"This book is a must read for all with an interest in the future of design."
--Jim Spohrer, PhD, Retired Industry executive, International Society of Service Innovation Professionals
"The world is in need of better design, and Kozma's book shows us how to get there."
--Mark Guzdial, Director, Program in Computing for the Arts and Sciences, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering, University of Michigan
Design services, products, experiences, and places that transform the world for the better
Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values presents an insightful and hands-on discussion of design as a profoundly human activity and challenges us all to use design to transform the world for the better. The book explains how and why the design industry lost its way, and how to re-ignite the idealism that once made it a force for good.
Make the World a Better Place describes a set of moral principles, based on our shared humanity, that can be used to create "good" designs: designs that reduce harm, increase well-being, advance knowledge, promote equality, address injustice, and build supportive, compassionate relationships and communities.
Dr. Kozma applies philosophy, psychology, sociology, and history to the world of design, including:
* Examples and case studies of designs--both good and bad
* Seven principles of good design, based on the impact designs have on people
* An approach to design as a "moral dialog among co-creators," in which the seven principles can be applied to intentionally improve the world
* Comprehensive explorations of a person-resource-activity model that explains how technology shapes designs
* Detailed analyses of the strengths and pitfalls of five design traditions, which include the scientific, technical-analytic, human-centered, aesthetic, and social movement traditions

Robert Kozma, PhD, is Emeritus Principal Scientist at SRI International. During his fifty-year career, he has served as a grade school math teacher, a research scientist and professor, and a design and innovation consultant. He has counseled high tech companies, multinational organizations, and ministries of education to use technologies and methodologies to improve learning, teaching, and education.

Part I A World by Design 1

1 Moral Imperative 3

To Design Is Human 4

Moral Responsibility of Designers 5

The Designed World 6

The best of times 7

The worst of times 9

How Has Design Failed Us? 10

Designs and users fail 11

The design process fails us 11

Designers fail us 12

Systems fail us 12

Moral Decisions and Their Consequences 13

Case Study: Boeing 737 MAX 8 14

Your Designs Might Save Us 16

References 17

2 What Is Design? 25

Everyday Design 25
Everyday Designers 26

Design as a Process 27

Purpose 28

Process 29

Outcomes 29

Impact 30

Good Designs versus Good Impacts 31

Everyday Designs and Making the World Better 32

Case Study: Chef Andrés and the World Central Kitchen 33

Designs Big, Small, and Not at All 36

References 38

3 Moral Foundations for Designing a Better World 41

The Philosophers and "The Good" 42

The Good 42

Moral Foundations for Good Design 43

Happiness not harm 43

Knowledge, reasoning, and agency 47

Equality and Justice 49

The social nature of humans 51

Self and Others 53

Self- interest 53

Rational egoism 54

The Philosophes and concern for others 55

References 57

4 Design within a System 59

Systems: Simple, Complex, and Complex Adaptive 60

Simple and complex systems 60

Complex adaptive systems 61

The Dynamics of Complex Adaptive Human Systems 62

Self-interest, reciprocity, and trust 62

Social system as a normative culture of trust and caring 65

Design to Make the System Work 65

Designs at the micro level 66

Designs at the macro level 67

Designs at the community level 68

Elinor Ostrom and Design for the Common Good 69

Case Study: Baton Rouge and "Imagine Plank Road" 69

The Appropriate Level of Complexity 73

References 74

5 Technology, Activity, and Culture 77

How to Think about Technology 78

Technology at the Micro Level: Affordances and Activity 78

Person-resource-activity model 79

Affordances and activity in the outer environment 79

Affordances and changing the inner environment 81

Embedded technology 82

Technology at the Macro Level: Culture and Impact 82

Moral Impacts of Technology and Our Designs 84

Artificial intelligence and human well-being 85

Social media, harm, and community 86

Web 3.0 and the future of community 90

CRISPR and the future of humanity 92

The moral challenge of technology 93

References 93

Part II Our Design Traditions 99

6 The Scientific Tradition 101

Design Traditions 101

Roots of the Scientific Revolution 102

Early Western science 102

The Scientific Revolution 104

Characteristics of the Scientific Tradition 104

Purpose 105

Process 106

Outcomes 107

Impact 108

Case Study: Mendelian Genetics 108

Systemic Implications of the Scientific Tradition 112

Moral Implications of the Scientific Tradition 112

References 114

7 The Technical- Analytic Tradition 117

Roots in the Industrial Revolution 117

Emergence of the Technical-Analytic Tradition 118

Maximizing efficiency 118

The consumer economy 119

Scientific research and transformative innovations 119

Characteristics of the Technical-Analytic Tradition 120

Purpose 120

Process 121

Outcomes 122

Impact 122

Case Study: Ford versus Ferrari 123

Systemic Implications of the Technical-Analytic Tradition 127

Moral Implications of the Technological-Analytic Tradition 128

References 129

8 The Human-Centered Tradition 133

Roots in the Technical-Analytic Tradition 133

Human-centered design and design thinking 134

Characteristics of the Human-Centered Approach 134

Purpose 134

Process 134

Outcomes 135

Impact 136

Case Study: Alight, Kuja Kuja, and IDEO.Org 136

Systemic Implications of the Human-Centered Approach 140

Moral Implications of the Human-Centered Approach 142

References 143

9 The Aesthetic Tradition 145

Roots in Ancient Human Expression 145

Art, design, and industry 146

Characteristics of the Aesthetic Approach 146

Purpose 147

Process 147

Outcomes 149

Impact 149

Case Study: Starry Night 149

Systemic Implications of the Aesthetic Tradition 154

Moral Implications of the Aesthetic Tradition 155

References 157

10 The Community Organization and Social Movement Tradition 159

Roots in Systemic Harm 159

The Labor Movement 159

The Civil Rights Movement 160

The Women's Movement 161

The Environmental Movement 161

The Gay Rights Movement 162

Characteristics of the Social Movement Tradition 163

Purpose 163

Process 163

Outcomes 166

Impact 166

Case Study: Black Lives Matter (BLM) 167

Systemic Implications of the Community Organization and Social Movement Tradition 172

Moral Implications of the Community Organization and Social Movement Tradition 172

Summary of Design Traditions 173

References 174

Part III Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values 177

11 Design with Passion and Purpose 179

Passion 179

Happiness 180

Empathy and compassion 180

Anger and moral outrage 180

From moral motivations to moral plans 181

Purpose 183

Purpose and design 184

Moral Reasoning and Moral Dialog 185

Moral reasoning 186

The social nature of morality 187

From moral dialog to collective action 188

Design as a Moral Dialog among Co-Creators 189

Be grounded in your own moral foundation 189

Scaffold moral discussions 190

Use these discussions to co-create designs 190

Case Study: Burning Man and Radical Inclusion 191

New Roles for Designers 196

Facilitator 196

Mentor 197

Mediator 197

Broker 197

Creating a Collaborative Culture of Moral Design 198

References 198

12 Reduce Harm and Increase Happiness 203

Values 203

Cause No Harm 203

Reduce Harm 205

Case Study: WestGate Water 206

Increase Happiness 209

Happiness as pleasure 209

Happiness as well-being 210

Happy cultures 212

Designing for Happiness 213

Case Study: Happy Cities 215

References 219

13 Advance Knowledge, Reasoning, and Agency 223

Knowledge at the Micro Level 224

Knowledge in the head 224

Knowledge in the environment 224

Knowledge and how to acquire it 225

Reasoning: What We Do with Knowledge 226

Explain 226

Make decisions and solve problems 227

Create, innovate, and design 227

The limits of knowledge and reasoning 228

Agency: How Knowledge Empowers Us 229

Metacognition 229

Self-regulated learning 230

Designing for Knowledge and Agency at the Micro Level 231

Knowledge and Institutions at the Macro Level 232

Schools and education 233

Learning in Communities 235

Knowledge Building Communities (KBCs) 235

Communities of practice (CoP) 235

Case Study: High Tech High 236

References 240

14 Promote Equality and Address Injustice 243

Equality 243

Equality by design 244

Inequality by Design 244

Native Americans 244

Enslaved Africans 246

Merit and Its Tyranny 248

Merit and morality 249

The compounding effect of inequality 250

Justice 251

What is just? 251

Equality and justice for all 253

A just society 254

Designs that Promote Equality and Address Injustice 256

Case Study: The City of Austin and Reimagining Public Safety 257

Moral Discourse to Promote Equality and Address Injustice 261

References 261

15 Build Supportive Relationships and Communities 267

Moral and Survival Foundations of Relationships 267

Relationships and Well-Being: The Micro Level 268

Emotions and relationships 268

Family 269

Married couples 270

Friends 270

Development of relationships over time 271

Relationships at the Community Level 271

Our towns, our community 272

Communities and collective action 273

Relationships at the Macro Level 274

Relationships in cities 274

Trust and social capital 275

Social capital in nations 276

Loss of Relationships and Trust 276

Loss of friends 276

Loss of interpersonal trust 277

Loss of institutional trust 277

Loss of trust and social media 278

Case Study: Braver Angels 279

Designing for Relationships and Community 282

Designs to support relationships 282

Designs to repair relationships 283

Designs to support collective action and build communities 283

References 284

Part IV Redesigning the System 289

16 The Economy, Government, and Design 291

Tragedy of the Commons 291

The Economy and Self-Interest 292

The neoliberal turn 292

Neoliberalism gets played out 294

The social impact of pure self-interest 295

Business and the loss of trust 296

The Economy and Government Control 296

Keynesian economics and government policy 296

Government control gets played out 297

The social impact of a government-controlled economy 298

Government and Collective Action 299

Public good as the purpose of government 299

Government as an institution for collective action 300

Structural limits of collective action through government 300

Political parties and collective action 301

America compromised: Corruption of the design 301

Self-interest and identity politics 302

Government and the loss of trust 303

Designs to Resolve the Tragedy 303

Business and the common good 304

Government and the common good 304

Community and the common good 306

Everyday designs and the invisible hands of a moral society 306

References 308

17 Where Do We Go from Here? 313

Which of Two Roads? 313

The road less traveled 313

The road more likely? 318

Finding a Home or Building One 322

Design as a career 322

Design where you work 323

Volunteer your time 325

Create your own design space 326

Creating a Culture of Everyday Design for a Better World 327

References 329

Index 341