Victor Papanek & James Hennessey - How Things Don't Work

 In the four decades since How Things Don’t Work (1977) was written by controversial design critic Victor Papanek and his co–author James Hennessey, the context for design has grown ever more complex. Globalization and the rise of information technologies have created both opportunities and challenges that did not exist when Papanek, an out-spoken advocate for social design, was first practicing. Innovations in computer, biological, and financial systems have collided with a looming environmental catastrophe to deeply challenge the core presumption of design as a social good. The rise of interconnected information networks has created unprecedented communication and collaborative possibilities while also inundating us with more information than we can reasonably process.    

Published by Pantheon Books, New York 

Softcover, 154 pages

Size: 8.5 x 11 inches

Condition: Used