In The Power of Design, Farson asserts a deeply engaging premise: Design can transform the world. It can put right what is wrong in our communities. It can address society's most intractable ills. Properly mobilized, he argues, design could make a whopping impact on deep-rooted dilemmas such as the ravages of poverty, the miserable state of the American education system, and the failure of criminal justice. It could do nothing short of move mountains. But the road to metadesign - a transcendent level of design that seeks to rectify fundamental problems by addressing the needs of all people - is no cake walk. Farson describes the many ways that designers of all types hold themselves back from serving society in meaningful ways. He exposes the evils of protectionism by professional societies, the ruinous results of commoditization, and the insidious nature of awards, for example. In the end, Farson leaves us with a powerful message of hope. If we have the courage to embrace design's unrealized potential, there appears to be no limit to the role it can play in the future of civilization.
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A provocative tour de force re-imaging what design could be as the tool for helping us grapple with the deeply systemic and institutional challenges in our rapidly changing world. This book is a must-read not only for designers and their students but for anyone concerned with our collective future. A stunning and powerful book. --John Seely Brown, Former Chief Scientist of Xerox and Director of its Palo Alto Research Center, and Co-author, The Social Life of Information
Farson's wisdom, uncanny understanding of the human condition, and his at times infuriating but meticulously researched conclusions deeply challenge traditional thought about the role of design in society. This compelling and important book is a must-read for anyone involved in the major predicaments of our time, including our failing education system, healthcare, and growing global environmental challenges. Brilliant! --Jane Poynter, President, Paragon Space Development Corp., TV host, author, and Biosphere 2 crewmember
This is Richard Farson's masterpiece - the one and only book that illuminates the interdependence of design, organization and leadership. --Warren Bennis, University Professor, University of Southern California, and Author
A provocative tour de force re-imaging what design could be as the tool for helping us grapple with the deeply systemic and institutional challenges in our rapidly changing world. This book is a must-read not only for designers and their students but for anyone concerned with our collective future. A stunning and powerful book. --John Seely Brown, Former Chief Scientist of Xerox and Director of its Palo Alto Research Center, and Co-author, The Social Life of Information
Farson's wisdom, uncanny understanding of the human condition, and his at times infuriating but meticulously researched conclusions deeply challenge traditional thought about the role of design in society. This compelling and important book is a must-read for anyone involved in the major predicaments of our time, including our failing education system, healthcare, and growing global environmental challenges. Brilliant! --Jane Poynter, President, Paragon Space Development Corp., TV host, author, and Biosphere 2 crewmember
Farson's wisdom, uncanny understanding of the human condition, and his at times infuriating but meticulously researched conclusions deeply challenge traditional thought about the role of design in society. This compelling and important book is a must-read for anyone involved in the major predicaments of our time, including our failing education system, healthcare, and growing global environmental challenges. Brilliant! --Jane Poynter, President, Paragon Space Development Corp., TV host, author, and Biosphere 2 crewmember
This is Richard Farson's masterpiece - the one and only book that illuminates the interdependence of design, organization and leadership. --Warren Bennis, University Professor, University of Southern California, and Author
A provocative tour de force re-imaging what design could be as the tool for helping us grapple with the deeply systemic and institutional challenges in our rapidly changing world. This book is a must-read not only for designers and their students but for anyone concerned with our collective future. A stunning and powerful book. --John Seely Brown, Former Chief Scientist of Xerox and Director of its Palo Alto Research Center, and Co-author, The Social Life of Information
Farson's wisdom, uncanny understanding of the human condition, and his at times infuriating but meticulously researched conclusions deeply challenge traditional thought about the role of design in society. This compelling and important book is a must-read for anyone involved in the major predicaments of our time, including our failing education system, healthcare, and growing global environmental challenges. Brilliant! --Jane Poynter, President, Paragon Space Development Corp., TV host, author, and Biosphere 2 crewmember
About the Author
Richard Farson, PhD., is a psychologist, author, and educator. As co-founder and president of the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, he directs the Institute's centerpiece program, the International Leadership Forum, a think tank of influential leaders addressing the critical policy issues of our time. Long interested in the field of design, Farson was founding dean of the School of Design at the California Institute of the Arts and a 30-year member of the Board of Directors of the International Design Conference in Aspen, of which he was president for seven years. He served on the American Institute of Architects Board of Directors and is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. His most recent books include Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes in Leadership and Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins: The Paradox of Innovation (with co-author Ralph Keyes).
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Sometimes, when pressing, dire circumstances are staring us down at every turn, an unexpected answer comes along. Richard Farson's THE POWER OF DESIGN: A FORCE FOR TRANSFORMING EVERYTHING delivers just such an answer at a time we need it most.
Dr. Farson is a psychologist, educator and author who has studied many forms of design work---architecture, graphic, landscape, interior, information systems, and product, to name a few. In his book, Farson says that design, "the creation of form," has the power to transform culture, ignite education, foster community, even broker peace.
"Design," he says, "achieves its power because it can create situations, and a situation is more determining of what people will do than personality, character, habit, genetics, unconscious motives, or any other aspect of our individual makeup," a potent statement, for which he offers considerable evidence.
How, exactly, can design transform the world? Designing cities and towns so that people interact often and easily, rather than suburbs segregated from the rest of everyday living, promotes community. Designing education so that it's a lifelong experience, rather than one that stops at threshold of adulthood, promotes growth, maturity, understanding. Transportation systems can be re-designed to promote more activity, even better health, rather than time spent alone in the car.
Besides urban planning, education and transportation, Farson suggests design changes in healthcare, criminal justice and politics, and his well-researched recommendations aren't just fresh and attractive alternatives. They promise real change, if we trust in design professionals to take us where we need to go.... Read more ›
Dr. Farson is a psychologist, educator and author who has studied many forms of design work---architecture, graphic, landscape, interior, information systems, and product, to name a few. In his book, Farson says that design, "the creation of form," has the power to transform culture, ignite education, foster community, even broker peace.
"Design," he says, "achieves its power because it can create situations, and a situation is more determining of what people will do than personality, character, habit, genetics, unconscious motives, or any other aspect of our individual makeup," a potent statement, for which he offers considerable evidence.
How, exactly, can design transform the world? Designing cities and towns so that people interact often and easily, rather than suburbs segregated from the rest of everyday living, promotes community. Designing education so that it's a lifelong experience, rather than one that stops at threshold of adulthood, promotes growth, maturity, understanding. Transportation systems can be re-designed to promote more activity, even better health, rather than time spent alone in the car.
Besides urban planning, education and transportation, Farson suggests design changes in healthcare, criminal justice and politics, and his well-researched recommendations aren't just fresh and attractive alternatives. They promise real change, if we trust in design professionals to take us where we need to go.... Read more ›
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A dear colleague on the Intercultural Insights listserve recently gifted me with this book, in effect a provocative rant on the commercialization of design and the absence of Metadesign in US culture. If that sounds too vague, you could say that the book is about Crime and Punishment, General Hospital, and Columbine, the failures of the institutions of justice, healthcare and education in our contemporary society. All of this is made much more relevant by the coma of democracy in recent presidential terms and the current economic crisis. Given that, faulty design might seem a flippant euphemism for the straits of US culture, but perhaps not.
The author is a psychologist who has spent most of his life in the world of design. Hence, this particular perspective on reality. What is Metadesign? At a time when design has become a catchall word in a class with culture and communication, Farson is arguing for the wisdom and perspective of professionalism on the part of architects and designers of all sorts. The professional, according to Farson, possesses both a holistic perspective and an ethic that are above the all too common prostitution of technical skill to short term commercial interests. He or she sees the "big picture" implication of a design, whether that of a prison, a classroom, an organization or the economy itself as essential to what it produces. Faulty design cannot be repaired by more, bigger, better, faster, etc. It imprisons human effort and constrains imagination, inevitably producing more and more of the same, despite hard work and good intentions, until the whole comes crashing down.
While affirming the need of commerce to produce the abundance that supports democracy, the author denies its ability to serve the larger public interest.... Read more ›
The author is a psychologist who has spent most of his life in the world of design. Hence, this particular perspective on reality. What is Metadesign? At a time when design has become a catchall word in a class with culture and communication, Farson is arguing for the wisdom and perspective of professionalism on the part of architects and designers of all sorts. The professional, according to Farson, possesses both a holistic perspective and an ethic that are above the all too common prostitution of technical skill to short term commercial interests. He or she sees the "big picture" implication of a design, whether that of a prison, a classroom, an organization or the economy itself as essential to what it produces. Faulty design cannot be repaired by more, bigger, better, faster, etc. It imprisons human effort and constrains imagination, inevitably producing more and more of the same, despite hard work and good intentions, until the whole comes crashing down.
While affirming the need of commerce to produce the abundance that supports democracy, the author denies its ability to serve the larger public interest.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the read for those who want to see where the future lies
March 8, 2009
A good idea is a powerful thing. "The Power of Design: A Force for Transforming Everything" is a discussion of the value of design and how it pushes society forward. Design solves the world's problems, but design is not always unhindered. Calling out protectionism and how its fierce use impedes modern society's advancement, he pulls no punches on calling out those who stand in the way of progress. Poignant and blunt, "The Power of Design" is well worth the read for those who want to see where the future lies.
Amazon Verified Purchase
the author has several good points about how design can intersect real life, but these are over shadowed with his constant braging about his own work with designers. Rather than present his work for critique, he merely refers to it, and the overall argument gets lost in his self aggrandizement - which theoretically should be the antithesis of a book such as this.
By KC
Amazon Verified Purchase
One of the most powerful books to date on design. My suggestion is to read all of Richard Farson's books!
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