Addressing today's social and ecological problems through design
Why design now? As issues of ecology and sustainable living continue to
gain in urgency and topicality, design has come to the forefront of the
arts as the discipline best equipped to meet today's challenges.
Designers around the world are rising to this clarion call by creating
products, buildings, landscapes, messages and more that address
important social and ecological problems. Why Design Now? National
Design Triennial accompanies the fourth installation in Cooper-Hewitt,
National Design Museum's acclaimed National Design Triennial
exhibition series. Designed by Michael Bierut, a partner in the
award-winning design firm Pentagram, Why Design Now? is the first
Triennial book to be truly international in reach, with 134 designers
and projects in more than 44 countries. With eight essays by four
Cooper-Hewitt curators, project profiles and more than 350 color
illustrations, many of which have never been published before, Why
Design Now? offers a glimpse into contemporary innovation, and an
up-to-the-minute survey of what progressive designers, engineers,
entrepreneurs and citizens are doing in diverse fields and at different
scales. Many of the featured works have influenced other designers by
proposing new methodologies or by pioneering new techniques; also
included are practical solutions already being implemented as well as
experimental ideas designed to inspire further research. Each of the
selected works--from a soil-powered table lamp to a post-petroleum urban
utopia--celebrates the transformative power of design.
