Design Science

Two leaders in the field offer a compelling analysis of the current state of the art and reveal the steps we must take to achieve a truly robust artificial intelligence. Despite the hype surrounding AI, creating an intelligence that rivals or exceeds human levels is far more complicated than we...

In this wide-ranging, character-driven audiobook, science-journalist Emily Anthes takes us on an adventure into the buildings in which we spend our days, exploring the profound and sometimes unexpected ways that they shape our lives. Drawing on cutting-edge research, she probes the painkilling power of a well-placed window and examines how the right office layout can expand our social networks.

Everywhere we turn, a new device promises to transfigure our lives. But at what cost? In this urgent and revelatory excavation of our Information Age, leading technology thinker Adam Greenfield forces us to reconsider our relationship with the networked objects, services, and spaces that define us. It is time to re-evaluate the Silicon Valley consensus determining the future. We're told that innovations - from augmented - reality interfaces and virtual assistants to autonomous delivery drones and self-driving cars - will make life easier, more convenient, and more productive.

A collection of transdisciplinary essays by scholars and designers which explore humanity’s relationship with the planet, its ecosystems and inhabitants, now and in the future. Global challenges like climate change and ecosystem degradation are proving that a singular disciplinary approach is inadequate to respond to issues where societal behaviours, individual choices, political decisions, economic, technological and scientific developments are so densely entangled - not least in design. But what happens when we turn things around and decentre “the human” to look at our relationship with...

In How Design Makes the World, best-selling author and designer Scott Berkun reveals how designers, from software engineers to city planners, have succeeded and failed us. From the airplane armrest to the Facebook “like” button, and everything in between, Berkun shows how design helps or hinders everyone, and offers a new way to think about the world around you.

"A diamond is forever." Who among us doesn't recognize this slogan and, with it, the fascination that diamonds hold in our collective imagination as emblems of royalty, glamor, and eternal love? Rachelle Bergstein's cultural biography illuminates the enticing, often surprising story of our society's enduring obsession with diamonds - and the people who have worked tirelessly to ensure their continued allure.

Hollywood stars have always furthered fashion's cause of seducing the masses into buying designers' clothes by acting as living billboards. Now, red carpet celebrities are no longer content to just advertise and are putting their names on labels that reflect the image they - or their stylists - created.

Dive into AI Meets UX: Designing the Next Generation of User-Centered Products, the ultimate audiobook for designers, product managers, developers, and AI enthusiasts. This step-by-step guide explores how to craft ethical, innovative, and user-centered experiences powered by AI. Discover the basics of AI technologies like machine learning and natural language processing, learn how to design for trust and transparency, tackle ethical challenges, and collaborate effectively across teams.

AI image generation is transforming the world of creativity—unlocking possibilities for artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and storytellers alike. Whether you're curious about how a simple text prompt turns into a detailed painting or you're looking to master this revolutionary technology for professional use, How AI Image Generators Work reveals the key concepts behind the magic. This clear, jargon-free guide explains the ten foundational “secrets” that drive today’s most advanced AI art tools—from DALL·E to Midjourney to Stable Diffusion.

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface in July of 1969, they wore spacesuits made by Playtex: 21 layers of fabric, each with a distinct yet interrelated function, custom-sewn for them by seamstresses whose usual work was fashioning bras and girdles. This book is the story of that spacesuit. It is a story of the triumph over the military-industrial complex by the International Latex Corporation, best known by its consumer brand of "Playtex" - a victory of elegant softness over engineered hardness, of adaptation over cybernetics.

Simon Moody’s mom inherits her wealthy Uncle Edmund’s estate, giving them more than enough money to pay all four years of Simon’s upcoming college tuition. The only problem is, they have to leave Brooklyn, move to the little town of Caligo Falls, and make Wilder House, the infamous Victorian mansion built by Edmund’s grandfather in 1905, their new home. They’ve also inherited a mysterious caretaker named Harrington, and a punctual but melancholy cook, Mrs. Morley.

Activate your self-awareness and let your intuition be the driving force for success in relationships, work, and all your personal goals—unlock the power of human design! Self-awareness is a pillar of emotional intelligence, and it is vital for success in all the realms of your life—love, money, work, friends, and family. When you know who you are and you rely on your intuition, your life becomes more peaceful, enriching, and inviting.

You may think you don’t have the time or the money to start a big permaculture project. But permaculture doesn’t need to be overwhelming. You can start as small as you like, and you can move at a pace that suits you. Don’t feel you have to learn everything in one go and rush out to transform a whole wilderness in a year. Just deal in manageable chunks, and you’ll do just fine. Even if all you have done is tend to a few tomato plants on your window ledge, you can become an expert gardener; all it takes is a little time, patience, and practice.

Claire Wilcox has been a curator of fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum for most of her working life. In Patch Work, she steps into the archive of memory, deftly stitching together her dedicated study of fashion with the story of her own life lived in and through clothes. From her mother's black wedding suit to the swirling patterns of her own silk kimono, her memoir unfolds in spare, luminous prose the spellbinding power of the things we wear.

What will it take to restore balance to our world, repair past injustices, and support future generations' survival? Looking deeply into the web of life that created and supports us, and drawing inspiration from diverse cultural traditions and perspectives, spirited thinkers Michael Pawlyn and Sarah Ichioka propose a bold set of regenerative principles with potential to transform how we design, make, and manage our buildings; infrastructure; and communities.

Nudge meets Hooked in a practical approach to designing products and services that change behavior, from what we buy to how we work. Deciding what to create at modern companies often looks like an episode of Mad Men: people throw ideas around until one sounds sexy enough to execute and then they...

A Harvard Business School professor and a16z crypto research partner and a career marketer and Web3 entrepreneur demystify the coming digital revolution, showing how NFTs will transform our online and offline interactions. NFTs aren’t just pictures on the internet, or a fad that has come and...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Succinct and readable.... If you suffer from digital anxiety ... here is a book that lays it all out for you." --Newsday In lively, mordantly witty prose, Negroponte decodes the mysteries--and debunks the hype--surrounding bandwidth, multimedia, virtual reality, and...

Databases are structured collections of data that enable efficient retrieval, insertion, updating, and deletion of information. They serve as the foundation for various applications, from simple contact lists to complex enterprise systems. Key concepts include tables, which organize data into rows and columns; relationships, which define connections between tables; and SQL (Structured Query Language), used to interact with databases by querying and manipulating data.

Land that job! An in-depth overview of system design and how to prepare for your interview. When it comes to answering system design questions, many of us don't know where to start. We don't have the logic and knowledge to effectively communicate back a reply that impresses the interviewer. System Design Interview: A Strategic Guide for a Successful Interview is an easy-to-understand, step-by-step book that provides clarity on how to prepare and respond to questions in an interview.