Design Is the Problem... and the Solution: The Future of Design Must Be Sustainable

by Nathan Shedroff

Sustainability and responsible environmental practices are on many people's mind, and designers are no exception. This title speaks optimistically about design and the designer's role and aligns social and environmental values with design's normal optimism and lust for change and progress.

Genres: Design, Sustainability, Nonfiction, Business

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2008

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for a class on sustainability and design thinking. This book contains a lot of important information and it's obvious Shedroff really knows his stuff but is an exceedingly dull read. It basically just reads like one long, rambling lecture of what he thinks designers should do to design for sustainability. It was not at all compelling to me as someone who doesn't identify as a designer and this review is pretty unfair just because I didn't want to read the book in the first place and frankly I'm just mad at my professor for setting it as a required text.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to read this book, especially after the chapter that described a good dozen systems. It was numbing, and I couldn't find a way to apply it to my work, which I find really unfortunate.

[lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very very long report disguised as a book. If you're already aware that true sustainability takes in consideration the whole cycle of a product's life and is practically impossible to measure, then the first part is gonna be very repetitive.
When it comes to action points and examples from the industry, the book tends to forget the human factor attached to every product assembly line. Praising Apple for it's product design marvels without mentioning the outsourced manufacturing, which gains on labor exploitation, seems naive at best.

[Michael Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro for understanding sustainable design. I'd purchase a hardcopy to keep as a reference.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

It reads like a textbook, because it probably is. Author is a professor in sustainability. If you are looking for a general read on sustainable design, this is not the book for you--it is exceedingly comprehensive. But if you want exceedingly comprehensive... now you know where to look.

[cecil mariani]

a handbook for sustainability design

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

+Unterhaltsam
+Sehr breiter Fokus, wirft einige interessante (und berechtigte!) Fragen auf

-Schlecht übertragbar auf Interface Design