One of the most curious features of the modern world is the manner in which design has been widely transformed into something meaningless. But I want to argue design should be the crucial block on which the human environment is shaped and constructed for the betterment and delight of all.
Not surprisingly, in the absence of widespread agreement about its significance and value, much confusion surrounds design practice. In some subject areas, authors can assume common ground with readers. Other subject areas can be so difficult that how such mutual understanding exists.
Design sits uncomfortably between these two extremes. As a word it is common enough, but it is full of disharmony, has innumerable manifestations （表现）, and lacks boundaries that give clarity and definition. As a practice, design generates vast quantities of material, much of it ephemeral, only a small proportion of which has sustained quality.
So how can design be understood in a meaningful sense? Design is one of the basic characteristics of what it is to be human, and an essential determinant of the quality of human life. If things are a necessary part of our existence, why are they often done so badly? There is no simple answer. Cost factors are sometimes advanced, but the remove between doing something well or badly can be exceedingly small, and cost factors can in fact be reduced by appropriate design inputs.
This book is based on a belief that design matters profoundly to us all in innumerable ways and represents an area of huge, underutilized potential in life. It sets out to explore some reasons why this is so and to suggest some possibilities of change. The intention is to extend the range of what is understood by the term, and examine the depth of design practice as it affects everyday life in a diversity of cultures.
