Do Good Design, How Designers Can Change the World
Book by David B. Berman
Reviewed by Tyra Dumars
Issue 10 Winter 2012
David B. Berman drives home how strategic designers unknowingly possess the power to change the world through innovative design. Berman proposes strategic designers hold themselves to higher professional standards showing a true appreciation for the culmination of people, planet, profit in the design and advertising industry. Whether saving lives with well-designed signage or helping to elect political figures with proper voting ballots, involving designers, with a cradle-to-cradle mindset, fosters creative outcomes that are socially and ecologically responsible. Do Good Design is structured in a way that questions creative directors, art directors, graphics designers, photographers and other creative pros on where they stand in an industry that is currently on an unsustainable path. Berman covers where we were fifty years ago in the world of branding, advertising and design, and where we are now. His comparisons show that while time and technology have rapidly changed our innovation and accountability, in some cases, has not kept up. Berman praises those who are trailblazers in sustainability and strategic design, and provides readers with questions that should be taken into consideration when deciding whether you will be part of the problem or become a viable solution. Do Good Design asks creative professionals to challenge the status quo. The world we live in encourages customization or “design” in many aspects of our lifestyles, so in essence everyone is a designer. Berman puts forth questions that require designers to think strategically about the projects they accept and the design process from concept to completion. “We choose what ideas we want to propagate – so don’t just do good design, do good.” – David B. Berman