Defined by Design
The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places
-
- USD 17.99
-
- USD 17.99
Descripción editorial
This wide-ranging overview of design in everyday life demonstrates how design shapes our lives in ways most of us would never imagine. The author, a leading expert in social and psychological issues in design, uncovers the gender, age, and body biases inherent in the designs of common products and living spaces that we all routinely use. From the schools our children attend and the buildings we work in to ill-fitting clothes and one-size-fits-all seating in public transportation, restaurants, and movie theaters, we are surrounded by an artificial environment that can affect our comfort, our self-image, and even our health.Anthony points out the flaws and disadvantages of certain fashions, children's toys, high-tech gadgets, packaging, public transportation, public restrooms, neighborhood layouts, classrooms, workplaces, hospitals, and more. In an increasingly diverse populace where many body types, age groups, and cultures interact, she argues that it's time our environments caught up. This fascinating book--full of aha moments--will teach readers to to recognize the hidden biases in certain products and places and to work for more intelligent and healthy design in all areas of life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Given the topic of how poor or inadequate design can cause unintentional difficulties and even harm, the ill-structured nature of this book is especially ironic. Anthony (Designing for Diversity) attempts to give her chapters order by using descriptive chapter heads and subheads, but she quickly veers from her stated topic; for example, she discusses the dangerous design of snow blowers in a chapter about inaccessible packaging. In another chapter, she describes how cell phones may lower sperm count when carried in the pants pocket, moves on to distracted driving, and meanders back to mentioning that hot laptops may also affect men's ability to reproduce, all within the same subsection. Descriptions of many of the factors that go into poor design (such as inadequate testing car seats) are informative, the complaints follow one after the other with no pause to suggest solutions or alternatives until the very last chapter, in which solutions are likewise heaped together in a way that reads more like a laundry list than a call to action.
