Ruined by Design
How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It
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Ruined by Design
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Narrated by:
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Mike Monteiro
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By:
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Mike Monteiro
About this listen
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 advertisement 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 audiobook 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 also learn how to present your concerns, the importance of building and working with diverse teams who can approach problems from multiple points of view, and how to make a case using data and good storytelling. Most of all, you’ll learn to say "no" in a way that’ll make people listen. This audiobook will fill you with the confidence to do the job the way you always wanted to be able to do it. It will help you understand your responsibilities.
©2019 Mike Monteiro (P)2019 Mike MonteiroListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Ruined by Design
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Stew Dean
- 27-01-20
Passionate but unfocused.
The call to arms for designs is worthy. The highlighting of the issues of diversity is vital. But the idea that design is something to certify is as vague as the boundaries of design. When we become manager is unionisation really realistic?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tanya
- 02-11-20
Brilliant
Loved this! Well written, thought provoking, demanding of action and passionately delivered! Worth the time to listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Waxmagenta
- 17-02-21
Brutally honest
Brutally honest, straight to the point. Facts, facts, facts. Not for soft hearted. Mike focus a lot on Twitter and Facebook, perhaps a few more large company examples would enrich this story, yet it's very passionate, real, and does make you think.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-09-20
excellent book on why ethics in design is importan
If you are thinking about reading/listening to this book, do it. because the topic is either known to you, or you must get to know it. I wish this had been in my curriculum, during my design education.
Mike is also an entertaining author and gives an excelent performance.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 24-12-19
Great book poorly narrate
This is the book everybody should read, but especially young designers and/or students. It is a great "starter kit" with valuable guidelines. And it is great for everybody else just to remind ourselves and to get in touch with the industry today. Ethics and morality of design are systematically ignored, not only by designers but the systems designers are working for. Papanek is a beautiful reference.
What I hated was narrating. I literally couldn't listen for more than 30 minutes that theatrical and overly frustrated voice. Mike, I know you are angry, we all are, but words are heavy enough, you don't need to shout. We can hear you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anna Sardini
- 17-12-22
Great for learning and reflecting about design ethics
I learned a lot and it pushed me to reflect on my past and future work. I have deeply enjoyed any minute of it, the performance is very engaging.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Adrian Russell
- 18-10-23
An angry ramble
The author is no doubt passionate in his performance but this isn’t a book about design but more the angry ramblings of the authors political opinions.
I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone trying to learn anything about design.
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