Design Observer Asks: What Book Made You a Better Designer?

Design Observer surveyed its community on a single question: what book made you a better designer? Responses include: Giorgia Lupi (Pentagram partner) cites Bruno Munari's "Design as Art" for its playful, systematic vision; Alix Pollack (Catalyst) credits Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" for teaching that change happens slowly then all at once; Ari Melenciano (artist, Afrotectopia founder, NYU professor) praises Julia Watson's "Lo—TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism" for eco-friendly, Earth-conscious solutions; Jonsara Ruth (Parsons Healthy Materials Lab co-founder) returns to Soetsu Yanagi's "The Unknown Craftsman" for its meditation on beauty and craft; Ethan Marcotte (web designer who coined "responsive web design") wishes he'd read Ursula Franklin's "The Real World of Technology" earlier for its view of technology as a social force; Rachael Dietkus (Social Workers Who Design founder) found Edward de Bono's "Children Solve Problems" (1972) secondhand, calling it an introduction to public service design; Jamer Hunt (New School program director) chooses Joan Didion's essay "Why I Write" for its reminder that making precedes understanding; Dionna Dorsey (The Creative Ladder CEO) insists on Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way"; Dave Snyder (Siberia partner) credits Michael Bierut's "Looking Closer" series for shifting his view on design criticism.