Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Our globalised world is encountering problems on an unprecedented scale. Many of the issues we face as societies extend beyond the borders of our nations. Phenomena such as terrorism, climate change, immigration, cybercrime and poverty can no longer be understood without considering the complex socio-technical systems that support our way of living. It is widely acknowledged that to contend with any of the pressing issues of our time, we have to substantially adapt our lifestyles. To adequately counteract the problems of our time, we need interventions that help us actually adopt the behaviours that lead us toward a more sustainable and ethically just future. In Designing for Society , Nynke Tromp and Paul Hekkert provide a hands-on tool for design professionals and students who wish to use design to counteract social issues. Viewing the artefact as a unique means of facilitating behavioural change to realise social impact, this book goes beyond the current trend of applying design thinking to enhancing public services, and beyond the idea of the designer as a facilitator of localised social change.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This small, insightful book delves into a complex issue: how designers can create designs that counteract contemporary world problems. Design thinking is celebrated as a problem-solving tool. Asserting the connection of products of design with social issues encountered in society, Tromp and Hekkert (both, Delft Univ. of Technology, Amsterdam) propose a society-centered design practice that considers the welfare of future generations with new vision and assessment of design outcomes based on collective concerns versus concerns typically considered to be those of the individual users. The authors highlight design practices for the social implications of products and services. Case studies explore how design can work to mitigate such problems as obesity and suppression based on gender; encourage engagement in local communities; and alter peoples' behavior for the better. The book includes 40 excellent color plates and 12 diagrammatic illustrations linking the network of social issues with inherent causes. Offering a significant analysis of the social implications of design and the range of products and services that stimulate human behavior, this is a valuable addition to the literature on design of all varieties. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals. --S. Dorothea Scott-Fundling, Savannah College of Art and Design