Design for Society
- Author
- Nigel Whiteley
- Year
- 1997
Nigel Whiteley's 1997 book argues that mainstream, sell-driven design rests on unsound social and ecological values, and makes the case for a more responsible, socially engaged alternative. Drawing on the Green movement and feminist and socially responsible design thinking, it remains a foundational critique behind the SDF's Sustainability motto.
Whiteley's early, incisive critique of consumerist design — not anti-design, but against the unsound values baked into design that exists mainly to sell. A foundational argument for the SDF's Sustainability motto: clearing the ground for a more responsible, just practice.
Whiteley argues that although design had become newsworthy by the mid-1990s, there was little public understanding of the values built into it. The book examines what our fascination with design reveals about consumer culture, and sets out an anti-consumerist case: it reveals the socially and ecologically unsound values behind much commercial design and argues for preparing the ground for a more responsible, just alternative. Whiteley draws on the Green movement, feminist critique, and the ideas of socially responsible designers, offering both British and Continental perspectives on design ethics in the consumer era.
Where to find it
In the framework
- Sustainability
Books and references