Tim Brown says the design profession is preoccupied with creating nifty, fashionable objects — even as pressing questions like clean water access show it has a bigger role to play. He calls for a shift to local, collaborative, participatory “design thinking.”

In this talk from 2003 at the TED conference, design critic Don Norman turns his incisive eye toward beauty, fun, pleasure and emotion. He looks at design that makes people happy, and the relationship between happiness and creativity.

F is for Fail is a short film about the creative process, and the failure we always encounter, but usually overcome. Told using the alphabet, each letter informs us of the state of the protagonist’s creativity/state of mind. Each letter has two words associated with it (except A and Z); sometimes the positive word overpowers [...]

In the midst of a global conversation about change, many designers are pondering their own impact in the world. How does our experience in software interfaces, web sites, and physical products prepare us to address the profound issues humanity is facing? These issues involve many complex systems, systems too big to fit into the scope [...]

A short film called ‘Future by Design’, about a modern day Da Vinci by the name of Jacque Fresco. Jacque Fresco designs, envisions and invents for a better future that frees humanity and creates a sustainable earth in a project called the ‘The Venus Project‘.
“When you try to think about the future, remember this: The [...]

At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play, with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn’t).