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Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It by [Mike Monteiro]

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Mike Monteiro

Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It Kindle Edition

by Mike Monteiro (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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The world is working exactly as designed.

The combustion engine which is destroying our planet’s atmosphere and rapidly making it inhospitable is working exactly as we designed it. Guns, which lead to so much death, work exactly as they’re designed to work. And every time we “improve” their design, they get better at killing. Facebook’s privacy settings, which have outed gay teens to their conservative parents, are working exactly as designed. Their “real names” initiative, which makes it easier for stalkers to re-find their victims, is working exactly as designed. Twitter’s toxicity and lack of civil discourse is working exactly as it’s designed to work.

The world is working exactly as designed. And it’s not working very well. Which means we need to do a better job of designing it. Design is a craft with an amazing amount of power. The power to choose. The power to influence. As designers, we need to see ourselves as gatekeepers of what we are bringing into the world, and what we choose not to bring into the world. Design is a craft with responsibility. The responsibility to help create a better world for all.

Design is also a craft with a lot of blood on its hands. Every cigarette ad is on us. Every gun is on us. Every ballot that a voter cannot understand is on us. Every time social network’s interface allows a stalker to find their victim, that’s on us. The monsters we unleash into the world will carry your name.

This book will make you see that design is a political act. What we choose to design is a political act. Who we choose to work for is a political act. Who we choose to work with is a political act. And, most importantly, the people we’ve excluded from these decisions is the biggest (and stupidest) political act we’ve made as a society.

If you’re a designer, this book might make you angry. It should make you angry. But it will also give you the tools you need to make better decisions. You will learn how to evaluate the potential benefits and harm of what you’re working on. You’ll learn how to present your concerns. You’ll learn the importance of building and working with diverse teams who can approach problems from multiple points-of-view. You’ll learn how to make a case using data and good storytelling. You’ll learn to say NO in a way that’ll make people listen. But mostly, this book will fill you with the confidence to do the job the way you always wanted to be able to do it. This book will help you understand your responsibilities.

Length: 223 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $4.49 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English

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Product details

ASIN : B07PS16XY9
Publisher : Mule Books (10 April 2019)
Language : English
File size : 3541 KB
Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 223 pages

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260 ratings

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Andrei

Excellent points slightly let down by Author's rant-like delivery

Reviewed in Australia on 24 September 2020

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As simple as the headline states: Mike highlights a number of examples of how the design practice's lack of full-circle consideration and capitalistic bias has led to consequences well beyond the short-sighted goals of improving engagement. However, the delivery carries a constant undertone of frustration and anger, which – although justified – tends to pepper the message's flavour with more spice than needed. However, the core points of the author are undeniable, and this book should be read by every person who is involved in the making and consuming of products: from the folks at the top, through the people that build the things, to the end customers.

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Samuel Hutchings

The World is Ruined By Design.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 April 2019

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In this book, Mike takes the task the generations of designers who have let terrible things happen on their watch. From the Facebook designers who allow the company to harvest all of our data, to the designers of cages to put immigrant children in. At every level, Designers have both helped and hindered humanity, and the latter often feels like it’s winning.

Read this book if you’re interested in how you, as a designer, can make the world a better place for humanity. And definitely read this book if you work at the companies we often see as worst offenders: Facebook, Twitter, Google.

8 people found this helpful

An important read for creatives and non creatives alike

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 June 2019

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Possibly one of the best design books I've ever read and it's so easy to read. It's not meant to provide magical solutions, just analysing how we've dug ourselves a hole and how we could've not. Definitely worth reading, no matter which industry you cover- it makes you think from the first page. As a design graduate just starting out, its a necessary read, but highly suited to any level. Great source of inspiration, no matter whether you agree with its content or not.
Well done.

5 people found this helpful

A. D. JAFFA

Funny, engaging and provocative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 July 2019

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You don't have to agree with everything that Mike Monteiro says or thinks to enjoy this book. However I guarantee you'll finish the book (or even the first few chapters) with a very good idea of what your position is on bad design, especially design that manipulates and exploits people.

4 people found this helpful

Nick

An entertaining rant, but worth reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2019

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It's an unashamed rant about designers and their lack of responsibility. This book's highly entertaining and contains a lot of good points, although I'm not sure the author's proposed solutions are quite as simple as he suggests. E.g. I'm not convinced the body of knowledge used by designers is mature or well-enough defined to serve as the basis for a certification scheme for professionals. In fact I'm not even sure the definition of "designer" is clear enough to know who should or shouldn't be registered. And while some designs are definitely evil, sometimes it's more because of unforeseen consequences than malice. However, anything that reminds us that we need to think about ethics and responsibility before we implement things is good. So even if you don't agree with all the points it's a fun read, and a compact book so won't take long to absorb. And if some of the points make you feel uncomfortable, that's good.

David

Ethical Design

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 September 2019

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Loved this book. It wasn’t what I was expecting as the title is negative. It is a positive great read for all.

2 people found this helpful

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