The Design Way, second edition Intentional Change in an Unpredictable World [Paperback]

A book that lays out the fundamental concepts of design culture and outlines a design-driven way to approach the world.

Humans did not discover firethey designed it. Design is not defined by software programs, blueprints, or font choice. When we create new thingstechnologies, organizations, processes, systems, environments, ways of thinkingwe engage in design. With this expansive view of design as their premise, in The Design Way Harold Nelson and Erik Stolterman make the case for design as its own culture of inquiry and action. They offer not a recipe for design practice or theorizing but a formulation of design culture's fundamental core of ideas. These ideaswhich form "the design way"are applicable to an infinite variety of design domains, from such traditional fields as architecture and graphic design to such nontraditional design areas as organizational, educational, interaction, and healthcare design.

The text of this second edition is accompanied by new detailed images, "schemas" that visualize, conceptualize, and structure the authors' understanding of design inquiry. The text itself has been revised and expanded throughout, in part in response to reader feedback.

The first edition of The Design Way changed how I conduct my work in education; the second edition is even stronger. Far from a mere list of 'how to's.' it helps develop a way of seeing, thinking, understanding, and acting with reciprocity that helps people become more client-centered, creative, and adaptive to others' ever-changing environments. I highly recommend this book and thank the authors for their outstanding work.

The second edition of The Design Way is the most useful and enjoyable book on design that I have yet read. It digs very deep into the intellectual and historical foundations of design thought inlw