEssay adapted from "In Praise of Shadows: New European Lighting Design," presented at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, September 19–October 18, 2009.
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11.09.09: Mark Dery
Dawn of the Dead MallMark Dery surveys the landscape of failing malls and speculates about the future means and venues of mass consumption.
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10.19.09: Fred Ritchin
Exposure TimeExcerpt from After Photography by Fred Ritchin on technology's potential to make the photographic image less controlling and more revealing.
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10.13.09: Andy Chen
The Value of EmpathyAndy Chen responds to the debate between David Stairs and Valerie Casey on the recent surge of social design activity.
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09.09.09: William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer
The Doers ClubDesign prodigy William Kamkwamba recalls building a windmill to generate electricity for his village in Malawi, Africa.
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08.23.09: Michael Scharf
Rainfall Is Likely to OccurThe bourgeois quarters have their own hybrid neo-Tibeto-Hokkaido-Kashmiri-Brit architecture — tin-roof Tudors with peaks — yet "paddy" (i.e., rice) is still grown within the city limits, if in just a few spots.
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08.11.09: John Thackara
Fish Systems and DesignThough gloomy predictions say we could see the end of seafood by 2048, several initiatives are rethinking the way we acquire fish.
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07.29.09: John Thackara
From Philanthrocapitalism to An Eco-Social Economy"Design for social impact" is a very troubling phrase.
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07.05.09: William Drenttel
Report from Hale County, AlabamaGreensboro Alabama is a city of contrasts, and a place where new design thinking is revealing itself in a surprising number of ways. An occasional report from Winterhouse Institute on its Design for Social Impact & Innovation Project.
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07.01.09: John Thackara
The Internet of ThingsShould we be sprinkling technological devices across the planet like dust?
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05.27.09: John Thackara
Make Sense, Not StuffJohn Thackara presents a three-step plan to connect design schools to the green economy.
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05.08.09: John Thackara
Doctors with iPhonesThe neighborhood doctor is back — and this time, he has an iPhone.
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02.26.09: John Thackara
The Innovator Next DoorWhether it's narrowly defining innovation as technology, or imposing solutions on communities, John Thackara discusses the mistakes made by large companies.
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08.04.08: John Thackara
Alternative Trade Networks and the Coffee SystemAlterative trade networks are emerging in the coffee industry, attempting to eliminate the middle man.
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03.15.08: John Thackara
From MySpace to Fake SpaceTraveling without moving has become an economic and environmental imperative. Matter is more expensive than energy; energy than information; it is cheaper to move information, than people or things. So what is to stop us moving less and and telecommunicating more?
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01.05.07: John Thackara
Global Place — Or is it a Hat?We must view the world with a new slant and take advantage of a huge design opportunity to create sustainable structures for the future.
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