Hello World: Where Design Meets Life

Rawsthorn calls for a demystification of design in order to empower non-designers to make what she calls design choices, but in the course of her book she disproves her own claims. She criticizes the relegation of the term "design" to refer to decoration and styling, while arguing for its application to humanitarian and environmental causes. Rather than crafting strong reasons, Rawsthorn expands on the idea of design to encompass a bewildering array of historical figures. The pirate Blackbeard is lauded for his iconic use of skull and crossbones imagery as is Steve Jobs for his care in crafting the appearance of Apple products, however, these examples rarely get more than surface treatment nor do they present original research. Her preferences are often determined subjectively, as when she decries Google doodles as "looking cringy" or bemoaning frustrations with her own toothbrush or smart-phone. The confluence of examples ends up feeling anecdotal rather than compelling and their very abundance refutes Rawsthorn's claims that greater inclusiveness is necessary; the only thing she proves is that non-designers are hardly impeded in their work by lack of design recognition. (Feb.)