7 books that made me think differently about design, that weren’t about design
Do you also love the feeling that you get when reading and you make a connection to something else you read, saw or heard? It’s kind of like an Aha! or lightbulb moment, but not quite. It appears that there’s actually science behind that — schema theory. I’m not going to go into it but you can get the gist from this Wikipedia page.
These moments remind me of why I read. I’ve often thought about keeping an on-going list of the threads that run throughout the ranging books and articles I’ve read just to document the growing web of connections. This is also why I like to read fiction and non-fiction (ideally in equal amounts).
Since I haven’t started this list of links, I had to go back through my bookshelves to remind myself of books I’ve read that made me think differently about design, that weren’t about design. Maybe you’ll find a book that looks interesting to you or maybe you won’t, but the point (once again) is that design is everywhere. It may be easier for some to point out than others, but it’s there. Design is saying hey, hoping one day enough people will hear them. Don’t forget we are Living in a Designed World.
Before I get started, I will say a few of these books may border the Design genre, but hasn’t that delineation already been blurred? I hope after reviewing this list you’ll remember to keep your eye out for Design.
1. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
By: Richard Rothstein
2. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
By: Jenny Odell
3. The Whale and the Reactor: A Search for Limits in an Age of High Technology
By: Langdon Winner
4. The Architecture of Happiness
By: Alain de Botton
5. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
By: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
6. Braiding Sweetgrass
By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
7. Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
By: Sherry Turkle
I’d love to know if you’ve had a similar experience with other books! Always looking to add books to my shelf, especially design-related. Also, if you’re interested in purchasing any of these books, don’t forget to support your local independent bookstores.
