Notes Design

Design is all about change, writes Alice Rawsthorn in her weekly International Herald Tribune piece.

"[Design] can help us to understand the changes in the world around us, and turn them to our advantage by translating them into things that make our lives more efficient or enjoyable, sometimes both.

If you rewind through design history, the most thrilling periods are the ones of the greatest change, when designers interpreted shifts in science, technology, behavior and politics for the rest of us. Take the explosion of innovation during the 1920s "machine age" and the 1960s "space age."

The pace of change is faster than ever today. Advances in technology are accelerating. The environmental crisis is deepening. The social and political systems that underpinned our lives in the last century are breaking down. (Ever watched "The Wire"?) All of these changes present designers with doughty challenges and exciting opportunities."

So how are designers responding?