POWER OF DESIGN
FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE + INNOVATION
New book from MIT SA+P Press
"What makes this book so timely—and timeless—is that it speaks to the designer in all of us. It reminds us of something essential: that every choice we make is a design decision, and that the future is not written. It is designed."
Mauro Porcini
President & Chief Design Officer
Samsung
"It is a ‘must-read’ for those of us looking to discover new ways of designing in this AI-enhanced design era."
Diana Hoskins
Global Co-Chair at Gensler
Gensler is recognized as the largest architecture and design firm in the world
New from MIT SA+P Press
No model or mathematical formula alone can capture the complexity of our world with all its emotional, cultural, and human variables that are impossible to measure. Hence, we must design.
Designing the X makes a compelling case for design as an essential partner to science and technology: integrative, inventive, and profoundly human.
Chapters
01.
Designing the X
Chapter 1 introduces why design is an essential partner to science and technology and shows how the tools and methods in this book can guide readers through a series of strategies to strengthen problem-solving capacity, increase innovation success, and amplify impact for innovators and leaders across disciplines, in both industry and the public sector.
02.
Design in Time
Chapter 2 reflects on the history of design as a fundamental human ability and an active force in changing the trajectory of human culture.
03.
Progettare
Chapter 3 outlines the principles that serve to transform a vision into tangible reality by projecting a desired vision at the beginning of the problem solving process: "progettare".
04.
Flow with Complexity
Chapter 4 dives deeper into the design process and methodologies, mapping the iterative cycles of synthesis that create conditions for the emergence of new solutions.
05.
The Collective and the Conductor
Chapter 5 describes the orchestration of an inclusive and “polymathic” design process to ensure innovation success and desired impact.
06.
The Path Forward
Chapter 6 highlights the importance of design in tackling complex problems and driving innovation, and explores its implications for how we educate and prepare future change-makers and leaders across all disciplines.
Insights from the field
The book is itself a design experiment, shaped through iterations, dialogue, and real-world application across academia and industry. Our research draws on seven case studies and 67 in-depth interviews exploring how people understand and apply design in diverse contexts. Using a theoretical sampling approach, we selected interviewees for their ability to offer varied perspectives across industries and geographies—from renewable energy and designing for life on Mars to advancing social equity through technology. This interpretive method allowed us to capture the complexity of lived experiences. The interviews made a compelling case for design as an essential partner to science and technology in an integrative, inventive, and profoundly human approach to complex problem-solving and innovation.
Foreword
by Mauro Porcini
President & Chief Designer Officer | Samsung
Design is not a job. It is not a tool or a strategy. Design is a way of being in the world.
It is how we choose to see — with empathy.
How we choose to listen — with curiosity.
How we choose to act — with imagination, courage, and care.
When I first encountered the ideas behind Designing the X, I didn’t just read them. I recognized them. They resonated deeply, not because they were familiar, but because they revealed something I had always felt.
This book speaks to the designer in all of us — not the one who sits in front of a screen sketching icons or products, but anyone who wakes up each morning and tries to make something better. A conversation. A company. A society. A culture. A future.
