Bryan Connor - Young and Freelancing

The Glimmer Universe

This book is for designers trying to find the soul of design. Glimmer captures the optimism of the social design movement and has inspired me and many readers to engage in truly meaningful design every day.

The design thinking principles of revolutionary Bruce Mau are the centerpiece of the book and help segment it into four spheres of design – Universal, Business, Social and Personal.

Starting with the universal principles that can be used for any purpose, Berger draws from a number of case studies to make his Mau-ist points. From Mau’s incomplete manifesto for growth Berger illustrates how to ask stupid questions that challenge conventional wisdom, jump fences using abductive reasoning to make unique connections and make hope visible by simply sketching and prototyping.

This Design Thinking Business

The case studies presented in the business portion of the book involving hugely influential firms like IDEO and individual design thinkers like Mau will make you want to drop what you’re doing and help design the soul back into modern companies with design thinking.

Berger again explains how its all done with the principles of going deep to truly empathize with the people involved and understand the issues at hand, working the metaphor, and designing what you do.

Designing for People

Social design can combine doing what you love with truly helping people. The social section of Glimmer profiles a myriad of initiatives and organizations using design as a power for social good.

No one can deny breaking out of the office to design in the thick of life isn’t without its risks and difficulties which is why Glimmer tells us to face consequences for things we design and to embrace constraints in seemingly impossible situations and do more with less.

Your Own Life – Designed

The personal section of Glimmer hold’s some of the books most immediately relatable and engaging ideas for beginning the design thinking revolution on yourself. Think of your own life a design project – what needs to be re-designed?

Life is an enormous design challenge and Glimmer would say begin anywhere instead of constantly planning and design for emergence and for the things that haven’t happened yet with a flexible and adaptable life.

Just as Warren Berger will tell you when you pick up a copy of Glimmer, it’s about infinite possibilities and the exciting new era for design and designers.

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