What role does design have in solving the world’s biggest problems? What can designers add? Some would say that designers played a role in getting us into our current mess. Can they also get us out of it? How can we design solutions for problems in complex systems that are evolving, emerging, and changing?

To answer these questions, we talked with Don Norman about his book, Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered. In his book, Don 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.

Don Norman is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science and Psychology and founding director of the Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego from which he has retired twice. Don is also retired from and holds the emeritus title from Northwestern University, the Nielsen Norman Group and a few other organizations. He was an Apple Vice President, has been an advisor and board member for numerous companies, and has three honorary degrees. His numerous books have been translated into over 20 languages, including The Design of Everyday Things and Living with Complexity.

It was a true pleasure to talk with Don, someone who we have read and followed for decades. His work is central to much of today’s design practices and we loved talking with him about where he hopes design may take us.

Learn more about Don Norman.

Learn more about Don’s book Design for a Better World.

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Don Norman: Design for a Better World

Stay Human, from the Artificiality Institute