Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It

by Mike Monteiro

We are so fucked. In fact, we are so fucked, it may already be too late for this book.

“You are responsible for what you put into the world. And you are responsible for the effects those things have upon the world.”

Because I love you, I need to tell you something: you’re not special.

The exchange of cash for services doesn’t supersede ethics.

The work you bring into the world is your legacy. It will outlive you. It will speak for you. What do you want it to say?

Saying no is a design skill. Asking why is a design skill. Rolling your eyes and staying quiet is not.

Criticism is a gift. It makes good work better. It keeps bad work from seeing the light of day.

The world isn’t broken. It’s working exactly as it was designed to work. And we’re the ones who designed it. Which means we fucked up.

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.

When you hire me as a designer, I do not work for you. I may practice my craft at your service, but you haven’t earned the right to shape how I practice that craft.

he made the most noise at the table, so he’s the one who gets the bill.)

There is no such thing as neutral software.

organizations that do unethical shit, like weapons manufacturing, the private prison industry, or the Catholic Church.

If this all sounds like more than you bargained for when you decided to become a designer, it may be. Yet here we are. No one prepared us for this. We’re going to need thicker skins.

art has as much in common with design as a lobster has with a carrot cake.

Design is not about expressing yourself.

Design is a verb, an act.

The problem is that when your team all have roughly the same experiences, and you end up building the tool that works for that team, you’ve marginalized everyone else.

Broad Band:

There’s no quicker way to destroy someone’s confidence than teaching them that what they’re saying isn’t as important as what you’re saying.

The people affected by our actions are always more important than our intent.