Acclaimed author Alice Rawsthorn revises her bestselling field guide to design in the wake of a pandemic, intensified ecological disaster and political crisis

Three years after its initial release, Alice Rawsthorn's bestselling volume is republished in an expanded edition, updated in response to recent political and ecological transformations across the world. Entirely revised by the author, the book is enriched by a new chapter on design's response to climate emergency; it also addresses COVID-19's impact on design across numerous updated chapters.
Today, the field of design is responding to intense economic, political and ecological instability with resourcefulness and creativity. Public interest is soaring as a new generation of designers uses advanced technologies to pursue their political and environmental objectives in increasingly ambitious projects, as well as to reinvent the objects and spaces we use every day.
Written by one of the world's leading design and culture commentators, Design as an Attitude is conceived as a subjective field guide to design. In an authoritative and engaging voice, Rawsthorn demystifies the field, explores the most dynamic developments in contemporary design and assesses their impact on our lives now and in the future. From book-making to social design, from the craft revival to design's gender politics, Design as an Attitude offers a comprehensive survey of design today. Its appendix comprises more than 50 biographies of relevant living designers and role models for contemporary design.
Based in London, Alice Rawsthorn (born 1958) is an award-winning design critic and the author of several volumes on design. Her critically acclaimed Hello World: Where Design Meets Life (2013) explores design's influence on our lives. In May 2022, she will publish a book coauthored with MoMA's Paolo Antonelli, titled Design Emergency. An influential public speaker on design, Rawsthorn has participated in important global events, including the TED conference in Vancouver and the annual meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Rawsthorn was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to design and the arts.